Rain in the Desert and Irrigation Systems

pardon the lack of capital letters. i am writing on my phone where i changed the setting for automatic capitalizations.

PSA: help your plants by not watering them

short days, chilly nights, and lots of rain- most people in the phoenix area can shut off their irrigation systems for the next few days. (writing on nov 19th) the soil is already saturated. most of the time, a passing rainstorm won’t wet the soil but these last few days have thoroughly soaked the ground.

give the system a break of two or three days by turning the knob on the controller to Off and then later set it back to Run to start the automatic waterings. check your landscaping for signs of stress! but with the amount of water we just had, i know many plants will be fine for a bit.

besides saving water, many plants benefit from a few days without the irrigation system. native and desert adapted plants like to dry out occasionally. drip systems are vital most of the year, but winter is a time that many plants prefer not to be watered as often.

more water isn’t always better

water isn’t evaporating as fast from the soil and many plants don’t need as much water either. with more frequent rainstorms, this is a dangerous time of year for overwatering.

overwatering refers to the frequency of watering, not the amount. for many desert plants, a drip system programmed for every day is vastly overwatering them.

if your plants are used to being watered every day (many plants are- i believe it’s the default on the controllers) to convert the yard to a water wise schedule, the plants will need to have their watering schedule stepped down gradually. fall through spring is best for shrubs. cacti can have their schedule changed any time of year because daily watering is more dangerous to them than drying out. (they will still need water once a week if they are used to being watered a lot. )

i’m a fan of hand watering landscaping but i know it’s not practical for most people. the next best thing for the plants is to make seasonal adjustments to the irrigation system. pictured is a blackfoot daisy that is being hand watered only. also some pics from my recent hike on a rainy day.