Honestly about ready to switch back to my old controller

@JBHorne Respectfully disagree. City recommendations are about every 3 days in the peak heat, and I know a lot of o people that run with that successfully. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t doubt you have a brown lawn, but I just wanted to point out the longer intervals should work. I think the problem is that was what your lawn was used to pre-Rachio, and when you suddenly switched schedules the lawn couldn’t make the adjustment that fast. Your roots may have been shallow, and there was a sudden change assuming deep roots. There are other issues like lack of detaching that might make it more difficult. If what I’m saying is true and you used to water daily and for short durations drop your root depth setting to something like 3-4 inches, have your landscaper detatch, then apply a fertilizer if the temps are low enough. Make sure you use a fertilizer that is appropriate for this time of year. I applied mine late evening, and the fertilizer was one recommended by Ewing in Chandler. If you’re not careful the fertilizer week burn the Bermuda. It will take a while, but i think the Bermuda will fill back in if you can do this successfully. As it starts to fill in start increasing your root depth gradually, and eventually you’ll get too water every 3 or 4 days.

On the irrigation turning on during the watering, there are differing factors that would cause that depending on the schedule you’re running. Your best bet for what you want to achieve its Flex Daily, but even then it might have happened. I believe that the 100% is based in current conditions, but the determination too water might have been made at an earlier time. Your screen seems to indicate fixed schedules. Do those schedules have Rain Skip turned on, and if they do what is the threshold that you have selected for it?

I agree with you that soil probes would be great. The technology isn’t there yet, at least for large consumer deployment at a reasonable price.

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Ok, let’s get you on track, I don’t like to get long winded so one thing at a time.

Are all of your zones bermuda grass? Or do you have other non-grass zones in the same schedule as your grass? If you have grass and other items like shrubs, etc, then break those items up into their own schedules. So you should only have grass in 1 schedule, and then put shrubs in another schedule.

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Hi guys, thanks for the assistance. Again, I know my issues are beyond just watering. There is no excuse for my crappy landscapers…but I digress…

I have four zones, two front yard Bermuda zones, a back yard Bermuda zone, and all of my drips (front and back) on the last zone.

I uploaded many pictures to OneDrive and added captions. Click on the first photo and you should see the caption at the bottom. From there you can scroll through them.

https://1drv.ms/f/s!AliW3VjQucDpwiEV_2Jz4CAnwnf7

Again, I thank you all for your help.

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I guess I was just frustrated. I agree this isn’t how it should be, only how the majority of our landscapers operate.

Dumb question @JBHorne, but have you confirmed that the nozzles in the bad areas are in fact giving you a good spray pattern? You certainly have some slopes in your yard, do you have those accounted for in the zone setup? Are you utilizing the “smart cycle” on those zones? That will help with runoff.

Also, have you ruled out a fungus or bug? I notice in this picture your neighbors adjoining yard looks similar.

Also, can you post the details of your zone set-up?

@JBHorne Hey does that owl work to keep critters and birds off your water feature? I always have birds and mice running all over mine like it’s an oasis

I have confirmed that the nozzles are good. In fact, I replaced them all. I have accounted for the slopes in Smart Cycle. Yes, my neighbors yard has the same issue, hence why I’ve thought of a fungus as well. Who would I even contact to have that diagnosed?

I think this may be my first issue before I go about fixing the watering issue.

The owl works for birds at least. Not sure about mice. You have to move it frequently or else they get used to it. Like every 2-3 days. Stops them from shitting and bathing in my waterfall and the spillover between the spa and pool. Otherwise they make a mess.

@JBHorne Years ago, I had a tree growing next to my lawn. Over time, the area of the grass near the shade of the tree started to have problems, and eventually not grow. My landscaper said it was a common problem, and it seems consistent with what I see throughout the neighborhood. I’ve long since removed the tree for that reason, and as it was planted too close to the house anyway. Anyhow, from looking at the pictures shade looks to be the issue that you have in front.

