Watering Information

What Time of Day Should I Water?

In Orange County, we recommend watering before 9AM and after 5PM. Watering during this time takes advantage of relatively low winds and less loss of water to evaporation.

How Long Should I Water?

If you have an automatic irrigation controller, this is usually called Run Time or Water Time.

Try the Runoff Test first. Run your irrigation system until water starts to runoff. This will be the longest amount of time you run your system. It may be 90 seconds or 10 minutes depending on the type of soil you have, the type of irrigation system and the slope. You may need several start times spaced out over a longer period of time (cycle and soak). It’s very important to follow this method since irrigation runoff is illegal in most cities along the coast.

Now use the watering schedule below as a guide or visit bewaterwise.com to calculate a watering schedule for your garden. Adjust the actual minutes/hours per Start Time based on your runoff test results.

How Often Should I Water?

If you have an automatic irrigation controller, this is usually called Day Interval or Skip-A-Day.

The watering schedule below has figured this out for you. The watering calculator will also figure this out for you. You’ll need to manually adjust your controller each month!

A smart irrigation controller will do this for you automatically. Rebates may be available for smart irrigation controllers.

SUMMER NO MORE THAN 3-4 TIMES PER WEEK	FALL NO MORE THAN 1-2 TIMES PER WEEK
SPRING NO MORE THAN 2-3 TIMES PER WEEK	WINTER 1 TIME PER WEEK

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