One of the ideas I am seriously considering at this point is upgrading our irrigation here at New Home.
Our subdivision (built circa mid 1990's) has decent sized lots for the time period (not like those ridiculous "zero clearance" homes they are building now, where one is - literally - cheek in jowl with one's neighbor). About 50% of the homes have in-ground sprinkler systems and 50% do not, leading me to believe this was an option but not a feature (currently all new homes are built with at least a front yard watering system; the backyard is left up to the buyer).
As a result, any and all watering is by hand or by moving a sprinkler hither and yon. It leads to rather inconsistent results as well, both in watering and in the fact of what survives from year to year.
This would be the year to do it - thanks to Snowpacalypse 2021 the yard is mostly gone at this point (whatever grass we had planted, it apparently does not do well with a long stretch of freezing temperatures) so any digging that would be done would be inconsequential in the long run.
It is an investment, of course - but one that would actually be worth something when we sell the home. It would also lend itself to a larger remodel of the yard, which it appears is pretty needed and would serve to increase the overall home value (as well as, hopefully, some additional garden beds).
(I know, I know - I write of the end of the world and yet I am speaking of investing in a home improvement. Plan for the worst, hope for the best).
It would be money, of course (sprinklers are something I could do in two months or pay someone two days to do - but perhaps money well invested, both in terms of the ultimate investment in home as well as in month water bills (which could be made much more regular in the summer, which here lasts at least 6 months).
The fact I am thinking about this at all, given the nature of the world, makes me chuckle a bit - but looking at an essentially dead lawn which, if not cared for and improved, which just break apart and start to degrade with the heavy rains we get here, convinces me I will need to do something.
A subject of which I know nothing about. Our grass can't be killed, even during a long cold cycle like the one we had in February that broke records over a hundred years old. Drought will kill it for the rest of a season, but even it will come back the following year. So as you might expect, I don't know a single sole with irrigation lines in their yards. To me, it seems like just creating unnecessary work installing it and then later mowing when you grass continues to grow due to adequate hydration.
ReplyDeleteEd, it is a bit of a functionality of living suburbanly (unless one wants to move to xeriscaping). Sadly, it also adds to the sales value of a city home. So worth considering.
DeleteI put in my own at my previous house. The hardest part was trenching in 110* desert heat... in JULY! I went with a Rachio net-enabled controller. At around $250.00, it's about s expensive as a timer can get, but given the Left-wing induced price of water in the Wild, Wild West, it'll pay for itself in time. Part of the expense is because I needed a 16-zone controller here at Rancho Whybother. The Rachio allows me to control my system from my computer or phone. It references my net-enabled weather station, and will automatically skip cycles if it has rained, or if there are high winds. It adjusts watering times based on the trending temperatures. I also found out that it will alert me if one of the valve solenoids goes bad, and will skip that zone until I clear the alert.
ReplyDeleteIf you go the DYI route, make sure you measure the spacing between sprinkler so that the stream from one head will reach the next head down the line; "head-to-head spacing is what it's called. Also; "avoid future regret;" don't cheap out on the valves and sprinkler heads.
Pete - Ugh! Trenching in July in the desert sounds, well, abysmal. Understood given the water situation in the West. Thanks for the recommendation on the controller - I have seen recommendations on the net enable weather stationed. Makes a lot of sense, given that we live in a zone where rain in summer happens.
DeleteHonestly, not thinking DYI at all. There are some things that overmatch my willingness to learn, and this is one of them.
Try aeration first. Helps improve water retention too. Also fertilizer will help it through dry spells better
ReplyDelete. Just a thought!
EGB, all good ideas. We live in the land of hot and humid, so we can get rain during the summer - or go weeks without. That said, water is expensive. So I am evaluating all options - for example, I have made a different plan for the garden (Ollahs) than what I had originally intended, partially because of cost but also because it allows me to manage the water more effectively.
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