What Homeowners Do that Destroys Their Lawns – Landscape Management

Upwards of 80% of yard issues are caused by homeowners and most of those are related to irrigation, typically over-watering. We all know that grass needs water but more isn’t necessarily better.  Wet thatch and soil can encourage turf disease, attract harmful insects and kill grass.

SYMPTOMS

Puddles & Muddy areas

If there are areas of your lawn that have standing water or are often muddy, there are a few issues that may be occurring:

• Watering too much – place a tuna can or other small catching device on the ground to see how much water is falling in that area; if more than 1” per week, adjust your sprinklers to run less often or alter their spray pattern; also monitor sprinklers in action to see if they are running properly or have leaks.

• Poor drainage – either the thatch or soil in that area is not allowing water to properly absorb into the ground; particularly in low spots, measures should be taken to encourage proper drainage.

Dead Spots

Grass roots need water to survive, if an area is completely dead or in the process of dying, it may not be getting enough water; be careful though as several other issues may show similar symptoms.

• Not enough water – as recommended above, the best way to diagnose this issue is to actually measure the amount of water that is hitting the ground in the suffering area. Your irrigation system may be malfunctioning or simply in need of adjustment.

Turf Diseases

Soil microbes are naturally occurring and exist in all soil. These microbes generally work symbiotically with plants but when certain environmental conditions are met, they react and can cause disease damage.

• Some turf diseases such as Brown Patch, Take All Patch and Gray Leaf Spot, thrive in wet conditions.

• When the thatch or soil stay wet for prolonged periods due to over-watering or poor drainage, the diseases take hold and make the grass appear as though it is burnt; many mistakenly believe this to mean the grass needs more water which will only exacerbate the problem.

Insect Damage

Similar to damage done by turf diseases, insects such as chinch bugs, mole crickets and cutworms can leave grass looking like it is dying due to heat or lack of water. In reality, it is often over-watering that can stress plants.

• Stressed plants are believed to emit pheromones which may attract bugs.

• Mosquitoes, which breed in standing water such as puddles, can transmit diseases and parasites that humans, dogs, horses and other animals are susceptible to such as West Nile Virus, Dog Heartworm, and Western Equine Encephalitis.

ISSUES

Spray Heads

• Misting – typically the result of excessive water pressure, reducing pressure can be accomplished by:

• using the flow control on the remote control valve, or

• installing a pressure regulator on or before the valve

  The less misting, the less evaporation occurs and the more water your plants receive.

• Inaccurate pattern – usually caused by a blockage of some sort in the nozzle or screen

• clean the nozzle with air, water and a soft-bristled brush and wash the screen with water only

• Leaking around the stem – most often caused by debris between the wiper and stem

• you can try to flush the debris out with a hose or by stepping down lightly on the stem while the sprinkler is running, creating extra pressure on the water flowing out

• the cap may be damaged and in need of replacement

Impact Sprinklers

• Sprinkler stuck or won’t return – most commonly this is the result of water pressure being either too high or too low

• a pilot tube and pressure gauge can be used to determine the operating pressure, adjust accordingly

• Sprinker is leaking – normally caused by worn seals and washers

• replacements are typically widely available, cheap and easy to replace

• Sprinkler not throwing water as far as it should – similar to an inaccurate pattern of a simple spray head system, blockages in the nozzle or inlet screen are likely to blame

• carefully clean the components with air, water and soft-bristled brushes or pipe cleaners

• do not use screwdrivers or wire as they can scratch the nozzle

Arc Adjustments

Most systems can be easily adjusted to increase or decrease arc and adjust spray pattern by turning a screw in the nozzle, some may have protective collars which need to be removed in order to make adjustments

• Decreasing the arc – typically requires turning the nozzle screw clockwise (to the right)

• Increasing the arc – typically requires turning the nozzle screw counter-clockwise (to the left)

Alternatively, nozzles can be replaced with low angle arc nozzles so that manual adjustments are unnecessary. 

Remote Controlled Valves

• Valve will not close – two main causes:

• physical obstructions such as rocks or other debris can prohibit a valve from closing

• insufficient force above the diaphragm can also prevent valves from closing and can be caused by a missing or stuck plunger, plugged diaphragm filter, flow control being turned up too high, and a variety of other issues

• Valve will not open – two main causes:

• adjustment problem – flow control stem is tightened all the way down

• force is not being released from upper chamber, could be due to solenoid burn out, plugged ports, or solenoid not receiving voltage

• Valve seeping – two main causes:

• damaged solenoid or solenoid seat

• damaged valve seat

Controllers

Controllers can be rather complex: programming, switches, sensors, transformers, circuit breakers/fuses, clock motors, gears and clutches, etc. Any one of these elements can fail or need adjustment – most systems come with troubleshooting guides for controllers.

WATERING GUIDELINES

• 

  Most turf grasses need between ¾” and 1” of water per week

• One good deep soak per week is much better than frequent shallow watering as the water has a chance to penetrate the thatch and promote deep roots

• Factor rainfall into your watering schedule, skip it all together on weeks with heavy showers or adjust accordingly

• Water early in the morning (between 4am and 9am) to reduce evaporation and avoid scalding your grass with water that has been warmed in the sun all day

• Drying time is equally as important as watering – if the soil or thatch remain wet for extended periods, latent diseases are more likely to activate

• Aerating your lawn once a year can increase the soil’s infiltration rate (the rate at which water is absorbed and fertilizer can penetrate), increase turf root growth and reduce runoff problems.

 

Proper irrigation is one of the most import aspects of landscape management (learn more about four other strategies you should be taking for a healthy lawn here). Over watering can be just as bad or worse than under watering; consult your local lawn service professional to see how your current irrigation system is performing and how it can improve.  

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