The short answer: Jacksonville area lawns need about one inch of water per week, including rainfall, but how and when you deliver that water matters just as much as the amount. Watering deeply and infrequently encourages deep root growth, while frequent shallow watering creates weak, disease prone turf.
In Northeast Florida, irrigation mistakes cause more lawn problems than most homeowners realize. Overwatering promotes fungal disease and weed growth. Underwatering stresses grass and invites insect damage. Getting irrigation right is the foundation everything else builds on.
Quick overview:
Seasonal adjustments: Reduce irrigation significantly during rainy season and winter months
Weekly water needs: About one inch total from irrigation and rain combined
Best watering time: Early morning between 4 AM and 8 AM
Watering frequency: Two to three times per week maximum, not daily
Whether you have an automatic sprinkler system or water manually, understanding Jacksonville’s unique climate and water restrictions will help you grow a healthier lawn while conserving water.
The Complete Irrigation Approach: Supporting Your Lawn Care Investment
At Lawn Squad of Jacksonville and St. Augustine, we see firsthand how irrigation practices affect treatment results. The fertilizers, weed controls, and pest treatments we apply work best when your lawn receives proper water, not too much and not too little.
What makes irrigation in Northeast Florida different from other regions? Our combination of sandy soil, high humidity, intense summer heat, and dramatic seasonal rainfall patterns creates challenges you won’t find elsewhere. A watering schedule that works in Georgia or South Carolina can fail completely in Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, or St. Augustine.
Our technicians often identify irrigation problems during routine visits. Whether you manage your own irrigation or hire a professional, the principles in this guide will help you support healthy turf and maximize the value of every lawn care treatment.
Why Proper Irrigation Matters More Than Most Jacksonville Homeowners Realize
Water is the delivery system for everything your lawn needs. Nutrients from fertilizer dissolve in water and travel to grass roots. Herbicides need moisture to activate and move through the soil. Even the grass plant itself is over 75 percent water.
Here’s what happens when Jacksonville homeowners get irrigation wrong:
Overwatering consequences: Fungal diseases like brown patch and gray leaf spot thrive in constantly wet conditions. Our humid climate already promotes disease, and overwatering makes it worse. Dollarweed and other moisture loving weeds explode in overwatered lawns. Shallow root systems develop because grass has no reason to grow deep roots when surface moisture is always available.
Underwatering consequences: Drought stressed grass turns blue gray before browning. Stressed turf becomes a magnet for chinch bugs, which are already aggressive in Duval, St. Johns, and Nassau counties. Fertilizer sits unused because roots can’t absorb nutrients without adequate moisture. Herbicide effectiveness decreases when weeds are drought stressed and not actively growing.
Timing mistakes: Watering in the evening leaves grass wet all night, creating perfect conditions for fungal infection. Watering midday wastes water to evaporation and can scald grass in summer heat.
The key principle for Jacksonville irrigation is simple: water deeply and infrequently to encourage deep roots, and always water in the early morning.
Seasonal Irrigation Guide for Northeast Florida Lawns
Jacksonville area irrigation needs change dramatically throughout the year. Here’s how to adjust your watering schedule for each season in Duval, St. Johns, and Nassau counties.
Winter Irrigation (December through February)
Your lawn is growing slowly or dormant, requiring minimal supplemental water.
- Reduce irrigation to once per week or less depending on rainfall
- Many weeks require no irrigation at all if rain falls
- Watch for dry periods longer than two weeks without rain
- Warm season grasses like St. Augustine are semi dormant and need far less water
Why this matters: Overwatering dormant grass promotes winter fungal diseases and wastes water. Your lawn simply doesn’t need much moisture when it’s not actively growing.
Spring Irrigation (March through May)
Your lawn is waking up and water needs increase gradually.
- Begin increasing irrigation frequency as temperatures rise
- Start with twice weekly watering and adjust based on rainfall
- Watch for signs of drought stress as growth accelerates
- This is when proper irrigation habits set the tone for summer
Why this matters: Spring is when your lawn builds the root system it needs to survive summer stress. Proper watering now creates drought tolerance later.
Summer Irrigation (June through August)
Peak water demand coincides with afternoon thunderstorms and water restrictions.
- Target one inch per week total, including rainfall
- Reduce scheduled irrigation when afternoon storms provide moisture
- Water restrictions in St. Johns County limit irrigation to twice per week
- Monitor for drought stress between storms, especially in areas sprinklers miss
Why this matters: Summer storms can deliver an inch of rain in thirty minutes, making scheduled irrigation unnecessary. But storms are unpredictable, and some weeks your lawn needs supplemental water.
Fall Irrigation (September through November)
Water needs decrease as temperatures cool and growth slows.
- Gradually reduce irrigation frequency through the season
- Continue monitoring rainfall and adjusting accordingly
- Prepare for winter by encouraging deep root growth with infrequent deep watering
- Watch for dry fall periods that can stress grass before winter
Critical warning: Many homeowners forget to adjust their irrigation controllers as seasons change. Running a summer schedule into fall wastes water and promotes disease.
At Lawn Squad, we observe irrigation patterns during every visit. If we notice signs of over or underwatering, we’ll let you know so you can adjust your system to support the treatments we’re providing.
How to Measure Your Irrigation Output
Most homeowners have no idea how much water their sprinkler system actually delivers. Here’s how to find out.
