Often overlooked and usually never explained but Cycle and Soak is the best way to achieve a deep watering while preventing your money from going down the drain. This method is very common down in Southern states like Arizona where water is sparse and every drop counts. The process is to water until saturation and then let it soak in before adding more water. Think about it, hard rains usually just run off while long all day rains will green up your lawn overnight. We are looking to replicate the latter of the two.
Some higher end controllers will have cycle and soak as an option on the dial. If that is the case set the "Cycle" to 15 min and the "Soak" to 10 min. If your run time is set to 30 min it will run that zone twice. 40 min will run the zone 3 times (15, 15, 10). You will find that it will take less water this way as more of it will actually stay in your soil.
This process is the same no matter the brand of controller and is a "Poor Man's" way of achieving Cycle and Soak. Keep your run times the same but add an additional start time. You can then use the seasonal adjust to achieve the desired overall run time.
Instructions
- Turn your controller to Start time
- Make sure you are on the Program that runs your normal irrigation program (Typically A)
- Set your first start time
- Your system should finish about 6 or 7 am. If you have 8 zones that run 20 minutes you will need to start 2.5 hours before 7 AM so 4:30 am in this case.
- Add a run time
- Set second run time - In this case it is 2.5 hours before the first run time or 2 am.
- Turn the controller back to auto
For more irrigation tips, check out our guide on knowing your irrigation system.
