This video is great because I live in the north east and we really haven't gotten any rain at all since August. I'm literally as we speak watering my lawn . This is probably the fastest in the season I've had to do it
This issue has been driving me crazy this year. I generally ask my sprinkler guy for the last possible date to blow the system out, but due to scheduling and an upcoming vacation I have him coming on 10/21. I guess i will have to continue watering with the hose and a portable sprinkler. I love the channel and the content by the way. As someone (me) who is well above the average homeowner with lawn knowlege, i definitely appreciate all the content you put out on a plethora of topics.
The comments in this video thread are all similar. Sprinkler companies are demanding this job done too early. Stinks for those that rely on these companies. For above ground watering focus on the sunny areas or areas that get exposed wind. They'll dry out more than the shady spots and the shady spots will want to go dormant earlier anyway.
That would be so annoying to me. You know what I'm going to suggest but I'll say it anyway. Probably time to choose to either do it yourself (or learn to do it yourself) or find a new company to work with. That hard date they gave you is as dumb as a Christmas lights company that says they won't install Christmas lights before dec 20. It just doesn't make any sense. Those guys are just wanting to turn in their season early for personal reasons. I guarantee you there will be legitimate companies out there that would value taking jobs all the way to the end of Nov. I used to winterize my sprinklers early December every year up in Klamath Falls, OR well after we were having hard freezes. It was fine, just cold to work in during the chill of December.
@@TurfMechanic I have a three year warranty that voids if I try to maintain it myself or hire someone else. They've been good about fixing leaks and heads that have gone wrong under the warranty -- I don't want to lose that. They also do the required-by-law annual plumbing backflow certification that would stop if I dismissed them. I enjoy spring seeding, so it's one of those things that isn't worth getting upset over, but... yeah... it's interesting.
I bought a cheap but awesome compressor from Harbor Freight, so I just do it alot. I want to hard pipe my compressor from my crawlspace to my backflow preventer for quick blow outs.
Never! haha. I watered Nov 25th last year, it's so darn dry here. I of course had to blow my system out again but it was worth it. I renovated my lawn this fall in Denver and not a drop of rain fell for almost 3 months. We have crazy dry spells.
I'm in Lafayette. I blew out my sprinklers in December. I just drain the backflow if the temps get to freezing, and fire it back up when I want to water. 2 years ago I didn't even blow out the sprinklers. Sometimes I do a super deep water in January when we get those warm spells. The trees love it.
Yep, that's the issue so many people deal with. Dry spells that last for weeks or even months on end. Even when soils don't evaporate dry quickly they still need water. I even made a video a couple years back explaining why I sometimes irrigate the lawn in the middle of winter. It always has to do with dry spells. Once a month of no rain hits even in winter those roots need at least a small jolt of water to keep them fresh and ready for spring.
back in winter of '21 I didn't winterize my sprinklers at all! We got into the negative territory a few times that winter. So long as the entire line is well underground it's very hard to freeze those pipes. Granted if I had part of the system above ground then that would be different but in Oct/early Nov the risk of sprinkler damage for the vast majority of people is extremely low.
@@TurfMechanic I installed my own 75 MP head system a few years back. I used drain down valves at the ends of my runs and in low spots. I created dry wells at each drain down with a post hole digger and filled them with gravel. When the pressure is off, the valves open and drain into these dry wells. I've read many people that say no way, these are a nightmare. You have to know where they're at incase one fails. Ha.
@@TurfMechanic I bought the plugger from your Amazon link, thanks so much for that amazing video BTW. I've made a about a 150 plugs so far. This tool is bananas! Taking my bare spots back. Woot.
Nice explanation on soil temp. Was wondering about that as all the irrigation guys around here want to winterize mid to late October which is annoying.😂
I suspect many irrigation companies are looking to downsize their staff's for the winter when work is slow. My guess is many irrigation companies employ people that do seasonal work during the winter so they want to be done as early as possible. It's annoying; I'd go out of my way to find someone that was willing to work into Nov or just figure out the best way to do it yourself. FWIW, when I lived in OR, we'd get down below zero every winter but I never once blew out my irrigation system. All I did was open the valves and let it drain on it's own. Never had an issue.
