More about Freezing and your Sprinkler System

As of May 15th, 2017, “they” are calling for 1, possibly 2 freezes this week.  Bad news for those freshly planted perennials.  Planting on Mother’s Day may be the rule of thumb, but freezes in May are not unheard of.  Unfortunately, we had to fix several backflows and pipes from the previous freeze that were not prepared beforehand. A few blankets and plastic and turning off the valve is quick prep to avoid up to $300 in repairs.

We generally look at 5 or so weather reports.  Sometimes all reports say the same thing, and then we guess that the event may really happen (maybe – this is Colorado).   This time we are being told any combination: ranges to 34 degrees to below freezing for one or 2 nights. Maybe.

Let’s take the  reports that say 34 degrees.  The expanse of Boulder County is made up of countless micro-climates.  Also, your yard can have several different micro-climates.   Things to take into account:

• How close are you to the foothills?  Weather in Longmont or Lafayette can be quite different than in Boulder, especially west Boulder
• Is your backflow on the north side of your house, or is it on the south side with lots of sun?
• Are your backflow and pipes buried so you don’t have to worry about it at all?
• Many many other scenarios

So what we hear about  the weather is only half the story.  The other half is location, location, location and learning about your specific yard.

Please go to the FREEZE WARNING tab above for info to prepare your system.

IMPROVING YOUR SYSTEM AND PLANT INFO

 

 

 

 

 

 

Late April Freeze

YUP – a freeze is on the way – for sure!  The questions are: how many nights it will be, and how low the temperatures will go?  We always check 4 or so weather reports to try to figure out how the week will go.  This time, they all agree.  Predicting weather in Colorado is notoriously flaky, but sometimes the forecasters are right. In order to save money for repairs or worse (flooding) it helps to take preventative measures before the freeze.

If your system is on, find information on how to protect your system here:

FREEZE WARNING PAGE

Hard to imagine there will be one when February and March have been so warm over the past few years, right?  It’s getting harder each year to predict what the spring weather will be, but for sure – there will be a freeze.    When scheduling in March, I have people say with full confidence that “the cold is over, it won’t freeze” and all I can do is shrug.  It’s kinda like flipping a coin…maybe, maybe not.  Not too long ago we had a sudden freeze on May 1st that left broken backflows across the county.  If you know your system and know how to protect your system, then you have a chance of coming thru fine.  Good luck!