TD
Irrigation coverage, uneven watering issues
Help with irrigation times. I’m struggling to work out the correct irrigation I have a Hunter node system and have figured out how to adjust it to cover all areas of the lawn and I’ve tried the tuna can test to try and work out watering times = mm watering depth but getting a significant variance in water catchment. If I adjust the system it either misses areas or cross over the other sprinkler heads. I’m currently watering three times a week twice a day for 30 minutes but did an application of All Seasons this morning and I’ve had lawn burn in the past because of the watering so I watered it in for 45 minutes. Sorry very long post!!
You definitely don’t need to be watering twice in the same day, there’s really no situation where that’s necessary. You’re much better off watering two to three times a week during the warmer months, once in the early morning, and giving it a proper deep soak rather than splitting it up.
On the coverage side, the variation you’re seeing with the tuna can test tells you everything, you’re not getting even distribution. That usually comes down to head spacing or nozzle selection. If it’s missing areas or overlapping too much when you adjust it, chances are it’s not set up quite right for the area. You might need another head installed.
If you want to get it sorted properly, I’d seriously consider getting an irrigation specialist out. It might cost you a couple of hours labour, but they’ll set it up with proper head-to-head coverage and the right nozzles, and it makes a huge difference. Once it’s dialled in, everything becomes a lot easier to manage.
I’ve got head to head coverage (2 zones) on my irrigation and I’m running it for 20 minutes a zone (40 mins total).
Have a read of this as well, it covers irrigation frequency:
https://www.newzealandlawnaddicts.com/lawn-tips/how-to-water-your-lawn/