New Grass Seed Option

When you plant grass seed, especially in the summer in Colorado, you need to water it for short periods multiple times a day to keep the seed moist. It would be nice if there was an option to tell the Iro that a zone has new grass seed, and then once automatic schedules come out automatically adjust the schedules for the zones with the new seed to run for shorter periods more frequently to keep the new seed moist.

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Part of the reason for my purchase was so that I could easily create/modify schedules as needed for the re-seeding I just started. I was hoping this exact feature would exists (or some way to easily duplicate a schedule at different times).

Would love to see this feature in the next few days as I just laid the seed down today. (Wishful thinking)

Hi @cdeptula and @seankearney‌ we have an app submitted to the app store now that should be out in the next couple of days that will include cycle-and-soak at the individual watering time (schedule) level. If you toggle on the cycle soak feature, it will break up watering times for a specific zone based on its soil type.

So, for example, if you have a zone for your seeding and its soil type is clay (common in Colorado), its vegetation type is grass and you bumped the minutes up to say 30 minutes (or wherever you want it), our system would break it up into 5 4 minute runtimes, insuring 30 minutes between each cycle.

I’m sure it won’t meet every need out of the gates, but hopefully it will help you better water you newly seeded areas.

Is this feature available yet for Android? I just planted new seed and the 20 minute soak is way, way too much.

I am putting in a new lawn… tomorrow. Have there been any improvements since this post? My irrigation guy is nervous and keeps mumbling a competitors name that he is familiar with under his breath and how they too can be controlled by a smart phone. Any tips?

Hi @leeowen,

Congrats on the new lawn! We don’t have a pre-set seed watering time at this time, but I can tell you how to schedule the watering times if it helps :wink:

I’d recommend giving the grass seed a drink every morning before dawn and evening after dusk (provided it doesn’t go against any watering restrictions in your area).

Once you see some germination (hopefully after 7-10 days), then cut back to once a day watering, but start to train the grass to use less water.

After the grass is established and safe to walk on (or passes the “mower test”), you’ll be safe to resume to normal watering times.

Will you be watering with spray heads or rotors? If I know this, I can recommend watering times for you.

We’d be happy to chat with him. You should show him our new feature, Shared Access.

Hope this helps. Enjoy!

Best, Emil

I am using rotors that are set to .36 in per hour. I am on a well. So we don’t want to deplete the AM shower. At 12 GPM of well output we should be fine.How do you train the grass to use less water? can you clarify: “Once you see some germination (hopefully after 7-10 days), then cut back to once a day watering, but start to train the grass to use less water.”

I gave my installer access… didn’t use it. I just set them up with his input on heads and output.

I think the Rachio could use a more positive seating on the mount and allow for wires especially on a 16 station mount.

Hi @leeowen, good evening. Thanks for the reply.

Do you know the head type/model and/or nozzle that has been installed?

Sorry, I forgot to ask, what type of grass did you plant?

This is smart watering in a nutshell. In short, the proper way to water a lawn is thoroughly but infrequently. Many people (contractors included) teach their lawn to expect watering on a daily or every other day basis. As such, the plant’s root structure adapts to this. It’s no different then humans with a bad diet that never exercises…after long enough, it becomes the norm and anything outside of that is a discomfort; emotionally or physically, at least for humans ;). The only difference is with plants, this discomfort leads to stress and possible death once it exceeds it’s permanent wilting point.

With seed, initially you have to water frequency to get the seed to spout and take root, but once this happens, you want to start watering less frequently to promote deep root growth. Otherwise, the grass will get use to an “easy drink” and never develop a deep root structure. Watering correctly is a perception shift, but it’s important to remember an established lawn will not die if you underwater it. The risk (and cost) of overwatering is always higher than under watering.

That’s a bummer. I would have killed for that feature in my field days as a sprinkler tech. If he changes his mind, he should check out our new pro site.

Thanks for the feedback. I’ll share this with the hardware team for further review.

Hope this helps.

Best, Emil

The rotors are Hunter PGP’s with the 6 nozzle. We are planting bluegrass and fescue mix

My installer tried to use the access today and it told him the landscaper access no longer worked and to use Shared access… I saw him try on his phone. No Bueno!

please PM me and I’ll send you his info. GREAT installer!!

