Irrigation systems require setup. As you prep a your system for its first-time use this spring, you’ll need the things to set up an irrigation schedule that will work best for the site’s specific conditions: the water requirement and the precipitation rates of the sprinkler heads or drip emitters.
Water requirement: The easiest way to estimate the water you’ll need is to use evaporation and transpiration (ET)
information. Evaporation happens to water from the soil surface, and transpiration occurs to water from the leaves of the plant. Historic ET data for your area can be obtained through online sources like your local university extension’s website.
The amount of water lost through ET changes with the seasons, so you’ll need to reset the watering schedule throughout the year to accommodate these modifications.
Precipitation rate: This is the rate at which water is being applied to your plants in a certain amount of time (usually inches per hour). The best way to figure out the precipitation rate of your sprinkler heads or drip emitters is to do an irrigation system audit.
Contact JB Irrigation today to have one of our knowledgeable technicians out for a “Spring System Check and Startup Inspection“. We will check over your entire system and provide you with suggested run times and an irrigation schedule.