Watering your lawn the right amount is crucial for continued plant growth and a healthy yard. Watering too frequently can produce plant roots that don’t grow to their full potential and are more susceptible to fungus growth, while watering too little can deprive plants of what they need to stay healthy.
Soil can only store a limited amount of water at one time, and only some of that water can be used by your plants. Overwatering can result in water loss in the form of excess water runoff (where water washes away from the plants it was intended for and into other areas) and deep percolation (where water moves downward, away from the surface, and toward groundwater stores where it becomes unavailable).
Watering effectively and in the right amounts can look different depending on where you live, what types of plants you have (i.e. grass, shrubs, annuals, etc.), and other factors. With a smart sprinkler controller, you can use intelligent scheduling to automatically select the right watering amount, time, and duration for your plants by providing just a little information about your yard (such as plant type, soil type, sun exposure, etc.) during controller set up.
Once your controller is set up, Rachio’s three schedule types help you select the right watering program for you:
Flex Monthly – Adjusts monthly based on historical climate data; watering duration & interval (frequency) change takes place after the first watering in the following month.
Flex Daily – Adjusts daily based on soil moisture; watering schedules dynamically update on a zone by zone basis.
Fixed Schedule – Waters when you want – either on particular days of the week, a set interval, or odd/even days. Ideal for users with strict watering restrictions.
You can create a new schedule at any time in the Rachio app.
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