You're welcome. If you follow this watering technique it will dramatically improve the overall health of your lawn and trees. We have more information about this watering technique at organolawn.com/lawn-care-tips/watering/watering/
Would you advise following your chart with Bermuda grass? Also, we are restricted to 2 days here. So should I just water the 3rd time in the evening of one of those 2 days?
Here in So Cal we are on a severe drought no watering mandate MWF. I'm an hour away from the coast but it is so hot and dry here it really needs daily for 4 months. Average summer temp is 100F =/- 10 degrees, usually plus for a few days in a row July and August. I am considering stopping watering on my lawn out front which is east facing due to the outrageous water bills we receive - about $250 per month for 4 months of the year, no joke. Not all is lawn of course - and the chinese boxwood bushes ect...that took a decade to fully form will always be watered - it's a pickle.
I live in Texas and in the fall it gets cold. I never run the sprinklers in the winter months but now that I saw this am I suppose to water in the winter too?
Great video! Do you have any good resources for a 8b hardiness zone? I believe CO is around a 6a? We are in the PNW. Lawn is west facing, I suppose I can just use your chart and adapt it to the temperature?
I think the lawn watering technique will work the same in all hardiness zones. It is based on average outside temperature so the dates might be different, but water 1 day per week when temps average less than 70F, 2 days per week when temps average 70-85F, 3 days per week when average temps are above 85F.
First time homeowner here! On your website, you recommend to water multiple soak cycles. Does it matter how far apart those cycles have to be? I have MP Rotartor Style heads with east/west facing aspects. Thanks in advance!
A soak cycle you will need to do the math on your clock and add up all the time on each of your zones and make sure there is enough time between the first start time and the second start time to account for the time the zones are running. If this doesn't make sense I would recommend not doing a soak cycle.
Watching one of your other videos, how does the 12321 watering technique control bindweed in the lawn? I live in Denver and have quite a bit of bindweed on the South side of my yard's lawn. I have always followed the water deeply and infrequently method with 2 soak cycles on the days I water but I limit my watering to 2 days a week at the most. I was basically only watering when my lawn needs it, up to 2 days a week. (approx 1" of water in the spring and fall and 1 and 1/2' of water in the heat of summer.) Does bindweed not like frequent watering? Is that why the 12321 technique eliminates most bindweed in the lawn?
Bindweed is a clear indicator of drought stress. After it has established in a lawn you will most likely need to use other methods to get it under control, but watering according to the 1-2-3-2-1 technique will help prevent it from coming back. Other things that will help with controlling bindweed is to mow tall and use products on the lawn that stimulate beneficial microbial activity in the soil.
What if it is 120 degrees in a desert where I live? How do I schedule that watering? Edit: I do have very green bermuda in spring/summer months and rye in the fall/winter.
@@OrganoLawn haha. Very true. Thanks anyways. Right now I have it once a day for your recommended times for pop ups and it is very green with zero yellowing. 👍
1. Did you say how deep the water should get in the rain gauge with each watering? I have the old, large rotary heads and some zones require 90 minutes to accumulate even 1/2 an inch in a cat food tin. 2. I have 7 zones that currently take several hours to run all of them. I have to start watering at 1 AM to get done by mid morning! I can only water on odd days of the week. Any suggestions? 3. So, the duration of each zone remains the same whether it’s 1, 2, or 3 waterings per week? Thanks for the video.
Yes the best way to learn about this technique is to go to our webpage about it organolawn.com/lawn-care-tips/watering/watering/ My suggestion for your watering issue is to try and find out where the water is hooked up to the supply. My guess is that it is hooked up after the pressure reducer instead of before which means you won't have a lot of pressure and it takes forever to accumulate water. The other issue could be that you have too many heads per zone. In general rotary heads should have no more than 4 heads per zone and popups should not have more than 12. That is correct after you get the system dialed in you don't change them you only change the days per week.
@@Dakota.Covers If you have enough pressure you can swap out the nozzles in the rotary heads to be higher output nozzles, but only do this if the pressure is enough to sustain higher output nozzles.
You said to use the rain gauge but how to determine how long ? If the rain-g collects 0.1 in in 15 min how long should I run? meaning how much do I need. I don't think you mentioned that. Like 0.5 in per watering ? 1 in per watering ?
.3-.4 inches of water on north facing / full shade. .4-.6 in east west facing. .6-.7 inches in full sun / south facing. If you get .1 in 15 min then you would need to do the multiplication depending on the sun aspect.
