I just installed a Rachio and am trying to determine the best schedule type for my yard. While investigating the options, I read that I can create multiple schedules per zone. What is the reason/advantage for having multiple schedules for a zone?
Thanks!
You can do a short watering cycle (say 5 minutes) to “pre-soak” the turf followed by 10-15 minutes to allow that water to be absorbed. Then do your normal longer watering time (say 20 minutes) to allow that water to get a deeper penetration and absorption to the roots. Dry soil has a harder time absorbing water and the “pre-soak” should moisten the soil enough to enable better water absorption for the longer cycle.
This is what the Rachio flex-schedule will do; however, if you are like me, I’m more comfortable with doing a fixed-schedule with two waterings for now. I’ll experiment more with the flex-schedule a little later in the season after I do some more research and experimentation.
I would say that we allow this for special situations (ie new sod) but it is absolutely not necessary! @comsciguy mentioned having a little presoak, which there is definitely benefit to, but you can also try our “Smart Cycle” feature to accomplish this as well!
Thanks to you both!