What about watering new seed in the Northeast? I planted my tall fescue mix thevsecond week of September here in Northeast PA. How often, how long, and until when should I continue to water?
Thank you as always. Question: why does foot traffic damage our lawn so significantly and not during summer. Is there any we can do besides halting deliveries?
ugh, in 'I.C.' Iowa we've had one of the worst fall droughts I've ever seen, something like more than 8weeks with no rain at all - sadly I also invested in seed to do replantings or overseedings this time of year(which I've only attempted two of, instead of four, just so I could focus the watering more) seems like nothing has gotten that 'post summer bounce back' to get a good fall growth session; instead, a lot of the grass just isn't growing at all even if it is still green with weekly waterings - the two areas I seeded have gotten water multi times a day and are a few that show some growth in the whole neighborhood worth mowing at all, and still only a 30% chance of lite rain coming Tuesday in sight for the people(and areas of my property) that don't irrigate with the cracking soil...I've even had to apply the "baby shampoo" trick just to stop the ground from being so hydrophobic to get it to take what water I can give it areas like my 'sports court' should have been seeded over a month ago, come up, with a few mowings, and now fully ready for so many activities; instead is just dry dusty dead dirt(one of the two areas I killed off end of summer, but waited/waiting for some natural moisture to seed) I still can do a bit more leveling and smoothing on it but it just is so dusty to disturb it(so watered the bare dirt a bit yesterday) and planning on doing a cheap 'rapid grass Rye' seeding yet here before Halloween anyway(as temps have finally lowered now), at least that way it will have a straw top covering on it even if the grass doesn't come up in the advertised 3~7days .... another area I did a kill off on and just left it alone with the dead grass instead of working the soil and planting(it just looks like many of the other lawns around) and on that I'll just wait for spring to seed I guess for us, both the spring and summer were very wet, and all lawns looked great(altho so wet the roots didn't have to grow deep to find water?) but without a good fall growing season, I'm wondering what many of the lawns around here will look like in the spring
Once the grass goes completely dormant, will the roots still want/need moisture through the winter? I'm unclear if I should be hand-watering in December, January & February. I irrigate with an above-ground well pump and I have to winterize it, which means watering this large yard in the cold months must be done by hose, and I wonder if it's really necessary, or if I can aim for a deep soak to start things off in the Spring. I'm in a high desert and Winter is our dry season. I have a long-prong moisture meter, and the Buffalo grass roots are longer than 6"... I'm thinking that as long as there's moisture within 6" of soil, it should be OK? Or will moisture at that depth freeze and damage the roots? I don't know.
So is it a good idea to keep watering up until just before it gets cold enough to freeze the water? I put way too much time, money and brutally hard work into my lawns over the last 2-years to just watch everything crap out on me😮
When I lived in Oregon we'd get our first freezes in Oct and we'd regular get temps in the teens before Thanksgiving. Even still I irrigated once every 10 days or so all the way up until Dec when I'd finally winterize the sprinklers. We lived in a dry climate so it was necessary. Occasionally I'd even water once in Jan if we went a long stretch without snow or freezing rain. Most places won't have to do the winter irrigation but for the driest places even that is necessary. All that's to say don't let a little freezing temps scare you in the Fall. The water is coming from deep in the ground. It's cold to the touch but way warmer than the air or soil...and when it's flowing its not going to freeze. Just don't water too much, you don't need a soupy mess that freezes the next night.
I’ve been watering it this October because we are on track for the driest October on record. We’ve had barely a trace all month.
This video is great because I live in the north east and we really haven't gotten any rain at all since August. I'm literally as we speak watering my lawn . This is probably the fastest in the season I've had to do it
Same here. It’s been a surprising drought. I’m even seeding bare patches, and they’re germinating nicely.
This issue has been driving me crazy this year. I generally ask my sprinkler guy for the last possible date to blow the system out, but due to scheduling and an upcoming vacation I have him coming on 10/21. I guess i will have to continue watering with the hose and a portable sprinkler. I love the channel and the content by the way. As someone (me) who is well above the average homeowner with lawn knowlege, i definitely appreciate all the content you put out on a plethora of topics.
