Winterizing Your Landscape and Irrigation System

Winterizing Your Landscape
and Irrigation System
September 2013
Make seasonal adjustments
to your watering schedule
Evapotranspiration (ET)
A measurement of how much water has been lost from the soil, and now needs to be replaced
Water, in Inches per Week, needed for an average Blue Grass Lawn
Cut back irrigation
30% in September and
60% in October.
Should you reduce time,
days, or both? Why?
Watering to fill root
zone capacity will
encourage deeper
root growth
Shallow root zone
with thatch buildup
What if it gets cold before I can
winterize?
3) Turn shut off ball valves to 45o angle
2) Turn test port ball valves to 45o angle
1) Close irrigation supply valve
4) Open drain on supply valve
Drain cap
Finish Grade
Winterize the sprinkler system
What can happen if you don’t?
Ball valves may have
been left open or closed
Spiral freeze cracks
Which compressor is best?
When Winterizing Your System,
Remember…
VOLUME of air is more important than PRESSURE.
If an insufficient volume of air is used, after having forced
some water out, the air will ride over the top of the water. This
will result in the remaining water draining into low spots and
subjecting your system to freeze damage. Ideal pressures
are in the range of 40 - 80 psi for the air compressor.
Rule of Thumb: If the sprinkler heads stay up
after the water is blown out, you are using
the right size compressor.
PVB on Domestic Service Line
#2 ball valve
Downstream
air port
Floor joist
Upstream
drain
Drain
Finish
Grade
Supply valve
Right
Wrong
Typical Residential Pressure
Vacuum Breaker (PVB)
Compressor Damaged PVB Check
Internal Components Broken
and Damaged
Compressor Oil on PVB Check
PVB Ready for Winter
1. Replace cap on upstream
drain, if present.
#2 ball
valve
2. Replace cap on
downstream air port.
#1 ball
valve
Air port
cap
Drain cap
Finish
Grade
3. Leave ball valves #1 and
#2 at 45º.
4. Leave test cocks #1 and
#2 at 45º.
Final Thought On Winterizing
“It is much less costly and much less labor intensive
to properly and efficiently winterize the system in the fall
than to repair damaged fittings, piping, valves, sprinklers
and other components in the spring.”
Disconnect hoses and bring
them inside
Questions?
Is Your Landscape Ready
for Winter?
Lawn Care
•Aeration reduces compaction
•Helps to reduce thatch layer
•Encourages deeper root growth
•Allows water and nutrients to enter the root zone easier
Fall Fertilization
Reseed Bare Areas
Tree Care
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Prune out dead or diseased limbs only
Do not fertilize
Reduce watering
Wrap trunks of all young and
tender bark trees by November 15
Apply 4” of mulch to newly
planted trees
Shrub Care

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No pruning now (except diseased or dead branches)
Do not fertilize
Reduce watering
Apply 4” of mulch to newly planted shrubs
Composting
Rake up leaves
Compost leaves
Grass clippings +
Shredded leaves +
Soil (or old compost) =
Perennial Garden Care
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Weeding
Deadheading
Add compost
Apply 4” of mulch
Bindweed
Annuals
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Pull up
One half inch compost on beds
Apply 3” of mulch over compost
Discard potted annuals or bring inside before a freeze
Wash pots with mild bleach solution
Before
Before
After
Bulbs to Plant Now
Tulips
Daffodils
Allium
Hyacinths
Crocus
Snow Iris
Narcissum
See handout
Crocus
Squill
Snowdrop
Hyacinth
Grape Hyacinth
Bulbous Iris
Early/late Tulips
Daffodil
Vegetable Gardens
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Pick all tomatoes, beans,
zucchini, squash and okra
before frost
Pick some vegetables after mild frost
Discard or hot compost
vegetable plants after a
hard freeze
Add Compost to the Soil
Rose Care
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Do not prune now
Reduce watering
No fertilizer after August 1
Prepare mulch and cover the
base of the plants about 6” above
the graft
Miscellaneous Fall Gardening
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Discard all annual weeds that were hard to control
(purslane, crabgrass, lambs quarters)
Pick up or rake all old fruit (crab apples and apples)
Prune out fireblight on fruit trees
Prune out branches over
power lines
Winter watering (see handout)
Questions?