Unfortunately we are not experts in flowers. What we always recommend is that lawn sprinkler zones be for the lawn and flower and mulch bed zones be separate so each plant type can be watered properly.
@maria... I kinda used this technique for my flower beds and containers last year and it worked great. I have drip irrigation for them. Flower beds need less frequent watering than pots/ containers though so you have to play with watering duration and frequency to see what works out for your different situations.
This depends on the type of sprinkler head and the average high temperatures outside. For east facing aspects/ If you have rotary nozzles with normal overlap that would be 35-45 minutes per watering. 1 day per week when temps are below 70 F, 2 days per week when temps are 70-85 F, 3 days per week when average temps are above 85 F. Popup nozzles require 12-15 min per watering.
@@Tundra_Guy 3 times a week is only during the peak of the summer heat. If you want to save money on water it is best to water deeply 1 or 2 days per week instead. Just realize that the grass will most likely turn brown. Even though it is brown, it won't die and later in the season as the temps cool down the grass will turn green again.
Exactly the same as the instructions. It has nothing to do with spring, summer, autumn, and winter. It has to do with outside temperatures. So if it is below 70 degrees F water 1 day per week, between 75-85 degrees F water 2 and above 85 degrees F water 3.
@@samuelasamoah6906 This depends on the sun angle. If you are in the northern hemisphere then you will want to water 55 min on south facing aspects, 45 min on east west facing aspects and 35 min on north facing aspects. If you are in the southern hemisphere then you want to water 55 min on north facing aspects, 45 min on east west facing aspects and 35 min on south facing aspects.
We have no idea. The EPA keeps wanting more strange tests. They want to see how it reacts to differently types of metals which is an 18 month test. Ugh!
The ideal time to water a lawn is in the 3:00 AM - 6:00 AM time frame. If you have too many zones we recommend having the last zone end around 7:30 AM at the latest. This is the coolest time of the day and will also allow the sun to come out and evaporate off the moisture from the blades of grass, which will prevent fungus problems.
Not sure what you are referring to about the 1" of water per week, but the 1-2-3-2-1 technique depends on sun angle and time of year. I.e. South facing (or full sun) is .6-.7" of water per watering, east and west facing is .5-.6" of water per watering, and north facing (or full shade) is .4-.5 inches of water per watering. Then the 1-2-3-2-1 technique is 1 day per week when temperatures are cool, 2 days per week when they are warm but not hot, 3 days per week in the heat of the summer, then as things cool down again go back to 2 days per week, then one day per week until the system is winterized. So, south facing is between .6" - 1.8" of water per week depending on the time of year, east west facing is .5"-1.5" of water per week, and north facing is .4"-1.2" of water per week. Exactly how the video explained it.
@@OrganoLawn thank you. Your last paragraph answered my question. How many inches or fractions of an inch of water should be applied at one watering. The standard recommendation was 1" water per week but there's more nuance to your recommended amounts for one watering.
@@TheDylan6908 South facing (or full sun) is .6-.7" of water per watering, east and west facing is .5-.6" of water per watering, and north facing (or full shade) is .4-.5 inches of water per watering.
BY FAR, the most helpful video I have come across. Thank you!
Thanks! It is always great to hear that the video is helpful!
It's bad advice.
Oh wow never heard lawn watering put this way. Makes sense. Thanks
Thank you for providing such clear, helpful information on lawn care! I live in CO and have been looking for something like this for along time!
You're welcome. If you follow this watering technique it will dramatically improve the overall health of your lawn and trees. We have more information about this watering technique at organolawn.com/lawn-care-tips/watering/watering/
Wow! Love this video. Reprogramming my sprinkler system right now.
Good idea, Just FYI, when you make a change like this mid summer the lawn may look worse before it looks better.
Thank you, this was an eye opener.
Great info hes correct. Takes me a hour to get a 1/2 inch of rain with rotarty heads
Measuring is always the best!
@tony... Yes. With my Hunter Rotors it takes 45 minutes to get 1/2" even with overlap of one rotor to another.
Would you advise following your chart with Bermuda grass? Also, we are restricted to 2 days here. So should I just water the 3rd time in the evening of one of those 2 days?
