The advantages of installing a sprinkler system in the fall.
By making efficient use of fall temperatures and avoiding the spring rush, your system is ready and your landscape is well-prepared for both winter and the upcoming growing season!
Avoid the spring rush and ensure that your sprinkler system is ready, and your landscape well-prepared, for both winter and the spring growing season by taking advantage of a fall sprinkler installation.
Autumn’s milder temperatures are optimal for the installation of an underground irrigation system. Since small trenches are dug to allow installation of underground system piping and valves, there is some disruption to the existing lawn and landscape. When a system is installed in the summer, it is much more difficult for grass and plants to quickly recovery from the trenching.
Fall installs allow faster plant recovery – and the new sprinkler system provides needed irrigation that also aids in faster recovery. Fall installation also allows allows lawns to be properly irrigated in the early spring, before spring rains start, ensuring that lawns and landscaping receive consistent watering as the growing season begins.
1. Ideal Soil Conditions
Fall creates better soil conditions for installing a sprinkler system. In the spring, the ground is often too wet, making system installation difficult. In the summer, the soil is often dry and more compacted, making it harder to dig effectively without damaging lawns or landscaped areas.
The predictable rains of fall is the perfect moisture level for installs – which also helps installers stay on schedule.
Grass “scars” from trenching during the sprinkler installation “heal” faster in fall’s temperate conditions.
2. Faster Recovery
Installing an underground watering system inevitably causes some damage to the lawn. Placing the pipes that carry water to each zone requires the installation team to dig narrow trenches. Spring’s extra wet soil conditions and summer’s dry soil conditions make it difficult for grass to quickly bounce back, while the ideal temperatures and soil moisture levels of fall enable grass to recover quickly before winter sets in.
3. Preparing for Winter
Grass and landscape plantings prepare themselves for winter during the fall. Instead of expending energy on growth, plants prepare for the colder months by storing nutrients that will sustain them until spring. To do this effectively, lawns and plants need plentiful and consistent watering. Rainfall is steadier in autumn than in summer, which is better for lawns, but it may still not be enough to adequately prepare plants for winter.
With a new sprinkler system activated, lawns and landscaping are better able to absorb nutrients, increasing their chances of surviving winter.
A newly activated irrigation system will help protect any new plantings installed in the fall.
4. Protect New Plantings
Fall is not only the ideal time to install a new sprinkler system, but also a great time to plant new landscaping. Shrubs and trees are heavily stressed by transportation and installation, making them particularly vulnerable in their first few weeks after planting – and they need consistent watering to fully establish themselves before winter. With a new sprinkler system installed and activated, homeowners avoid daily hand-watering the new plantings, enabling their investment in new landscaping to be better protected.
5. Beat The Spring Rush
The busiest time of year for any irrigation company is the spring. That’s when most homeowners assess their lawn and landscaping and decide to repair a damaged system, upgrade their current one, or install an entirely new system. Waiting until spring means longer wait times for service, delaying the growing season and leaving lawns thirsty during the most important growing season of the year.
Scheduling a sprinkler system installation in the fall means shorter wait times for service. Temperatures may be cooling, but there are still plenty of beautiful sunny days for the installation team to get a system in place before the ground freezes. Then, when spring arrives, the new system will be ready to go on that first warm day!
Trust the irrigation team at Heinen for reliable irrigation installations!
Work With Kansas City’s Leading Irrigation Team
Trust the irrigation team at Heinen for reliable irrigation installations! Heinen’s irrigation specialists are the best in the city, with over three decades of experience in not only maintaining and repairing, but also designing and installing fully customized, highly efficient watering systems for homes and businesses across the metro area. Take advantage of the benefits of fall installation and schedule an irrigation system installation with Heinen!
