IRRIGATION

A professionally installed irrigation system is one of the best investments you can make for your home. There's no easier way to beautify your home, increase it's value and save yourself a lot of time. In addition to keeping your landscape attractive, an automatic sprinkler system will help you conserve water putting exactly the right amount of water on lawn and garden areas, which means no water is wasted. So put down the garden hose and let us do the watering for you.

HOW MUCH ?
Although the amount of water turf needs to stay healthy varies greatly on many factors, in general the soil needs 1" of water per week. In general this means 30 minutes per zone for rotor heads and 8 to 10 minutes per zone for spray heads.

HOW OFTEN ?
We like to recommend every other day for most of the season. If you think that is not enough water we recommend increasing the watering time, not how often you water. This method forces the water deeper into the root zone and stimulates deeper roots, if you keep the top few inches of soil wet the roots will never have to grow deeper for the water and nutrients. Exceptions to this rule; new lawns need the top inch of soil to stay moist because that is where the seed is. New lawns should be watered lightly (10 minutes per zone) three times a day. Extremely dry windy weather the water content in the air (humidity) has a lot to do with how often you must water. The dryer the air is the more often you must water. Short turf (putting greens) the roots are unable to grow deep due to stress and lack of photosynthesis.

WHEN ?
The best time of the day to water is early morning 5:00 or 6:00 AM. The humidity is at it's highest of the day so the water will evaporate less into the air. The sun will soon be out to dry the foliage; the turf is more susceptible to disease and insect damage when the foliage stays wet for prolonged periods of time.

WHY ?
Efficiency! There is no wasted water. The water goes exactly where you want it, exactly when you want it. By using irrigation properly you can save water. You will never over water certain areas of or lawn by forgetting to move the sprinkler, you will never water your driveway or sidewalk, you will water at the proper time of day. You will never have to move another hose. Today's controllers are so flexible you can change your program from everyday to 3 times a week or off with the touch of one button. So you will never waste water.

SHOULD ALL THE PARTS BE THE SAME BRAND ?
No! Each component in your system is independent. As long as the contractor has the experience to integrate the components together your system will be superior if you mix manufactures. Each BRAND NAME has one or two components that are the best therefore mixing BRAND NAMES gives you the best over all system.

SERVICE ?
The maintenance required to keep a properly installed system in good working order is minimal. You should have a qualified professional start the system in the spring and close the system in the fall. With the exception of mechanical breaks that is the only service needed. See our Service Price List for descriptions and prices for these procedures.

DAMAGE ?
If the system is installed with proper equipment there should be very little disturbance to the existing lawn. Today's equipment allows a qualified contractor to install pipes and wires under the ground without even digging it up. The only time we have had problems is when the lawn is extremely dry and dusty. The turf tends to come apart in very little clumps and it is difficult to put back in place. Under these circumstances patching some areas with loam and seed is recommended.

WELLS ? (FREE WATER)
Wells offer all the advantages of town water. They cost on average $ 5,000.00 to $ 7,000.00 to install and usually pay for themselves in 5 to 7 years. Irrigation systems can run off a well the same way that they do from town water. We have had no problems with sediment from wells, but I have heard of increased maintenance due to the sediment that comes up from the well. Even with increased maintenance I think it is worth it to install a well if you plan to stay at the property for a long time.