There shouldn’t be a problem with the double zoned ones as long as you ran each zone for the same amount of time. I treat my overlapping zones as just one giant zone and just do the calculations together then use the same settings for both.
Storms are coming I believe
@plainsane - I forgot to mention … My watering is usually pretty early in the morning. It is set to start around 5:00 AM or so. I think that Rachio modifies that somehow. The sprinklers don’r always start at the same time.
@Modawg2k - I guess the forecast has changed … My next lawn watering is supposed to occur on 09-AUG now.
The only way the controller would modify the start time would be if there is another schedule running when the sprinklers are scheduled to run I think.
Rachio won’t change the start time of your schedule unless there are multiple schedules running that morning. I have my grass set to start at 5am, and drips to run at 5:01am, becaue on the days they overlap, I want my grass zones to water first to minimize evaporation. So on those days, my drips might not start until after 6am while waiting for my grass schedule to complete
1 Like
@AzJazz, I found that my pH was high, possibly due to rabbits. I’m not sure that the comment above about adding lime is necessarily in play. I had to add sulfur. Here’s some more info. in case you’d like to get a soil test to find out for sure.
1 Like
This entire post should be wiped. It was rabbits not Rachio.
1 Like
Thanks, @azdavidr! I will try a soil test to see if the rabbit pellets is the problem source.
However, I am also adding my sprinkler results in my main grass problem area to see if there are tweaks to be applied to my Rachio settings (Sprinkler time: 11 mins per zone):
Next, the other problem I mentioned earlier: My xeriscape is also suffering.
Here is a picture of one of my agaves (Note the dead stuff around the outside, and the blackening tips):
Here is another agave that I know is dead, but it may give a clue as to whether there is too much water or too little:
@AzJazz Did you buy the Orbit catch cups? If so they have a nice calculator that will give you a precipitation rate and efficiency. You would then compare them to what you have for the nozzle in your current setup. Assuming that they’re not the same, create a custom nozzle and attach it to your zone.
http://wateringschedule.com/get-started/#/stations
This link will show you how to click through the website to get the details that you need:
That soil test suggested soil amendment of sulfer and fertilizer made a big difference for me, in addition to spraying Ortho to keep the rabbits away add much as possible.
1 Like
@AzJazz Did you change your soil from Clay Loam to Sandy Loam. If so you should have seen a watering schedule change that could have a long term improvement to shrubs. Also, did you go through the Water Use It Wisely setup to see how these plants should be getting irrigated?
Here’s a guide I put together for that:
1 Like
@azdavidr - I ran the Orbit calculator for my SW zone, and saw the following results:
I put the Orbit Distribution Uniformity into the Rachio Efficiency setting for the zone.
I then created a Rachio Custom Nozzle with the Orbit 0.9 in/hr Precipitation Rate, and applied that to the zone.
This is what I show for my Zone settings now:
Here are my Moisture Level Details:
Hopefully, these look correct. I don’t know how long my heads will run for with the new grass settings - I couldn’t find where the new run times are shown.
@AzJazz It seems like you went through the right process. Where did you get that Available Water number? It seems low for Sandy Loam. Here’s a link to confirm that setting.
Take a look in the schedule itself. I believe you’ll see 25 minutes with the settings above, but you should check that AW number.
@azdavidr - @plainsane did some research and had suggested the AWC of 0.1 to me in a PM.However, I just used your link to the Web Soil Survey, which showed my AWC of 0.12
The Web Soil Survey gave me the following info for my soil type:
45% of this: 
And, 30% of this: 
I guess I’m not sure what I should use with respect to the AWC for my front plants - I had a professional landscaper do my front yard, and he pulled in truckloads of new soil for the whole front of my house.
Sorry for being a bone-head, but I can’t seem to find the future run times based on my changes. I know I saw it in the past, but I can’t remember where it was.
@AzJazz Only choose one of those profiles. The percentage is referring to the overall Area of Interest. Use the one that corresponds to the area of the map where your yard resides. For the front yard maybe youll want a mason jar test? Search on the support site for instructions.
Go to the area of the app for Watering Schedule, then edit the schedule interest. You should see the runtime. Likewise, you can click on the calendar to find a scheduled run for that zone. Click on it to see the watering duration, including soak times if you’re using Smart Cycle.
1 Like
OK, thanks! I knew I saw the run times before. I just didn’t drill down far enough into the settings.
My Smart Cycle currently shows:
- Grass: 23 mins / zone / (2 out of 3 days)
- Xeriscape: 32 mins after 3 days
- Trees & Plants: 2 hrs. + 34 mins after 8 days
I’m not sure what types of plants and trees you have on the same zone, but generally speaking trees have deeper and less frequent watering durations. It might be tough to keep both your plants and trees optimally watered and healthy as long as they’re on the same zone.
For your drip zones, did you go through the Water Use It Wisely setup? It’s your best reference to gauge if you are set up correctly for those zones.
1 Like