Sorry for the bad news, but that’s my take. I’m no expert of course. For the back yard lawn, what percentage of the day would you say you had shade ? From the article:

If you feel that the far back area gets enough sun, I would guess that you’re not getting the same amount of water on that area as the rest. When it’s running, is there any overspray at the borders, or does it barely get there. Does the water from one head reach the ones adjacent to it ? The real test is a catch cup test, but as you clearly stated you’re fine with hiring this kinda stuff out. I almost contracted it out myself, so I did poke around a bit. When they told me there would be a min. $100 charge I went the DIY route. :wink:

Anyway, look up ‘Chandler Irrigation Audit’, or something similar. I found this one, but it looks like they are for commercial properties. Take a look at the video on their home page to see exactly what I’m talking about.

You might call them, and if they don’t do residential I would think they could refer you to someone that does. You might also contact Ewing Irrigation in Chandler. Ask them if they know somebody that does irrigation audits.

You have some nice shrubbery. I’d recommend having your landscaper pull the dead parts, and also follow this procedure to make sure that your current schedule for anything emitter based is as it should be.

I hope this helps.

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@JBHorne As I drove home today I snapped some examples of other lawns with the shade issue. I think the guy in the second pic must have just given up on having a summer lawn. There are a couple (not pictured) that have trees and look better. The shaded part on those isn’t as nice as the rest, but not bad either. I wonder if they have a different type of turf, or some other magical technique. It’s extremely irritating that landscape designers make plans with lawns and trees that will eventually kill those lawns. Like I said, I’m no expert but it’s what I’ve experienced, and as you can see seems a possibility based on other examples around these parts.

If you can find a turf specialist maybe they can help. Along those lines, they might even be able to do the irrigation audit too.

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Possibilities @JBHorne ? I have no personal experience with any of them.

For the front yard:
http://www.trugreen-tempe.com

I would think these guys would be able to help with the back yard if shade isn’t your issue there but sprinkler coverage is.

@azdavidr brings up a very good point as well. Shade is horrible for Bermuda. Seems as the bermuda ages, it is less tolerant to shade. In looking back at your pictures, you dug a hole, was that in the front yard? From those pictures, there certainly looks to be moisture in the soil.

For the back, if it does get a good amount of sun, I would say you need to take a look at your settings. What you have set for the nozzle on these zones? What did you end up replacing with? Let’s make sure the nozzle you have set up in the zones matches what you are actually running.

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@azdavidr awesome work

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Thanks @Modawg2k. As you know it’s hard to forget those painful turf memories.

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@azdavidr great job! I think you’ve solved it.

Maybe @JBHorne would consider St. Augustine, It’s more shade tolerant.

I can’t count the number of times I have seen landscaping that is doomed to failure. I watched as a neighbor planted a kidney-shaped Bermuda lawn at the base of an older saguaro. Then watched as the saguaro declined over several years. It does take them a while to die.

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Good to know!

I’ve heard of St. Augustine, but it seems as if this is mostly used in high humidity areas, like Texas. I’ve never heard of it used here, but I’ll check.

I’m going to pick up a set of catch cups and run the test again. I know I have a lot of overspray (and thus low efficiency) as it’s very difficult to water from the perimeter of oddly shaped areas. Lots of water spraying the rocks just to cover an area. Also, there are no sprinklers in the middle of these yards due to the fact they are On Lot Water Retention (OLWR) zones. So, all my water has to come from the perimeter, which makes it tough. I’ve thought about changing out one of the heads to one of those orbiting sprinklers to get better coverage in the middle. I guess the catch cup test will tell me if this is required.

Thanks all!

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Seems as though there might be a variant of St. Augustine called Palmetto St. Augustine sold here in Arizona, but it looks like the problem with St. Augustines is that it isn’t recommended to overseed. I could almost live with that, but the fact that it also recommends mowing with a reel mower.

Well, if that’s the recommendation, we’ve never followed it. Doesn’t seem to harm our lawn. These turf growers recommend that though. Phoenix Sod for the Arizona Climate | Evergreen Turf Sod Supplier The lawn is the Hubs responsibility. I do mow on occasion, but my focus is the veggies and flowers.