Lawn and Garden Sprinkler System
Best Use of Your Lawn and Garden Sprinkler System
Watering a lawn and garden in Southern California is a hot button issue, especially when we consider how often our region is under usage restrictions. So, while it may seem that the homeowner who installs a garden sprinkler system intends to use more than his or her fair share, it can actually be a step in the right direction. Consider some key benefits of using a well-designed yard sprinkler system:
- Even coverage: The best lawn sprinklers use heads with matched precipitation rates and are generally laid out in a triangular pattern to ensure that each and every area of the turf will receive roughly the same amount of water. Dry patches drive an impulse to overwater, which in turn can bring about undesirable weeds and mold in other areas of the lawn.
- Reduced overspray: Most novice homeowners have had the experience of trying to place a portable garden water sprinkler connected to a hose into just the right position to water the lawn without also doing the driveway, sidewalks, the side of our house, or worse, ourselves as we try to dart from the spray. An installed garden sprinkler, with regular service and maintenance, can be designed and positioned—permanently—to put water where it belongs.
- Moisture controls: Technology is on the side of sustainability here with an array of options for “smart” controllers; some can monitor the moisture level of the soil while others measure recent rainfall. For all of these systems, the bells and whistles have one goal: to keep the yard sprinkler system from running needlessly when rainfall has already done the job.
- Low-volume where it’s needed: Landscape bed areas that house shrubs, perennials, and groundcover have significantly lower watering needs. Plants generally have deeper roots for finding water than turf and the shade of larger material as well as a good mulch layer helps retain moisture in the soil. Therefore, a good drip garden irrigation system can help save water while keeping plants looking their best.
For all the benefits offered by a garden sprinkler system, it’s equally important to find a Santa Barbara landscape company who is expert in their maintenance and upkeep. An experienced landscaper such as SB Evolution Landscape can provide a full slate of quality services.
Garden sprinkler design
Before installation, our irrigation professionals will lay out a plan recommending the best lawn sprinklers and garden irrigation for your landscape. The design will take into consideration several factors to ensure an efficient and functional system:
- Your property’s available pressure and flow: Without proper water supply to the sprinkler heads, the coverage will be uneven and inefficient.
- Zone layout to ensure each area can receive adequate supply: Lawn areas have very different watering requirements from planting beds. Therefore, these should be placed in different zones and each area within them broken into smaller zones to stay well below the system’s maximum allowable pressure.
- Appropriate sprinkler types for lawn areas, shrubs, and perennials: Expansive lawn areas call for rotor sprays that can cover greater distances with increased efficiency while groundcovers and perennials do better with more targeted garden sprinklers such as bubblers and drip tubing.
Professional installation
A garden sprinkler system should be installed by a knowledgeable contractor who can read the design plans and carry out several crucial initial steps. Our team will follow a set of procedures from the beginning that can prevent problems down the road.
- Securing a permit: If the system will require a new connection to city water, SB Evolution’s professionals will be able to apply for the tap, get approvals, and coordinate the work.
- Reading the topography: Changes in elevation can greatly affect the system’s static pressure which can quickly change its dynamic and efficiency. When you have someone who can figure out how to keep water flowing downhill, you’ll have a system that runs as it should.
- Proper sleeving: When mains and laterals intersect paved surfaces, it’s best to provide a sleeve, which is just a fancy name for a larger pipe that houses the irrigation line. A sleeve makes digging up and removing lines possible without having to tear up concrete or asphalt.
- Setting the controller: The technology is improving all the time and with that comes controllers that are complicated and might need the expertise of our professionals who are accustomed to using them. An irrigation specialist such as SB Evolution Landscape will be able to set the controller for watering during optimum times and can educate you on how to use it, too.
Maintenance of your sprinkler system
Following the design and installation of your system, the next phase is keeping it running efficiently. A regular maintenance program is a critical to the long-term success of your irrigation system. SB Evolution Landscape can provide regular servicing and checks of your system to ensure that it is providing irrigation for your garden and lawn as intended. A good sprinkler system maintenance program would include:
- Monitoring coverage and controller scheduling: It’s good practice to have someone run the system just to check whether the spray areas are hitting as they were designed to. Sometimes a sprinkler head can get rotated, resulting in wet pavement and a dry lawn. Pressure changes can create overwatering in some areas with dry spots in others. Each season might require a check of controllers, too, to ensure that the watering schedule is appropriate for rainfall and meets any current watering restrictions that might be in place.
- Checking for leaks and broken sprinkler heads: Leaks can be the culprit in reduced water pressure and sprinkler heads not performing as they should. And if a sprinkler head is broken (it happens), it will need to be replaced in order to maintain even coverage across the lawn and garden.
- Clogged drip tubing: Sometimes dirt can get into a drip system, causing clogs and underwatered root systems. Our irrigation crews can identify these issues and flush out deposits and debris from drip lines.
- Eliminating scale and bacterial slime: Occasionally a system can be clogged by more than just dirt and needs a little extra care. Calcium carbonate scale, for example, can be combatted by flushing the system with a special acid treatment to alter its pH level; bacterial slime and algae, likewise, by flushing the system with a chlorine treatment.
SB Evolution is poised to help you design, install, and/or maintain your irrigation system for waterwise and efficient care of your property’s lawn and landscape.
I have used SB evolution landscape for 2 years, since purchase of my first home. I am very pleased with their service, from routine maintenance to clearing an entire hillside and planting a series of hydrangeas in a shady spot for me, as they are my favorite flower. They are very responsive to emails and phone calls and have given me a bouquet of flowers on completion of both bigger projects. Plus, my roses, orange trees, bamboo, callalillies, begonia and all other plants are so much healthier than when I purchased this property. Thank you Evolution!
They came out with their team and did a thorough investigation of what my yards needed. Jorge and his team are knowledgeable, work rapidly and the work is guaranteed.The office staff is quite helpful and can answer questions you may have. Beverly Silver
I was very impressed with the prompt, professional service from this company. Jorge showed up to go over the tree trimming project, made helpful suggestions and answered all my questions. The team that arrived to do the project was friendly, efficient and cleaned up all the debris spotlessly. I am very pleased with the customer service and high quality of the work of this company. Thank you, SB Evolution Landscape!
