Please help me set my irrigation system days/run times:

What time of day is it set to run at?

Mine run at 5am M/W/SAT with 3 zones (grass only) and run for 20 mins. Needs to be early enough so that the water don't scorch your lawn with the heat of the day.

That sounds like a helluve alot of water.

I live in one of the driest areas in the country and I have six zones set to run between 7-10 minutes every other day (depending on where/what they are watering). My landscaping company set mine as well, so that's the extent of my knowledge.

(nevermind, I missed the 2 days a week in the yard part)

Recommendation for landscape beds and lawn is 1 inch of water per week spring, summer, fall (excluding winter). Take rainfall into consideration in the 1 inch.

That sounds like way to much water for your landscape beds. You can kill plants more easily from root rot from excess water than drought. I speak from personal experience on that.

Better to water less frequently but water deep. You want the roots of your plants, be they flowers, shrubs, trees or grass, to grow deep, searching for water.

Place some empty tuna cans (something similar) in your flower beds and lawn to collect the water during sprinkler operation to determine how much water you are getting with your current schedule, and adjust your sprinkler schedule and length of operation accordingly to provide that 1 inch. Obviously you’ll have to play with that to hit on the right combination.

Better to water once a week with 1 inch, than 4 times a week at 1/4 inch. However, if you have impervious clay soils in your lawn you may have water less, e.g., 1/4 inch 4 days a week or 1/2 inch twice a week to prevent water runoff. I can’t water my lawn 1 inch at a time b/c 1/2 the water would run off b/c I have heavy clay soil and it takes time for the water to soak in.

Obviously each persons sprinkler system is different and provides different water output, so you have to figure it out using the guideline provided above.

you need to figure out how deep you are watering. Time doesn't matter. only how deep the water is soaking into the soil.

Next look up what type of root system your grass has. If the roots are shallow like bluegrass, you probably only need to water about 2-3" deep with each watering.

If it has deeper roots like fescue, you will want to water more like 4-5" deep at a time.

Then time between waterings depends on how long it takes to dry out to those depths. You need the soil to dry down to almost the bottom of the roots before watering again. This drying out process pulls oxygen from the air down to the roots. Watering too much prevents the roots from getting all the oxygen they need.

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figured it would be complicated. So this time of year when we're getting a good bit of rain should I just have it off?

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Do you have a rain sensor attached to your controller? If not, do you have the skills to add one?

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Look into a Rachio Smart Controller.

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Agree. It can manage the whole thing for you depending on where you live, the yard and landscaping conditions and based on readings from local weather stations.

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Do you have a rain sensor attached to your controller?

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Agreed. All these systems should have these. Surprised they don't come with the controller already these days.

OP - the rain sensor will cut your water cycle if it detects any heavy moisture (ie. rain) with little discs that swell when wet which triggers the cut off.

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So the rain sensors will also prevent overwatering when it has not rained for awhile?

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The rain sensor prevents your system from running when there is or has been significant rainfall in your yard.

I have the Rachio controller, which connects to local weather stations to not only prevent your system from running when there has been significant rain, but also prevent it from running when a set threshold of rain is predicted for your area.

Highly recommend spending the money to get the Rachio!

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figured it would be complicated

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Really not that complicated, we all have a tendency to overthink things. And though having a rain gauge sensor is a great idea for a lawn irrigation system, if your current system can not accommodate one or you don’t want to go to the trouble and expense of installing one, I just use a $ 5 rain gauge and record the amount of rain after a rainfall event on my MS Outlook Calendar (no way to remember all those numbers). Check the calendar once a week, if I get less than an inch of rain that week I water thoroughly. If I get a an inch or more I don’t. Works for me.

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Look into a Rachio Smart Controller.

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After much deliberation, I believe I will go this route.