Here in So Cal we are on a severe drought no watering mandate MWF. I'm an hour away from the coast but it is so hot and dry here it really needs daily for 4 months. Average summer temp is 100F =/- 10 degrees, usually plus for a few days in a row July and August. I am considering stopping watering on my lawn out front which is east facing due to the outrageous water bills we receive - about $250 per month for 4 months of the year, no joke. Not all is lawn of course - and the chinese boxwood bushes ect...that took a decade to fully form will always be watered - it's a pickle.
Don't water that often. Train your roots deeper and water deep. 2 times per week if lls enough during the hot times.
@@rusted5408 Not here.
@@bellofthedesert1595 deffinately in California. They ration your water days so you need to train the roots deep.
I live in Texas and in the fall it gets cold. I never run the sprinklers in the winter months but now that I saw this am I suppose to water in the winter too?
Great video! Do you have any good resources for a 8b hardiness zone? I believe CO is around a 6a? We are in the PNW. Lawn is west facing, I suppose I can just use your chart and adapt it to the temperature?
I think the lawn watering technique will work the same in all hardiness zones. It is based on average outside temperature so the dates might be different, but water 1 day per week when temps average less than 70F, 2 days per week when temps average 70-85F, 3 days per week when average temps are above 85F.
First time homeowner here! On your website, you recommend to water multiple soak cycles. Does it matter how far apart those cycles have to be? I have MP Rotartor Style heads with east/west facing aspects. Thanks in advance!
A soak cycle you will need to do the math on your clock and add up all the time on each of your zones and make sure there is enough time between the first start time and the second start time to account for the time the zones are running. If this doesn't make sense I would recommend not doing a soak cycle.
Watching one of your other videos, how does the 12321 watering technique control bindweed in the lawn? I live in Denver and have quite a bit of bindweed on the South side of my yard's lawn. I have always followed the water deeply and infrequently method with 2 soak cycles on the days I water but I limit my watering to 2 days a week at the most. I was basically only watering when my lawn needs it, up to 2 days a week. (approx 1" of water in the spring and fall and 1 and 1/2' of water in the heat of summer.) Does bindweed not like frequent watering? Is that why the 12321 technique eliminates most bindweed in the lawn?
Bindweed is a clear indicator of drought stress. After it has established in a lawn you will most likely need to use other methods to get it under control, but watering according to the 1-2-3-2-1 technique will help prevent it from coming back. Other things that will help with controlling bindweed is to mow tall and use products on the lawn that stimulate beneficial microbial activity in the soil.
What if it is 120 degrees in a desert where I live? How do I schedule that watering?
Edit: I do have very green bermuda in spring/summer months and rye in the fall/winter.
We don't know. Probably isn't the best place to try and grow grass.
@@OrganoLawn haha. Very true. Thanks anyways. Right now I have it once a day for your recommended times for pop ups and it is very green with zero yellowing. 👍
Where can I purchase those rain gauge cups?
I am not sure. Sorry! We buy them in bulk at 1000 of them at a time.
Use tuna cans. They hold about 1" of water so half fill is 1/2"
1. Did you say how deep the water should get in the rain gauge with each watering? I have the old, large rotary heads and some zones require 90 minutes to accumulate even 1/2 an inch in a cat food tin. 2. I have 7 zones that currently take several hours to run all of them. I have to start watering at 1 AM to get done by mid morning! I can only water on odd days of the week. Any suggestions? 3. So, the duration of each zone remains the same whether it’s 1, 2, or 3 waterings per week? Thanks for the video.
Yes the best way to learn about this technique is to go to our webpage about it organolawn.com/lawn-care-tips/watering/watering/
My suggestion for your watering issue is to try and find out where the water is hooked up to the supply. My guess is that it is hooked up after the pressure reducer instead of before which means you won't have a lot of pressure and it takes forever to accumulate water. The other issue could be that you have too many heads per zone. In general rotary heads should have no more than 4 heads per zone and popups should not have more than 12.
That is correct after you get the system dialed in you don't change them you only change the days per week.
@@OrganoLawn thanks for your reply! All of our rotary head zones have 5 heads, I believe. I don’t see a pressure reducer in our utility room.
@@Dakota.Covers If you have enough pressure you can swap out the nozzles in the rotary heads to be higher output nozzles, but only do this if the pressure is enough to sustain higher output nozzles.
You said to use the rain gauge but how to determine how long ? If the rain-g collects 0.1 in in 15 min how long should I run? meaning how much do I need. I don't think you mentioned that. Like 0.5 in per watering ? 1 in per watering ?
