6 years ago I had sod laid down. I’m sure the couple inches of dirt in the sod are far different than my desert dirt. Which do I use for soil type? I would assume I should just pick whatever my regular soil is right? Especially since roots have to get down into there anyways
Yes, what came in the sod is mostly stolons, the roots will be mostly in the soil underneath.
Also, I’ll assume you have a warm season turf and as a result core aerate it at minimum of every 2 years, this aeration will move the soil under the sod to the surface so the sandy soil that came from the turf farm should be tumbled pretty well,and not need to be accounted for.
Actually I don’t, but will definitely add that to my list of To-Do’s to get the grass ready in the future years. Is it too late to do that this season now that the grass is already growing in?
No, now is the time, don’t punch it when it is dormant or getting ready to go,dormant.
You need a few weeks for the stolons to heal/recover but you don’t want to do it when the daily high is 95+ either.
I would do it if it were my yard…what type of turf?
Bermuda is as specific as I know. I don’t remember the variation.
Yea, I would still punch it since it has never been done. Bermuda can end up compacting the soil on its own with its stolen growth.
You could possibly see,some stress a week or 2 after but I doubt it, you lows are good, plus Bermuda is the terminator of turf grass.
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Always appreciate your input, thanks
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@Modawg2k Curious as to what you came up with for your soil type in Phoenix ? I’m in Ahwatukee. According to the soil survey web site I have Sandy Loam. With 6" root depth here’s my predicted schedule with durations of 16min.
I’m curious as how it compares to yours ?
Dave
I guess a better question is, how often does each zone repeat?
@plainsane I have it set to the default ‘Fixed Spray Head’, which says 1.5in/hr in the app. I changed my area to 510sf, but maybe I shouldn’t have ? I have 510sf for the whole lawn, with maybe 6 or so sprinklers covering that area. Warm Season Grass, Sandy Loam, Lots of Sun, Fixed Spray Head, Steep, Area=510sf, Available Water 0.12in (default), 6in RD, MAD 50%, Efficiency 80%, CC 65%.
The cycle is 9min duration, 30min soak, 9min duration.
Square footage on impacts the estimated water usage.
That sounds about right fixed spray heads throw a lot of water.
Is it typical to water turf every 2-3 days where you are at?
Yep, especially in the summer.
If it were my yard I would set mad to 70-80 and keep an eye on it and walk it downward if you see stress, and I would do this for 2 seasons to get that root deeper. If you increase the phosphorous in the fert, this will help the root stretch a bit
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but you would be walking a tightrope act
@plainsane I just might try that. I’m going to sit tight for a bit while while it comes out of dormancy, but would like to optimize it afterward. Your suggestion is a good way to go about that. Thanks.
This is my current setup. I keep playing around with settings and I am slowly trying to learn all the advanced features like actual precip rate, soil, etc. the survey site said I had sandy loam
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@Modawg2k. Thanks. If you don’t mind let me know how it goes, especially if you make changes that end up increasing your predicted frequent. If my landscape were programming my old Hunter they would have set three cycles of 12 minutes three times a week. That’s too much in my opinion, so I’m trying to get to something more reasonable. Given that we’re both in Phoenix and have the same soil and grass,we should be somewhat close, with differences perhaps due only to nozzles and slope.