Please advise on the sprinkler set-up this time of the year? (Houston: how much, house)

[alamakota]

Hi there! As the newhomeowners we discover and learn new things every day. Recently, it was the water bill (the second one after the initial bill of $160, which included the connection & transfer fees) that sort of opened our eyes when it came out to be almost $150!.. For the 30-day bill cycle in January we used 27,000 gallons and for only two people, who work most of each day during a week, it seemed pretty high. We identified that it must have been the sprinkler system that we have set-up to run twice a week for almost 30min each time (we never changed it from the builder's setup )

So, I'd like to reach out to our awesome Houston community and ask you, cool peeps, what do you think is the right frequency & lenght that the sprinkler should be setup for during the winter/summer months?

I appreciate your recommendations!

[Houston_2010]

This time of year you probably don't need to water much. I have mine set up for 4 times a week, 10 minutes each zone. If I know there will be rain, I turn it off (wish the builder had put in one of those rain sensors!). Warmer months you will probably need to water daily or every other day for 10-15 min each zone (depending on how large and what plants you have).

[HoustonRonnie]

I'm kind of a lawn nut and my sprinklers have been off for over three months, given the suffient rain we've had. My water bill is about $65 right now. During the summer (last year was REALLY bad), it ranges from $150 - $210.

Ronnie

[cla]

I generally don't water my lawn during the winter months - we usually have sufficient rain. In March I will start watering again.

During the growing season, lawns need about 1" of rain weekly. The amount of time that takes varies by sprinkler. To determine how many minutes each area needs put out small shallow containers around the lawn (empty tuna cans or something similar works well) and water until all of the containers contain 1" of water. If it takes 30 minutes to fill the containers to 1" then you can water 2 x a week for 15 minutes or 3 times a week for 10 mins. During last year's drought I found that 1" a week was not enough.

And make sure you are not watering during the heat of the day. I also wouldn't water during the time that most people are showering in the morning - in the middle of the summer when everyone is watering their lawns more frequently, some areas experience a signicant drop in water pressure in the early mornings - it is no fun to try to rinse shampoo out of your hair on those days. :-)

[davidrod8]

We turn ours off around Halloween and don't turn it on until late Feb early March... Our water bill in the winter is about $60-$70...

In the summer time we run the sprinklers every day, 5 Minutes on grass, 10 on flower beds right before dawn... if it gets too hot and the grass is dying sometimes we'll run them for a couple of minutes per zone in the late afternoon... summertime bill runs about $120... sometimes it can get as high as $140...

There's 5 of us in the house now... sounds like your bill is extremely expensive as we have 8 zones in our sprinklers which run pass 1 hour...

[d2mini]

No watering for me at all the last couple months. I turned the thing off. We've been getting so much rain.

[crone]

Texas Extension agent and various other sites can give you info on St. Augustine needs.

Grass needs 1 to 1 1/2 inches of water a week. Get a rain gauge. If it rains 1 1/2 inches on your yard, you do not need to water at all. Rains less, just water the difference. Set a cake pan or tuna can, some sort of shallow container at each station of your sprinklers to measure the amount of water dispensed in a 10 or 15 minute interval so you know how much water is getting to your grass and foundation. Then set your timer according to your needs.
We water according to rain. If there is no rain and very hot, we water in 10 minute intervals, maybe run the sprinklers 3 times. You really have to determine the needs of your yard. It will take some tweaking time. Better that than a 200 dollar water bill when we have had 5 inches of rain in a month.

With the drought, we all need to be aware of how much water is being wasted just going down the storm sewer.

[kreeyax]

Originally Posted by alamakota

Hi there! As the newhomeowners we discover and learn new things every day. Recently, it was the water bill (the second one after the initial bill of $160, which included the connection & transfer fees) that sort of opened our eyes when it came out to be almost $150!.. For the 30-day bill cycle in January we used 27,000 gallons and for only two people, who work most of each day during a week, it seemed pretty high. We identified that it must have been the sprinkler system that we have set-up to run twice a week for almost 30min each time (we never changed it from the builder's setup )

So, I'd like to reach out to our awesome Houston community and ask you, cool peeps, what do you think is the right frequency & lenght that the sprinkler should be setup for during the winter/summer months?

I appreciate your recommendations!

When you say 30 min each time, is that per zone or total for all zones? 30 minutes total twice a week shouldn't put you at 27,000 gallons in a 2 person home. 30 minutes per zone probably would though. Two people in our house and we both work from home mostly and our last bill was only 6,000 gallons.

With all the rain we've been having lately you should probably just turn it off. Once it gets dry again for a few weeks set it to run twice a week for maybe 8-10 minutes per zone.

[HoustonRonnie]

Assuming you have St. Augustine:

Wintertime is resting time for the St. Augustine lawn, a warm-season grass that is active in the summer and dormant in the winter. Since St. Augustine is asleep in the cold months, maintenance practices like mowing, watering and fertilizing are extremely limited. In climates that get winter rainfall, St. Augustine needs no watering at all. Though this type of grass is known for surviving short periods of drought, extended stretches of warm, dry, windy conditions in winter can damage a lawn without supplemental waterings.


Ronnie

[Yonkers]

I haven't watered at all since the last freeze scare a few months ago. That said, I agree with kreeyax that even with your watering schedule you shouldn't be hitting that much.