Determining Zone Attribute Selection

If you’re configuring your zone settings and aren’t sure which attributes to choose, such as soil type, vegetation type, or sun exposure, this article will help guide you. We’ll explain what each attribute means and how to determine the best options for your yard. Setting these correctly is important, as they directly impact how your watering schedule is created and adjusted.

Summary

Contents

1. Figuring out your type of Soil
   • What is the "water tank?"
   • Soil Texture
   • Soil Classes
   • Soil infiltration and scheduling
   • How to test your soil
2. Soil Types
3. Spray Head types
4. Vegetation types
5. Slope types
6. Sun Exposure or Shade

Figuring out your type of Soil

What is the "water tank"?

The earth’s soil serves as a water storage for vegetation. If you think of this storage as being similar to a sponge, it helps illustrate why soil type is an important factor in Rachio’s scheduling decisions, in particular Flex Daily and Smart Cycle features.

A Simple Illustration

Similar to soil, a sponge can be too wet or too dry to use:

• When a sponge is "soaking wet", it's oversaturated and cannot absorb any additional water.
• When a sponge is "moist", it's perfect and works as expected.
• When a sponge is "dry", it becomes difficult to use and sometimes has trouble absorbing water.

In your yard, the soil can be too wet or too dry. Managing soil moisture is the key to a healthy yard.

• When your soil is too wet, it becomes Saturated and cannot absorb any additional water. Runoff is common when the soil is saturated.
• When your soil is moist, it is at Field Capacity and has just the right amount of water and air, which creates the perfect growing conditions for plants.
• When your soil is too dry, plants become stressed. If the soil becomes too dry and approaches the Permanent Wilting Point, plant cells rupture, and the plant will die.

For Rachio to properly calculate the size of the water tank for each zone, you must enter the proper soil type and vegetation type for each zone.

Soil Texture

Texture refers to the size of the particles that make up the soil. The terms sand, silt, and clay refer to relative sizes of the soil particles.

• Sand, made up of larger particles, feels gritty.
• Silt, made up of moderately sized particles, has a smooth or floury texture.
• Clay, made up of smaller particles, feels sticky.

Soil Classes

There are three basic soil classes identified by Rachio: Clay, Sand, and Loam.

• Clay soil is generally heavy and compact in nature. Plants have a harder time developing roots in clay soil. Clay soil tends to retain water, benefiting from the addition of organic material.
• Sandy soils drain too fast and struggle to hold nutrients, which can be improved with organic matter.
• Loamy soil is a balance of sand, clay, silt, and organic matter, making it ideal for growing various plants.

Soil Infiltration and Scheduling

The type of soil helps Rachio to understand how quickly the soil will absorb water. If your nozzles apply water faster than the soil can absorb it, Rachio's Smart Cycle feature will automate cycle soak within the schedule.

How to test your soil

The first step to understanding your lawn lies in knowing what soil consists of - particles, water, & air. The ratios between these three help determine the Soil Type you need to enter into the Rachio App. The most reliable way to figure out your specific soil type is to perform one of the following tests:

The "Mason Jar Test"

1. Spread soil on a newspaper to dry and remove all rocks, trash, roots, etc.
2. Fill a tall jar one-quarter full of soil, then add water until it's three-quarters full and add a teaspoon of non-foaming dishwasher detergent.
3. Shake the jar for 10-15 minutes, then let it sit undisturbed for 2-3 days.
4. Measure the thickness of the sand, silt, and clay layers.

The "Hands-On Test"

1. Squeeze a moistened ball of soil between thumb and fingers.
   • Ribbons less than 1” = coarse texture (sandy) soil.
   • Ribbons 1-2” = medium texture soil.
   • Ribbons greater than 2” = fine-textured (clayey) soil.

Soil Types

The following soil types are supported in the Rachio App:

Vegetation Types

Vegetation is used initially to determine watering minutes for your zones.

Cool Season Grass

Coefficient: 0.70

These grasses grow best when temperatures are between 65-80 degrees Fahrenheit. Common examples include Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass.

Warm Season Grass

Coefficient: 0.65

These grasses thrive in hot temperatures, common varieties include Bermuda grass and St. Augustine grass.

Shrubs

Coefficient: 0.50

Examples include Azalea, Wintergreen, and Hydrangea.

Trees

Coefficient: 0.75

This includes a variety of trees that require significant watering.

Flower Beds

Coefficient: 0.70

Regular watering keeps these gardens lush and vibrant.

Desert Adapted

Coefficient: 0.30

These water-efficient plants include succulents and cacti.

Vegetable Garden

Coefficient: 0.85

This category covers various fruit and vegetable gardens.

Spray Head Types

Pop-up Spray Heads

Pop-up Rotary Nozzles

Drip Nozzles

Slope Types

Slope affects the maximum allowable zone run-time. As the slope gets steeper, the maximum allowed watering time decreases.

Sun Exposure or Shade

Each zone may have a singular exposure to the sun in your yard. Shade and exposure affect the initial zone watering time.