Planning Your Watering Schedule; Filling Out The Watering Schedule Form - Toro ECx User Manual

Planning Your Watering Schedule

It is always helpful to plan your watering schedule before
beginning the programming steps. You will have a record
of your watering schedule and zone locations which can
be kept with your ECx after it is installed. A watering
schedule form is provided on page 12 for you to fill out.
When you have finalized your schedule, transfer the infor-
mation to the watering schedule decal provided on the
inside of the cabinet cover.
Guidelines For Watering
There are several factors to be considered when decid-
ing when and how long to water. For example, the com-
position of your soil, the part of the landscape being
watered, climate conditions and the type of sprinklers
being used. Because of these variables, we cannot give
you an exact schedule to follow, but here are some gen-
eral watering guidelines to help you get started.
Water early in the morning, one to two hours before
sunrise. You will have the best water pressure at this
time and the water can soak into the plant root zone
while evaporation is minimal. Watering during mid-day
or in the evening may cause plant damage or mildew.
Watch for signs of under- or over-watering and make
program adjustments immediately.
10

Filling Out the Watering Schedule Form

When filling out this form, use a pencil so changes can be
easily made.
Refer to the example form shown on the opposite page
and fill out your form in a similar manner with the follow-
ing information:
•
Location - Identify the location of each watering zone
and the type of plant being watered.
Note: Enter the following information for each pro-
gram. If the program is not needed, leave its informa-
tion column blank.
•
Watering Day Schedule - For a Calendar schedule,
indicate which day(s) of the week watering is desired.
For an Interval schedule indicate the desired Interval
number. For Odd or Even days, simply mark the
appropriate box.
•
Valve Run Time - Indicate the amount of run time
(1 minute to 4 hours) for each zone. Write "Off" for any
zone which you do not want to operate in the program.
•
P rogram Start Times - Indicate the time of day to
start the program. Each program can have 1 to 4 start
times per watering day.
Note: The ECx will run only one watering cycle at a
time. Therefore, when using multiple start times within
a program or when using multiple programs, make
sure that each watering cycle will be able to run com-
pletely before the next watering cycle is scheduled to
start. A program start time that occurs while a watering
cycle is in progress will be delayed until the current
watering cycle is finished.