Winter Conditioning

Now that our winter season is fully upon us, it is the perfect time to maximize water savings and begin the conditioning process to strengthen your plants.

Use the following tips to begin driving your roots deeper into our soils.

1) If your controller isn't already programmed this way, separate any lawn areas and plants onto separate programs. Example, all overhead spray stations should be programmed on Program A while all drip stations are in Program B. This allows you flexibility to set your station start times differently during the growing season.

2) Make sure your Station Start Times are set to come on no earlier than 8:00 AM. This prevents your sprinklers coming on too early on cold mornings which could freeze your plants and create unwanted runoff.

3) Turn your controller off every other week. Most controllers do not allow for anything more complicated than a seven day programming cycle, but cooler weather gives you the ability to stretch your watering cycles further apart without the fear of death.

4) If you do not have any lawn areas, you could easily get by with one good soaking every 21-28 days. Make sure your run times are adequate enough to fully soak the root area. I recommend two cycles of 60 minutes with most drip nozzles for a total of two hours (2 GPH nozzles X 2 Hours = 4 Gallons/emitter).

5) Monitor your plants daily. If they begin to show signs of wilting, increase your cycle times or give them an extra start time.

Remember, winter is the perfect season to stress your plants without the immediate fear of death or decline. It will make your plants stronger, healthier and more adapted to the arid climate we live in.