Last Updated on May 4, 2024 by Brian Beck
I wrote a blog back in 2022 about breaking the dehydration cycle that everyone experiences every spring. It is costing everyone a lot of money and grief. Let me explain.
Every Spring every that has a lawn plays catch-up with their moisture level in the soil. This is the result of several things, shutting off the irrigation system too early during a warm Fall, a lack of watering in the winter during warm periods, the winter itself (January and February are our two driest months out of the whole year). When the soil becomes dry it actually begins to repel water as it becomes hydrophobic. This invites stress, disease, mite infestations and winterkill from dehydration. This results in excessive water bills, unneeded lawn repair and constant expenses stemming from keeping a proper level of moisture in the soil.
In 2020 I recognized that the situation was following a trend, the Falls were getting warmer and the Springs were getting cooler. The time in which people turned their irrigation off in typical mid-October coincided with the time in which the root structures of the grass are in prime development, that is if there is adequate hydration. This begins the cycle of destruction where the stage is set for perpetual lawn damage, all of which is preventable. I felt I needed to do something to curb the cycle that I was witnessing year after year. This wasted energy and resources could certainly be put to better use. That year I built my first Weather Bender, a device designed to safely allow the use of the irrigation system and extend the use of it to maximize root development and prevent the costly exercise of habitually following the bad practice of enabling soil dehydration.
This system is a simple heat tape, controlled by a thermostat that prevents the most vulnerable part of the system (the backflow) from freezing at night during the October-early December period where the days are still warm and the lawn requires water. The lawns are not growing at this time but the ground is still very much alive and warm and can endure this period with a little help. This system can also be used to turn the irrigation on earlier in the season (early March) to get the lawn prepared for a healthy start. You should be able to hit the ground running in May rather than playing catch-up with a lazy and needy lawn. A lot can be saved by not following the herd.
Transform your soil today and see how much better it can be…
