In this email: | | 👋 Hey there ! | A quick Waves reminder you can pin to the fridge: simple, science-based watering guidance for Southwest Florida. Use this as your baseline and adjust week-to-week for rainfall and what you see on the lawn. | | 💧 General Guidelines (SW Florida lawns) | Soils: Our sandy/loamy soils drain quickly—great for deep watering, not great for daily sprinkles. Per session target: When the lawn is dry, aim for ½–¾ inch per irrigation event to wet the root zone. Weekly total (rain + irrigation): In warm months, most turf does well around 1.0–1.5 inches per week. Deep & infrequent beats light & frequent: Light, frequent runs = shallow roots, more weeds, more disease. Stay compliant: Many districts cap watering to 1–2 days/week. Always follow your local schedule.
| | 📅 Suggested Schedule by Season (SW Florida) | Tweak based on rainfall, soil moisture, and how the lawn looks. | Season / Period | Weekly Goal (rain + irrigation) | Typical Irrigation Frequency* | Per-Session Amount | Notes |
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Summer / Rainy (Jun–Sep) | ~1.0–1.5" | Up to 2×/week (or skip if storms drench) | ½–¾" | Let rain do the heavy lifting. Watch for soggy spots/fungus. | Shoulder (Apr & Oct) | ~1.0" | 1–2×/week | ~½" | Gradually step down from summer; nights are cooler. | Winter / Drier (Nov–Feb/Mar) | 0.5–1.0" only if needed | 1×/week or every 10–14 days | ½–¾" | Turf growth slows. Skip if rainfall met the goal. |
| * Frequency may be limited by local watering restrictions (often max 2 days/week). | | 🔧 Fast Calibration (so your minutes match the inches) | Place 3–5 small cups in a zone. Run that zone for your usual minutes. Measure and average the depth collected. Adjust runtime until one cycle = ½–¾". (That’s your per-zone baseline.)
| | ✅ Best Practices | Water at dawn (roughly 4–10 a.m.) to reduce evaporation and disease. Use your rain sensor and the controller’s Seasonal Adjust to throttle run times as temps drop. Check coverage each month—realign clogged or leaning heads; fix leaks and overspray. Skip a run if: you measured ≥0.75" rain in 48 hrs, blades aren’t folded, no bluish cast, and footprints don’t linger. Don’t “mist” daily. If you need to cool hot pavement edges in summer, keep syringing short and separate from your main cycles.
| | 👀 Quick “Needs Water” Field Test | Blades fold lengthwise, color turns slightly bluish-gray. Your footprints stay visible instead of springing back. A screwdriver doesn’t penetrate easily to 3–4".
| | 🚩 Call Us If… | A “dry” patch doesn’t perk up after a correct deep morning cycle (likely pests/disease, not drought). You see runoff before you hit ½" (we’ll split cycles or adjust heads). Irrigation times changed due to new restrictions and you want us to reprogram the controller.
| Cheers, to a greener lawn,
— The Waves Pest Control Team 🌊 |
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