Sunday, March 8 is the beginning of daylight saving time. Be sure to spring forward your sprinkler system’s clock one hour.
With Stage 3 watering rules continuing, don’t forget to adjust your sprinkler system controller this weekend.
Newer irrigation controllers may automatically update the time, date and year when daylight saving time begins Sunday, March 8. But older models will require you to reset it. (Review your user manual to see if yours makes the change automatically.)
And while you’re at the controller, change the backup battery to make sure the controller maintains the correct time in case of a power failure. If your controller takes a battery, it’s usually a 9-volt, located behind the display panel. (To help jog your memory, it’s also a good time to change the batteries in your smoke detectors too.)
With a month to go before turfgrass starts growing, it’s still too early for weekly irrigation so you can leave the controller off when you’re finished and enjoy hand watering for another month.
This is also a good time to review your controller’s settings:
- Check the start time to make sure it’s still within the Stage 3 watering hours of 5-10 a.m. and 9 p.m. to midnight. Remember to check ALL the start times and delete any extras — only one start time is necessary to run the entire program.
For large systems, the entire cycle can be divided between morning and evening hours on separate programs. - Check the day to ensure your program is set to run on your watering day, which is based on the last digit of your street address.
- Clear out any unneeded B, C and D programs — keeping extra programs can be a costly mistake if they accidentally get activated. To remove a program, delete its day, start times and run times.
Again, it’s too early to start weekly watering. But if you choose to start running your system anyway, set the seasonal adjust to 50 percent to avoid wasting water.
Getting to know your controller’s settings will not only save water during the ongoing drought but also save you money.
