Water Turns On, Pauses Watering, Soaks Into the Soil, Then Water Starts Again

Setting up a sprinkler controller for a soak cycle involves programming it to water your lawn in shorter bursts with pauses in between. This allows water to penetrate the soil deeply without causing runoff or pooling, which is especially important for compacted soil or slopes. Here’s how to set it up:

Understand Your Sprinkler Controller

• Modern Controllers: Many modern controllers have specific “soak cycle” or “cycle and soak” settings built-in.
• Older Controllers: If your controller doesn’t have this feature, you’ll need to manually program start and stop times to achieve the same effect.

Plan Your Watering Schedule

• Determine how much water your lawn needs per zone.  There are general recommendations for how to do this on the 1-2-3-2-1 lawn watering page.
• For best results, measure your sprinkler output (use a rain gauge or shallow container) to calculate how long you need to run the sprinklers to deliver the required amount of water.

Divide the Watering Time

• Split the total watering time into shorter cycles:
  • For example, if your lawn needs 30 minutes of water in one zone, break it into three cycles of 10 minutes.
• Add up all the shorter cycle times of each zone.
  • For example, if the shorter cycles of each zone are 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 5 minutes, 20 minutes, 3 minutes, and 10 minutes.  This is a total of 63 minutes.
• Program 3 different start times into the controller with at least the total run time of all the zones spaced out between start times.
  • For example: Start Time 1 – 2:00 AM, Start Time 2 – 3:30 AM, Start Time 3 – 5:00 AM
  • Notice that there is 90 minutes between start times which is plenty of time to complete the 63 minutes of zone run time.

Include a little soak period between each watering cycle to allow water to percolate into the soil.

Note: For modern controllers dividing the watering time is not necessary.  Just input the total time and select soak and cycle and the controller will do this automatically.

Grass requires varying amounts of water at different times of the year. Several factors should be considered when determining the watering needs of your lawn.

Sun Exposure

The first factor is the amount of sunlight the lawn receives. For example, a south-facing lawn that receives full sun will need about 0.6 to 0.7 inches of water per watering session. In contrast, a west or east-facing lawn that gets partial sun will require around 0.5 to 0.6 inches, while a north-facing lawn or one in full shade will need approximately 0.4 to 0.5 inches of water.

Outdoor Temperature

• 1 Day per Week – During the spring and late fall, lawns typically need only one watering per week.
• 2 Days per Week – In late spring and early fall, they generally require two waterings per week.
• 3 Days per Week – However, during the hot summer months, lawns may need to be watered three times a week.

This lawn watering technique is called 1-2-3-2-1 lawn watering.  Click here for a detailed explanation on how this technique can be implemented.

Important Note: Each sprinkler system is different, and the output of each sprinkler zone can vary as well. To determine how long it takes to water your lawn effectively, it’s essential to measure each zone in your sprinkler system accurately. Using a rain gauge or a flat-bottomed, flat-sided container is the best method for obtaining an accurate measurement.

Reclaiming an overwatered lawn can take months or even years, depending on the severity of the damage to the soil.

Steps to Recover an Overwatered Lawn:

1. Water Deeply and Infrequently: Follow the 1-2-3-2-1 lawn watering technique to encourage deep root growth and resilience against drought.
2. Perform Core Aeration: Regularly aerate the lawn to relieve compaction and restore oxygen levels in the soil.
3. Apply 100% Organic Fertilizers: Use only 100% organic fertilizers to provide food for and stimulate beneficial microbial activity in the soil.
4. Introduce High-Quality Organic Compost: To speed up the recovery process, apply high-quality organic compost, which will reintroduce millions of beneficial microbes to the damaged soil.

Be patient; recovering an overwatered lawn will take significantly longer than recovering from drought stress.

Daily watering of a lawn is problematic because it trains the grass roots to stay shallow digging and it disrupts the microbial balance of the soil. Here’s why watering daily can lead to a brown lawn.

Promotes Shallow Root Systems

Daily watering encourages grass roots to remain near the surface of the soil, where water is consistently available. These shallow roots make the grass less resilient to stress, such as heat, drought, or foot traffic.
Poor Resilience to Dry Conditions: Grass with shallow roots is more likely to dry out quickly when the temperatures outside increase.

Increases Susceptibility to Fungal Diseases

When grass remains consistently wet, particularly in the evening or early morning, it creates a favorable environment for fungal diseases like brown patch, necrotic ring spot, and powdery mildew.
Soil-Borne Pathogens Thrive: Damp soils are called anaerobic and these conditions promote the growth of harmful microbes that can damage the grass.

Wastes Water and Resources

Daily watering often exceeds the water requirements of grass, leading to waste.
Evaporation Loss: Water applied daily during the hottest parts of the day evaporates quickly, reducing its effectiveness.

Encourages Weeds and Pests:

Weeds like crabgrass and sedges thrive in consistently moist soil. Frequent watering gives these invaders an advantage over grass.
Pests Proliferate: Daily watering can attract pests such as mosquitoes, grubs, and fungus gnats, which thrive in wet conditions.

Disrupts Soil and Nutrient Balance

Constant watering washes away essential nutrients like nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus, leaving the soil undernourished.
Compacts Soil: Continuous watering can compact soil, reducing its aeration and ability to support healthy root systems.

Creates a Dependence on Frequent Watering

A lawn that receives water daily becomes reliant on that schedule and will struggle if watering stops or conditions become dry.
Lower Stress Tolerance: Grass grown with daily watering lacks the robust root system necessary to withstand environmental stressors like drought or heat waves.

Yes. Overwatering suffocates roots by depriving them of oxygen, leading to root rot, necrotic ring spot, melting out disease, and increased vulnerability to other anaerobic diseases.

Cool-season grasses like Kentucky bluegrass, fescue, and ryegrass are more sensitive to overwatering.

Yes. Excess moisture attracts pests like grubs, mosquitoes, and mold-loving insects, which can damage grass and increase lawn maintenance issues.

Would you like tips on improving drainage or choosing the best watering schedule for your climate?