The comments in this video thread are all similar. Sprinkler companies are demanding this job done too early. Stinks for those that rely on these companies. For above ground watering focus on the sunny areas or areas that get exposed wind. They'll dry out more than the shady spots and the shady spots will want to go dormant earlier anyway.
Couldn’t you find another sprinkler guy?
Learn to do it yourself. Very easy to do.
This is good because I tend to push it as far as I can before i blow out the sprinkler.
My irrigation district shuts off the pump on Oct 15. Time to drag out the hose and manual sprinkler.
This was great insight!
My sprinkler service's last turn-off appointment is November 2. I agree with you and asked for a later date; they said "no."
That would be so annoying to me. You know what I'm going to suggest but I'll say it anyway. Probably time to choose to either do it yourself (or learn to do it yourself) or find a new company to work with. That hard date they gave you is as dumb as a Christmas lights company that says they won't install Christmas lights before dec 20. It just doesn't make any sense. Those guys are just wanting to turn in their season early for personal reasons. I guarantee you there will be legitimate companies out there that would value taking jobs all the way to the end of Nov. I used to winterize my sprinklers early December every year up in Klamath Falls, OR well after we were having hard freezes. It was fine, just cold to work in during the chill of December.
@@TurfMechanic I have a three year warranty that voids if I try to maintain it myself or hire someone else. They've been good about fixing leaks and heads that have gone wrong under the warranty -- I don't want to lose that. They also do the required-by-law annual plumbing backflow certification that would stop if I dismissed them. I enjoy spring seeding, so it's one of those things that isn't worth getting upset over, but... yeah... it's interesting.
I bought a cheap but awesome compressor from Harbor Freight, so I just do it alot. I want to hard pipe my compressor from my crawlspace to my backflow preventer for quick blow outs.
Never! haha. I watered Nov 25th last year, it's so darn dry here. I of course had to blow my system out again but it was worth it. I renovated my lawn this fall in Denver and not a drop of rain fell for almost 3 months. We have crazy dry spells.
I'm in Lafayette. I blew out my sprinklers in December. I just drain the backflow if the temps get to freezing, and fire it back up when I want to water. 2 years ago I didn't even blow out the sprinklers. Sometimes I do a super deep water in January when we get those warm spells. The trees love it.
Yep, that's the issue so many people deal with. Dry spells that last for weeks or even months on end. Even when soils don't evaporate dry quickly they still need water. I even made a video a couple years back explaining why I sometimes irrigate the lawn in the middle of winter. It always has to do with dry spells. Once a month of no rain hits even in winter those roots need at least a small jolt of water to keep them fresh and ready for spring.
back in winter of '21 I didn't winterize my sprinklers at all! We got into the negative territory a few times that winter. So long as the entire line is well underground it's very hard to freeze those pipes. Granted if I had part of the system above ground then that would be different but in Oct/early Nov the risk of sprinkler damage for the vast majority of people is extremely low.
@@TurfMechanic I installed my own 75 MP head system a few years back. I used drain down valves at the ends of my runs and in low spots. I created dry wells at each drain down with a post hole digger and filled them with gravel. When the pressure is off, the valves open and drain into these dry wells. I've read many people that say no way, these are a nightmare. You have to know where they're at incase one fails. Ha.
@@TurfMechanic I bought the plugger from your Amazon link, thanks so much for that amazing video BTW. I've made a about a 150 plugs so far. This tool is bananas! Taking my bare spots back. Woot.
Good heads up.
I was plan in on shutting down sprinklers this weekend
Always glad to put stuff out just ahead of y'all's needs! :D
Nice explanation on soil temp. Was wondering about that as all the irrigation guys around here want to winterize mid to late October which is annoying.😂
I suspect many irrigation companies are looking to downsize their staff's for the winter when work is slow. My guess is many irrigation companies employ people that do seasonal work during the winter so they want to be done as early as possible. It's annoying; I'd go out of my way to find someone that was willing to work into Nov or just figure out the best way to do it yourself. FWIW, when I lived in OR, we'd get down below zero every winter but I never once blew out my irrigation system. All I did was open the valves and let it drain on it's own. Never had an issue.