Having a seed setting would be very helpful in setup at least to get a lawn going. We seed in the AM so I hope you can send me some settings to work with tonight. Thanks for your help.

I don’t have my Rachio yet so I have not tried this but on the IFTTT site I noticed a recipe for watering every hour for sod - which, I think, would work for seeds.

@leeowen, good morning, sorry we couldn’t connect yesterday.

As @Norm mentioned, the IFTTT recipe to water every hour for sod could be used for your new seed. I’d be happy to help you create your own recipe if you’d like the settings to be different.

Getting back to your nozzles and precip rates, are you using these nozzles? If so, I’m concerned we might have the wrong precip rate as I believed you mentioned you were using rotors that are set to .36 in per hour, but the 6 nozzle will output .57 to .84 in per hour depending on your system’s pressure (PSI), flow (GPM), and the head’s radius (ft). Output .57 to .84 in per hour assumes a flow of 4 to 7 GPM, which shouldn’t interfere with your well or AM shower. The best way to find the exact precip rate is to perform a catch cup test and then create a custom nozzle to match.

Is this a custom blend, or did you purchase pre-mixed from a lawn and garden store? I only ask as I’m curious if you have a 50/50 blend, 80/20 blend, etc.

Remember to do the following if you haven’t already:

  1. Mulch with a weed-free straw, such as wheat straw. As an alternative, you can use a seed starter mat or seed blanket to help keep the seed and loose soil from washing or blowing away.

  2. Water frequently to keep the seeds moist (don’t saturate). Cut watering back to once a day when the grass reaches about 1 inch in height.

  3. Mow when the grass reaches 2 1/2 inches - 3 inches.

In general, with seed, you need to keep your soil moist for two to three weeks. Re-water when soil looks dry on top in mornings. Do not allow water to pool or it can create dead spots. It is best to water for short periods of time while establishing, keep moisture on the upper level of the soil where the seed is planted. After the seedlings emerge you can start to reduce your watering and let the soil start to dry a little more so the roots will grow deeper in the soil as the plants get more established.

Let me know your thoughts on the precip rate and well as your current watering schedule for the seed.

Best, Emil

How do you get to this “Cycle and Soak” option. I have a new lawn, just hydro seeded. My work around was to do a 50% seasonal adjustment (vs my 1/4" target) , and then water twice a day at 6am and 8pm. Is there a better way to do this?

Hi @grcanepa, Smart Cycle is a great benefit of the Iro. It’s determined by your nozzle type, soil type and slope selections on a zone by zone basis. For more information, please reference our Smart Cycle support article.

Without knowing your current zone attribute configuration(s), it’s hard to make recommendations on if there’s a better way to setup your schedule. Soil and nozzle selection play the biggest roles in determining the cycle and soak durations for Smart Cycle.

We’d be happy to review your zones and watering times if you send our support team [support@rachio.com] a quick note with your Rachio username and/or Iro serial number :smiley:

Hope this helps.

Best, Emil

Same thought here. Granted it’s not to difficult to set it up for manual run but having an option for new seeds/over seeding where it runs for only a set period of time (about 6 weeks?) would be a great addition imo.

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CHRIS, is it possible to do this for just one zone? I am reseeding with a blend of fescues and Texas bluegrass on 4,000 square feet on a rotor zone with 9 rotors.

Hey @robertokc, this thread is a tad old and I’d like to make sure we address your question. What are you looking to do?

I found my answer when looking at scheduling options on my app. Thanks. I really like Rachio.

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After recently re-seeding my entire lawn (had some not-so-stellar sod installed by the builders), I was able to see the full power of Rachio. However, I think the entire process could be a bit more automated.

I set up two new schedules in addition to my Flex Schedule - Overseeding Morning and Overseeding Evening. I gradually decreased them over time and eventually took zones off evening. It would be AWESOME to have a way to gradually do a switch from Overseeing to Flex. I know it would take some programming but it would have been super helpful to me.

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You mean a landscape establishment feature. That would be very cool. 21 days for new sod and perhaps 30 days for seed then automatically switch to flex or fixed schedule whatever.

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