.3-.4 inches of water on north facing / full shade. .4-.6 in east west facing. .6-.7 inches in full sun / south facing. If you get .1 in 15 min then you would need to do the multiplication depending on the sun aspect.
@@OrganoLawn Thank you!
If flower beds are in the zone. Can they also only be watered on the 1-2-3-2-1 schedule?? Meaning do flowers need same amount of water? More or less?
Unfortunately we are not experts in flowers. What we always recommend is that lawn sprinkler zones be for the lawn and flower and mulch bed zones be separate so each plant type can be watered properly.
@maria... I kinda used this technique for my flower beds and containers last year and it worked great. I have drip irrigation for them. Flower beds need less frequent watering than pots/ containers though so you have to play with watering duration and frequency to see what works out for your different situations.
My lawns are on East West facing. So 45 mins for whole week? Or 15 mins a day for 3 days a week?
This depends on the type of sprinkler head and the average high temperatures outside. For east facing aspects/ If you have rotary nozzles with normal overlap that would be 35-45 minutes per watering. 1 day per week when temps are below 70 F, 2 days per week when temps are 70-85 F, 3 days per week when average temps are above 85 F. Popup nozzles require 12-15 min per watering.
A+
3 day a week watering with the same amount of time on each zone would kill most people's water bill.
Not sure what you mean?
@@OrganoLawn It's rather expensive to do that 3 times a week if you're paying for water is what I meant.
@@Tundra_Guy 3 times a week is only during the peak of the summer heat. If you want to save money on water it is best to water deeply 1 or 2 days per week instead. Just realize that the grass will most likely turn brown. Even though it is brown, it won't die and later in the season as the temps cool down the grass will turn green again.
Am in Africa,don't have spring,summer,Autumn and winter here only dry season and wet season....so then, how do i water mine?
Exactly the same as the instructions. It has nothing to do with spring, summer, autumn, and winter. It has to do with outside temperatures. So if it is below 70 degrees F water 1 day per week, between 75-85 degrees F water 2 and above 85 degrees F water 3.
@@OrganoLawn OK then i guess 55 mins 3 times a week from your chart....cos am using the rotary MP
@@samuelasamoah6906 This depends on the sun angle. If you are in the northern hemisphere then you will want to water 55 min on south facing aspects, 45 min on east west facing aspects and 35 min on north facing aspects. If you are in the southern hemisphere then you want to water 55 min on north facing aspects, 45 min on east west facing aspects and 35 min on south facing aspects.
When will your organic weed killer become available????
We have no idea. The EPA keeps wanting more strange tests. They want to see how it reacts to differently types of metals which is an 18 month test. Ugh!
@@OrganoLawn thanks for responding.just keep us posted and drop a video as soon as you find an estimated time frame.Thanks
When is the best time of day to water the lawn?
The ideal time to water a lawn is in the 3:00 AM - 6:00 AM time frame. If you have too many zones we recommend having the last zone end around 7:30 AM at the latest. This is the coolest time of the day and will also allow the sun to come out and evaporate off the moisture from the blades of grass, which will prevent fungus problems.
So the 1" of water per week thing is not part of this technique?
Not sure what you are referring to about the 1" of water per week, but the 1-2-3-2-1 technique depends on sun angle and time of year. I.e. South facing (or full sun) is .6-.7" of water per watering, east and west facing is .5-.6" of water per watering, and north facing (or full shade) is .4-.5 inches of water per watering. Then the 1-2-3-2-1 technique is 1 day per week when temperatures are cool, 2 days per week when they are warm but not hot, 3 days per week in the heat of the summer, then as things cool down again go back to 2 days per week, then one day per week until the system is winterized.
So, south facing is between .6" - 1.8" of water per week depending on the time of year, east west facing is .5"-1.5" of water per week, and north facing is .4"-1.2" of water per week. Exactly how the video explained it.
@@OrganoLawn thank you. Your last paragraph answered my question. How many inches or fractions of an inch of water should be applied at one watering. The standard recommendation was 1" water per week but there's more nuance to your recommended amounts for one watering.
@@TheDylan6908 South facing (or full sun) is .6-.7" of water per watering, east and west facing is .5-.6" of water per watering, and north facing (or full shade) is .4-.5 inches of water per watering.
@@OrganoLawn Got it. Thanks again.
See... he doesn't even understand your question of 1" per week. Don't listen to him. Water deeply max of 2 times per week.
I'm in nm my water time is, 3 3 3 3 3