What about watering new seed in the Northeast? I planted my tall fescue mix thevsecond week of September here in Northeast PA. How often, how long, and until when should I continue to water?
Thank you as always. Question: why does foot traffic damage our lawn so significantly and not during summer. Is there any we can do besides halting deliveries?
ugh, in 'I.C.' Iowa we've had one of the worst fall droughts I've ever seen, something like more than 8weeks with no rain at all - sadly I also invested in seed to do replantings or overseedings this time of year(which I've only attempted two of, instead of four, just so I could focus the watering more) seems like nothing has gotten that 'post summer bounce back' to get a good fall growth session; instead, a lot of the grass just isn't growing at all even if it is still green with weekly waterings - the two areas I seeded have gotten water multi times a day and are a few that show some growth in the whole neighborhood worth mowing at all, and still only a 30% chance of lite rain coming Tuesday in sight for the people(and areas of my property) that don't irrigate with the cracking soil...I've even had to apply the "baby shampoo" trick just to stop the ground from being so hydrophobic to get it to take what water I can give it
areas like my 'sports court' should have been seeded over a month ago, come up, with a few mowings, and now fully ready for so many activities; instead is just dry dusty dead dirt(one of the two areas I killed off end of summer, but waited/waiting for some natural moisture to seed) I still can do a bit more leveling and smoothing on it but it just is so dusty to disturb it(so watered the bare dirt a bit yesterday) and planning on doing a cheap 'rapid grass Rye' seeding yet here before Halloween anyway(as temps have finally lowered now), at least that way it will have a straw top covering on it even if the grass doesn't come up in the advertised 3~7days .... another area I did a kill off on and just left it alone with the dead grass instead of working the soil and planting(it just looks like many of the other lawns around) and on that I'll just wait for spring to seed I guess
for us, both the spring and summer were very wet, and all lawns looked great(altho so wet the roots didn't have to grow deep to find water?)
but without a good fall growing season, I'm wondering what many of the lawns around here will look like in the spring
Brian , tempted to over seed some annula rye ( for the first time ) think it may be too late * for us in so cal ?
Once the grass goes completely dormant, will the roots still want/need moisture through the winter? I'm unclear if I should be hand-watering in December, January & February. I irrigate with an above-ground well pump and I have to winterize it, which means watering this large yard in the cold months must be done by hose, and I wonder if it's really necessary, or if I can aim for a deep soak to start things off in the Spring. I'm in a high desert and Winter is our dry season. I have a long-prong moisture meter, and the Buffalo grass roots are longer than 6"... I'm thinking that as long as there's moisture within 6" of soil, it should be OK? Or will moisture at that depth freeze and damage the roots? I don't know.
The problem is my irrigation company winterizes mid October.
So is it a good idea to keep watering up until just before it gets cold enough to freeze the water? I put way too much time, money and brutally hard work into my lawns over the last 2-years to just watch everything crap out on me😮
When I lived in Oregon we'd get our first freezes in Oct and we'd regular get temps in the teens before Thanksgiving. Even still I irrigated once every 10 days or so all the way up until Dec when I'd finally winterize the sprinklers. We lived in a dry climate so it was necessary. Occasionally I'd even water once in Jan if we went a long stretch without snow or freezing rain. Most places won't have to do the winter irrigation but for the driest places even that is necessary. All that's to say don't let a little freezing temps scare you in the Fall. The water is coming from deep in the ground. It's cold to the touch but way warmer than the air or soil...and when it's flowing its not going to freeze. Just don't water too much, you don't need a soupy mess that freezes the next night.
I water, up till it hits the freeze-zone at night
That's a good rule of thumb to follow for sure, especially if you get occasional rain in late Fall.
Should be noted that if you a crappy lawn , don't waste water on a crappy lawn although I'm assuming if your watching this you might have a nice lawn
Learn to shut your sprinklers down yourself. Easy to do.