Landscape overwatering and water runoff is a waste of your money and natural resources.

A vibrant green yard might needless water than you think. To help take the guesswork out of ‘when’ and ‘how much’ to water your landscaping – and drastically reduce the waste of water runoff, consider resources such as the:

• WaterMyYard program - free automated emails or texts on how much to water and when.
• Cycle and Soak irrigation method - drastically reduce or eliminate wasted water.
• ‘Smart’ Controllers - automatically adjust your irrigation needs based on local weather.
• Wi-Fi Garden Hose Timers - use your Smartphone to control watering schedules and more.

Texas A&M AgriLife Extention ‘WaterMyYard Program’

The WaterMyYard program uses local weather data in sponsored areas to provide free weekly watering advice. This data is collected from an extensive network of weather stations and rain gauges, and, along with research-based understanding of plant water needs, allow experts to send free customized weekly water advice for your specific lawn and irrigation system.

AgrilifeExtention – ‘Cycle and Soak’ irrigation method

The ‘Cycle and Soak’ method of applying water to the landscape is made up of multiple cycles for each station with a 30 to 60 minute pause to enable water to soak into the soil between cycles.

1. The first cycle will break the surface tension of the soil and saturate the top layer of soil.
2. The second cycle infiltrates the soil more efficiently and deeply after the first cycle.
3. A third, and sometimes a fourth cycle, is beneficial if a slope is involved or if runoff occurs after the sprinklers run for just a few minutes.

“Smart”Irrigation Controllers

A ‘smart’ controller intelligently optimizes your in-ground irrigation system by automatically adjusting to weather conditions, making it easier for you to maintain a healthy landscape while cutting water use.Some models adjust irrigation needs to real-time weather conditions and automatically include ‘Cycle and Soak’ in the schedules.