Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Sep 30, 2010 9:44 am hi guys, i had my front yard landscaped about a month ago (it came as a package when i bought the land), and ive only just looked at the automatic box thingo on the wall. I have kangaroo paws and dianella planted. the retic has been set to run for 45 mins, 3 times a day! Has obviously been running for about a month now and ive only just discovered it. So anyway, my question is, how do i cut back the amount of water they are getting. That seems like a lot of water, so do i just cut it right back to like twice a week, or do i do it gradually? like wean them off the water? lol Many thanks for your help! Re: question about retic 2Sep 30, 2010 8:51 pm Righto, firstly. Where do you live? That matters Second what controller do you have? Or post a photo of the controller if you aren't sure We'll get the sucker worked out Oh and what type of retic do you have? Subsurface (hopefully) or regular old skool shrub sprays? or do you have the dinky micro sprays on little sticks that should be banned? Re: question about retic 3Sep 30, 2010 10:43 pm lol fu, i know HOW to change the settings, i just want to know if i cut the water back gradually, or just do it in one hit? The plants are getting so much water at the moment, if i cut it back straight away, i dont want them to die of thirst so to speak. I'm in perth if that helps! and they are on a dripper under the ground. Re: question about retic 4Sep 30, 2010 11:08 pm It will depend on what controller you have and as too how easy that is. Also what sort of soil prep was done? Was there just some soil conditioner thrown in the hole before planting? Was the whole bed prepped using landscape mix or cert organic soil? That effects the soil moisture and the soils ability to keep it. What mulch is used? That makes a VERY large difference to soil moisture. Also another thing that will effect how fast the soil dries is how exposed to the seabreeze the garden is? Wind is going to dry the soil faster than heat. Yes the types of plants matter but the very large part of what makes for a waterwise garden comes down to 3 things. Brand of controller. Soil prep done and type of mulch used To say something general in WA would be crazy. Sorry for the questions. Also what size were the plants when they went in, little 140mm pot sizes or 200mm pot sizes? The bigger sizes will have more root mass and handle dry soil a bit better than the smaller ones The good controllers have a water budget function that allows you to increase or decrease the set programmes depending on the wind strengths and heat with one easy adjustment. Re: question about retic 5Sep 30, 2010 11:10 pm Best mention the subsurface irrigation is going to need a far longer run time than the junky pop ups 30 mins would be healthy. I still haven't used the retic and the soil isn't just moist from the rain 3 weeks ago, it is wet. Good soil prep and the right mulch You are only allowed to water that often on a new lawn with water corp permission. Go to one 40min cycle or three 10 min cycles with about 30mins-1hr between throughout the garden. Much better water absorption and still applying roughly 10mm in a far better way. The points I raised before will have an effect on how well the garden gets going. Re: question about retic 6Oct 01, 2010 3:26 pm holy crappa! I thought i could just cut the water back and be done with it! i dont know how much water dripper systems give out so maybe 45mins, 3 x a day is right? But with this new 10 mins once a week business i dont want to get into trouble. the name of the box on the wall is Holman Pro 469. There was just a bit of soil conditioner thrown in the hole i think.. maybe even nothing, i wasnt there when they done it. The pots were 140mm size, and then they just threw some black mulch stuff on top. I am in kwinana if you know what the conditions are like down this way... Keep up the good work Fu! Re: question about retic 7Oct 02, 2010 11:29 am OK well now we can make some changes Get better mulch on the garden! Use straws of any sort and or tree lopper mulch from your local tree lopping bloke or through mulchnet.com That will instantly keep a heap more water in your soil! Watering 3 times a day in the fashion your clock is set to is naughty New garden or not. It just isn't needed and it's great to see you are keen to change it You won't be able to water for 10mins with your system. It just can't deliver the water your garden needs in that time.The 10 mins time frame is an average for what the crap water wasting cheapo popups and micro sprayers will deliver 10mm of water in. The key is as you have, a system that delivers water slowly. This means if we all upgraded our retic we would be unlikely to see water running out onto the roads and ultimately a heap more water would be in our dams and gardens looking healthier. Why the government won't ban cheap junk popups and micro sprays (those little sprays on thin sticks) and assist people update what they have is beyond me. You should only water in the morning. For those reading, night time waterings will create problems for plant health (in particular veggies and lawns). Many never relate the two. So set a morning schedule. 30 mins total. Use 3 start times starting at say 4am. run for 10 mins, wait 30-40 mins, then another for 10mins, then wait another 30-40mins and water for 10mins. That makes a total of 30 mins which at a guess equates to around 10mm per square metre of soil. This is also about the time it takes MP rotators on lawn pop ups to deliver 10mm as well. Slow applications a short time apart makes for a very effective water You can even experiment with watering times and get a further reduction in the water use with no adverse effects on the garden. This makes your water bill far cheaper as well See about installing a wireless rain sensor too if it already hasn't been installed. Make use of that water budget function! If it cools off and or it isn't so windy, dial back the budget to say 50-70% of your programmed time. It's a great feature because you don't have to stuff about changing programmes Here is the manual for the Holman Pro 469 http://www.holmanindustries.com.au/prod ... manual.PDF The quick programming instructions http://www.holmanindustries.com.au/prod ... ctions.PDF and the installation diagram for installing a rain sensor (which there is a how too on this I did a few years back with photos) http://www.holmanindustries.com.au/prod ... nstall.PDF Re: question about retic 9Oct 02, 2010 11:34 am How many stations do you have? I might be able to post an example of what to set it at. ie. Start times and what stations run at what lengths of time Any lawn? If so what popups are used? Re: question about retic 10Oct 02, 2010 11:35 am Oh and if anyone reading this thinks for a second that irrigation systems use lots of water and that we should all hand water.... think again! The figures will shock you! Re: question about retic 13Oct 04, 2010 7:22 pm Very hard to make a call on that one ref_kt Look even a basic cottage block could be around $3000 but PM bradtez memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=27562 He may be able to pop by and have a look for you Maybe do a rough quote perhaps? He is down your way Re: question about retic 14Oct 04, 2010 8:49 pm Hmmm Mandurah is prob a good 50 minutes from me :p I'm Jandakot/Canning Vale etc way. Pretty sure it is out of budget for me anytime soon at those sort of prices Built with RedInk Custom 5000 Key Handover 15/12/2009 Re: question about retic 15Oct 04, 2010 10:32 pm No reason you can't do it Check the other thread near this one. I just posted the irrigation standards. Not the most exciting read but makes the planing and layout of retic easy to follow and understand. Re: question about retic 16Oct 04, 2010 10:43 pm If I can tile, grout, fence, do soakwells, paint (with a little assistance from father dear and his mates ahah), I'm sure retic can be included on that list. Built with RedInk Custom 5000 Key Handover 15/12/2009 You can really use anything you want the main consideration would be how it looks once painted/finished - or the look you want. Cabinetmakers use MDF because its cheap… 2 9960 I would say both styles you have pictured are steel. The lower chord of the first pic would be a massive lump if made using timber considering the size of the rafters. If… 1 6151 1 13125 |