I Have Had it With Lawn Sprinklers

[Ben]

Rant/

Man, I am sick of sprinkler systems. Every year that I start mine up (like today), there is a problem. The busted or somehow out of sync even though they just sat there all Winter sprinklers are an annoyance, but I can work through that. It's the bigger stuff that irks me. Like today, I have four sprinkler zones. Zones 1,3, & 4 all started up just fine. Zone 2? Nada. Like there's zero water in the line. I've checked the box and the valve/regulator looks okay.

So it's going to be one of those needle in a haystack diagnosing things I guess, or else I just call the sprinkler guy and pay money to reduce my blood pressure. 

I am seriously thinking of next year just shutting the whole thing down and doing what several of my neighbors do - setting up an above ground system. They just use hose and small pasture sprinklers. At the end of the season, they blow it out in like 10 minutes (versus the three hours it takes me with my 30gal compressor), roll it up, and store it in a shed. I guess that wouldn't fly so much for aesthetics in a residential neighborhood, but out here in BFE, who cares?

/Rant

[Ben]

Well, I had just broken out the multimeter, but tried the zone manually again, and suddenly it's working. Oh well. I got to neither click nor rage about this. 

[230RN]

Pilot error.

[zahc]

Agreed on them being a perpetual hassle. But if you really live out in bfe, why are you farming grass at all? The only reason I put up with the hassle of lawn care is I have an HOA, and can't afford to xeriscape the whole thing.

[Ben]

Agreed on them being a perpetual hassle. But if you really live out in bfe, why are you farming grass at all? The only reason I put up with the hassle of lawn care is I have an HOA, and can't afford to xeriscape the whole thing.

Funny you should mention that. I'm slowly making an attempt to transition to being one of the "no mow" hippies. I just went three weeks since the last mow, and have been letting the clover spread. I planted a little more clover varieties in bare spots on the lawn a couple of weeks ago, so part of watering is giving them a chance to grow.

I'm also looking at eliminating around 1/3 of the lawn next year. For what's left, while I probably won't get to full "no mow" status (skeeters are one big reason), I'm hoping to mow no more than once a month from APR-NOV, and only water during the hottest months, and then just once a week and deep. We'll see how it goes. I just mowed yesterday, and I have to say, I really liked the way the lawn looked just before I mowed. Kinda 1950s style, before people thought clover, dandelions, and wildflowers were "weeds". There were a nice amount of pollinators on the lawn too.

EDIT: This is kinda what my lawn looked like before I mowed it yesterday. Personally, I think it looks nicer than a manicured lawn.

[zahc]

Places around here that can get away with it are sowing wildflowers, but it definitely looks "wild". Clover seems like a good bet because it never gets tall.

[Boomhauer]

I’m on pricey city water (it’s high in my particular town). I’d have to be a millionaire to afford to water with a sprinkler system. I do know my house has one buried.

[K Frame]

Rapist of Mother Earth!

Despoiler of the Oglala Aquifer!

[230RN]

When Son2, born and raised in dry Colorado, bought his place in eastern Ohio, he remarked on the fact that there was no sprinkler system.  He thought that was a real detriment until it was explained to him that the regular rainfall was more than sufficient for the lawn.

[Bogie]

My backyard is mostly ivy. Even over the brick patio area.

[HeroHog]

In the late 50s VERY early 60s, in Waco, Tx, the only water our dog ever saw came from the sky or his water bowl! Get fined for watering your lawn or washing your car in those days. This may be why the dog, while walking down a pier to a camp on the levy in Louisiana, went after a frog and walked right off into the strange looking grass (Lilly-pads) that was right at the edge of the walkway due to the high water. PLOOP! Right outta sight. Came up thrashing with the funniest WTF?!?! look on his face. Couldn't keep him out of the water after that.

[JTHunter]

"They" have us in a vicious circle.  We buy weed killer and fertilizer to make our lawns green and lush.  Then we have to water them to keep them that way.  AND, because it is growing, we have to spend time in the sun, heat, and humidity to MOW the lawn and keep it neat.

Then redo all that a week later.   

[230RN]

"Natural Prairie" has a lot to recommend it.  Might even be defensible on "conservation" grounds to the HOA.

"Yeah, sure, Terry."