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1. Seasons change, so should your system.
Familiarize yourself with the settings on your irrigation controller and adjust the watering schedule regularly to conform with seasonal weather conditions and or mandatory water restrictions.
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2. Play "zone" defense.
Schedule each individual zone in your irrigation system to account for the type of sprinkler, sun or shade exposure, and the soil type for the specific area. The same watering schedule rarely applies to all zones in the system.
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3. Make a date.
Inspect your irrigation system monthly. Check for leaks, broken or clogged heads, and other problems, or engage an irrigation professional to regularly check your system. Clean micro-irrigation filters as needed. Check EPA WaterSense website for a list of certified landscape irrigation professionals.
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4. Get your head adjusted.
Correct obstructions in sprinkler heads that prevent sprinklers from distributing water evenly. Keep water off pavements and structures.
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5. Go with a pro.
A professional can perform an irrigation audit and uniformity test to make sure areas are being watered evenly. This can be especially helpful if you have areas being under-watered or brown spots. EPA WaterSense maintains an on-line list of Certified Landscape Professionals.
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6. Get smart.
Climate or soil moisture sensor-based "smart" controllers evaluate weather or soil moisture conditions, then calculate and automatically adjust the irrigation schedule to meet the specific needs of your landscape.
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7. Flip to a switch.
Rain shutoff switches, required by law, turn off your system in rainy weather and help compensate for natural rainfall. This inexpensive device can be retrofitted to almost any system.
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8. Easy does it.
Install low volume microirrigation for gardens, trees and shrubs. Microirrigation includes drip (also known as trickle), micro spray jets, microsprinklers, soaker hose or bubbler irrigation to irrigate slowly and minimize evaporation, runoff and overspray.
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9. Watch the clock.
Water your lawn or garden during the cool morning hours to reduce evaporation. You can lose as much as 30 percent of water to evaporation by watering mid-day and is not permitted in Miami-Dade County per Section 32-8.2 of the Code.
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10. Less is more.
Saturate root zones and let the soil dry. Watering too much and too frequently results in shallow roots, weed growth, disease and fungus.
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