Natural Green Lawn

You guys have been doing a great job keeping your lawns green and happy, and that is why I now need to help you with lawn watering and finding the very best sprinkler. Believe it or not, the kind of sprinkler you buy matters a lot when it comes to getting good, deep coverage.

If you buy the right sprinkler, your water will get to the roots instead of being evaporated or blown away in the wind, and that is why this is so important… water ain’t cheap! “Water Right –  Water Less!”

Best Sprinkler – Impact Sprinkler

The very best sprinkler to buy is the good ole fashioned impact sprinkler, also called an impulse sprinkler. These are the ones that make that familiar sound you hear on hot summer days, “tick tick tick, sssstttttt,   tick tick tick, sssstttttt”

The reason the impact or impulse sprinkler is the best sprinkler is because it throws out large droplets and keeps them low to the ground. With other types of sprinklers, the fine mist that is created can be blown around in the wind, and the fine droplets don’t soak in and can be evaporated away when the sun comes up.

With the impact sprinkler, we get a good soaking in the fastest time possible. In fact, I recommend you use a rain gauge to test just how much water is being laid down. We always recommend you water 1/2 inch two times per week unless we get an extremely dry period and then you should lay down 1/2 inch of water 3 times per week. Always water in the mornings between 5 AM and 10 AM. If you water in the evening, the moisture sits there all night in the heat an can cause lawn fungus. If you water early in the AM like I recommend, your grass will drink, and the leftovers will dry out slowly as the sun comes up. This is very natural! Below is a picture of a rain gauge that you can use to measure how much water your sprinkler is putting down. you only have to do this once. It would look funny if you dotted your lawn with these things all the time!

Either way, you want a sprinkler that will lay out that water efficiently and fast, and that is what an impact sprinkler does for you!

The Best Way To Adjust Your Impact Sprinkler

Now this is a tip that many of my customers (and you readers) have found helpful so I will share it again. The key to adjusting an impact sprinkler is in the nut! You see, if you don’t adjust your impact sprinkler properly, it will throw the water far away in a long arc and not cover the grass evenly. But if you adjust it using the screw (see picture) to slightly interrupt the stream of water, you will get a nice heavy fanned out water spray that is PERFECT for what we want!!! (I am so excited! )

Long story short: use that nut and screw it IN a little bit so you get a nice fan out like the picture below.

In My Lawn, This Is How I Utilize My Impact Sprinkler

My impulse sprinkler (the very one in these pics) will lay down ½ inch of water in an area in 42 minutes. In order for me to cover my entire front yard, I need to move it around to 2 distinct spots or “zones.” Look at this picture below and see the perfect fanned out pattern for laying down the right amount of water.

What this means is that I need to set aside about 80 minutes of time in order to water my entire front lawn with ½ inch of water. I do this two times per week, usually keeping the waterings 3 days apart. The only time I add more water to the schedule is during super hot and dry periods. I can usually tell I need to add a third day of watering when patches or areas of my lawn turn dark gray.

Below are a few of the very best impact sprinklers that I recommend. These are made with quality materials that will stand up to abuse, but more importantly, they will throw out the water better and in the right pattern. Trust me, buy a quality sprinkler and it will give you better results for a long time. metal metal metal!!