January Superintendent

Chris Threatt

Now that a more wintery weather pattern has settled in to our area, it’s time to think about water conservation and the easiest place to do this is the yard. Water is a precious resource and can easily be conserved this time of year. Winter season is the time of year when average temperatures are lower, which also means water evaporation rates are lower. Evaporation is essentially the loss of water to gas and into the atmosphere. A similar process also happens with grass and is called transpiration, which is an exchange of water to gas when plant and soil moisture levels are higher than atmosphere moisture levels. Knowing that evaporation and transpiration rates are lower in the winter, we can then apply that knowledge to our irrigation events for our yards. We have implemented this strategy for the winter months here at Cypress Creek and now only irrigate the fairways and tees roughly every third to fifth day, and sometimes even longer depending on sun, wind, clouds, etc. Too much water can be detrimental to turf health and lead to root suffocation, disease, and excess runoff,. But perhaps, more importantly, in this economy, over watering can lead to a huge waste of money when it comes to your water bill (especially if drainage is inadequate)! It is best to manage an environment where the roots can get oxygen and water, not only water. Please review your home irrigation and check to insure all sprinkler heads are working properly, run and interval times are adjusted to the seasons, and start times are set to run between dusk and dawn (while evaporation is lowest!).