What Time to Turn on Sprinklers for Best Results?

When the dry summer season arrives in Jackson, turning to a sprinkler system becomes necessary to keep your landscaping looking great. Fortunately, through the use of an automated sprinkler system, you can keep the time requirements on your end to a minimum – just set a program for the sprinklers and let it run throughout the summer. 

One question that comes up a lot when scheduling a sprinkler system is what time to turn on the sprinklers. Some people seem to think it’s best to water in the morning, while others tend to do it at night after the sun has gone down. Is one better than the other? Let’s take a closer look at this topic so you can plan out an effective watering schedule. 

If you need assistance caring for your Jackson, WY landscaping maintenance, or if you are getting ready to put in new landscaping and you want the work to be performed by a professional team, TLC should be your first call. Our reputation in this area speaks for itself, and we’d love to have the opportunity to serve you. Contact us today.

What Time to Turn on Sprinklers

The best time to water your lawn is in the morning. By watering in the morning, you enjoy a couple of potential benefits. First, the temperatures are lower in the morning, so less of the water you apply will quickly be lost to evaporation. This is particularly important in the middle of the summer when afternoon temperatures may soar into the 80s and beyond. Watering when it is cooler means you’ll need to use less water to give your grass and other plants what they need to thrive. 

Also, and perhaps even more importantly, watering early in the day avoids having your grass remain wet when the sun goes down in the evening. You don’t want to leave your grass wet overnight, as doing so can set the stage for disease problems that will erode the health of the lawn. Ideally, you want the lawn to get the moisture it needs and have time to absorb that water into the root system. If you were to water heavily late in the evening, it’s almost certain the grass would stay wet all night, and fungus issues may soon follow. 

If you’re programming your sprinkler system, consider starting it around 7 or 8 a.m. This will get the grass off to a great start for the day, and it will have all the time it needs to dry out on the surface before night arrives.

Adjust as Necessary

While watering in the morning is a good plan most of the time, you do want to pay attention to the conditions and adapt as needed for best results. For instance, during a particularly hot and dry stretch, you might need to add a short afternoon watering session to take some of the stress off of your lawn. That morning application of water will still be important, but it might not be enough to get through the day. In such conditions, adding some water later in the day shouldn’t open up much risk of fungus or another disease, since the water will dry off the surface of the grass quite quickly in the heat. 

Other Important Watering Factors

Timing your watering sessions properly is important, but it’s not the only factor to keep in mind on this topic. Some other important points include the following –

• Frequency. Most of the time, you don’t want to be watering every day unless the weather is particularly hot. Aim for using just two or three watering sessions per week during the growing season. The key to executing this strategy is to thoroughly soak the lawn each time it is watered. Applying around an inch of water can help the roots to take hold firmly in the soil and it tends to be a more efficient use of water than applying a bit at a time, day after day.
• Duration. Along with frequency, the duration of your watering sessions is another key variable. As mentioned above, watering deeply a couple of times per week is preferred over watering lightly every day. To figure out how long your system needs to run, place a can out in the yard while the sprinklers are on and see how long it takes to get to an inch of water. Note that time and then adjust up or down from there throughout the season based on how much water your lawn needs to stay healthy in the current conditions. It’s often necessary to run a sprinkler system for close to 30 minutes to achieve good results, but that is going to vary from one lawn to the next. 

Even if you don’t have an automated sprinkler system, knowing what time to water your grass and plants is important if you want to achieve optimal results. Reach out to our team today to learn more about the many services we provide, such as lawn maintenance, to residential and commercial clients in the Jackson area.