The tuna can test:
- Place five or six empty tuna cans or similar containers randomly across one irrigation zone
- Run that zone for its normal cycle time
- Measure the water depth in each can with a ruler
- Average the measurements to determine output per cycle
- Repeat for each zone since output varies
Example: Your cans show depths of 0.3, 0.4, 0.35, 0.4, and 0.35 inches after a 20 minute cycle. The average is 0.36 inches per cycle. To deliver half an inch (a typical watering goal), you need about 28 minutes of run time.
Why uneven coverage matters: If your cans show 0.2 inches in one spot and 0.6 inches in another, you have a coverage problem. Some areas are getting too much water while others get too little. Adjusting heads or adding sprinklers may be necessary.
Understanding Jacksonville Area Water Restrictions
Water restrictions in Duval, St. Johns, and Nassau counties limit when and how often you can irrigate. Violating these restrictions can result in fines and wastes a precious resource.
St. Johns River Water Management District Rules
The Jacksonville area falls under St. Johns River Water Management District regulations.
- Irrigation is limited to two days per week for most residential properties
- Watering is prohibited between 10 AM and 4 PM year round
- Odd numbered addresses water on Wednesday and Saturday
- Even numbered addresses water on Thursday and Sunday
- New lawns may qualify for temporary variance allowing daily watering for establishment
Making Two Days Work
Two irrigation days per week is actually ideal for lawn health when done correctly.
- Deliver approximately half an inch per watering day to reach one inch weekly
- Run each zone long enough to achieve adequate depth based on your tuna can test
- Cycle and soak: if water runs off before reaching target depth, split into two shorter cycles with a break between
- Adjust run times seasonally rather than adding watering days
Why this matters: Water restrictions align with best practices for lawn health. The challenge is ensuring you deliver enough water on each allowed day.
Irrigation System Maintenance for Jacksonville Landscapes
Even the best watering schedule fails if your system isn’t working properly. Jacksonville area conditions are tough on irrigation equipment.
Monthly Inspection Checklist
- Walk each zone while it runs and watch for broken heads, misaligned spray, or dry spots
- Check for heads blocked by overgrown plants or damaged by mowers
- Look for geysers indicating broken pipes or connections
- Verify all zones activate properly through your controller
Seasonal Maintenance Tasks
Spring startup:
- Inspect all heads after winter dormancy
- Clean or replace clogged nozzles
- Check controller programming and battery backup
- Verify rain sensor operation
Summer monitoring:
- Watch for heads damaged by lawn equipment
- Monitor for signs of uneven coverage
- Adjust heads that spray onto sidewalks, driveways, or buildings
- Check for leaks causing soggy spots
Fall preparation:
- Reduce zone run times as growth slows
- Clear debris from around heads before leaf fall increases
- Consider professional system audit if problems persist
Rain Sensor Requirements
Florida law requires rain sensors on automatic irrigation systems installed after 1991.
- Rain sensors prevent irrigation when adequate rainfall has occurred
- Sensors should be mounted in an open area where rain falls freely
- Test sensors periodically by manually wetting them to verify shutoff
- Replace batteries or sensors that fail to shut off irrigation after rain
What About Smart Irrigation Controllers?
Smart controllers can take the guesswork out of irrigation scheduling for Jacksonville area homeowners.
These devices connect to weather data and automatically adjust watering based on recent rainfall, temperature, humidity, and evaporation rates. Many qualify for rebates from local water utilities.
At Lawn Squad, we recommend smart controllers for homeowners who struggle to adjust their irrigation seasonally or who travel frequently. The water savings often pay for the controller within a year or two.
Benefits of smart controllers include:
- Automatic adjustment for rainfall without manual intervention
- Seasonal schedule changes happen automatically
- Some models include zone by zone soil moisture monitoring
- Remote access allows adjustment while traveling
The investment makes sense for properties in Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra Beach, and surrounding areas where seasonal rainfall varies dramatically.
Common Irrigation Mistakes Jacksonville Homeowners Make
After serving thousands of customers across Duval, St. Johns, and Nassau counties, we’ve seen these irrigation mistakes cause lawn problems repeatedly.
Mistake 1: Watering Every Day Daily shallow watering trains grass roots to stay near the surface where moisture is always available. These shallow rooted lawns can’t survive drought and are more vulnerable to heat stress, insects, and disease.
Mistake 2: Watering in the Evening Evening irrigation leaves grass blades wet all night. In Jacksonville’s humid climate, this creates perfect conditions for fungal diseases like brown patch and gray leaf spot. Morning watering allows grass to dry before nightfall.
Mistake 3: Ignoring Rainfall Running irrigation on schedule regardless of rainfall wastes water and overirrigates your lawn. A rain sensor or smart controller prevents this, but manual adjustment works too if you stay aware of recent rain.
Mistake 4: Same Schedule Year Round A summer irrigation schedule running in December delivers three to four times more water than dormant grass needs. Seasonal adjustment is essential in Northeast Florida’s variable climate.
Mistake 5: Ignoring Problem Zones Most irrigation systems have weak spots where coverage is poor. Homeowners often increase whole system run times to compensate, overwatering healthy areas to reach dry spots. Fixing coverage problems is always better than increasing run time.
Sandy Soil vs. Clay Soil: Adjusting for Your Property
Soil type dramatically affects irrigation strategy in the Jacksonville area.
Sandy soil (common near beaches in Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach, and Fernandina Beach) drains extremely quickly. Water passes through before roots can absorb it fully. Sandy soil lawns benefit from more frequent, shorter watering cycles and may need slightly more total water than clay soil lawns. Best approach: Consider three shorter watering sessions per allowed day rather than one long session. This gives sandy soil time to absorb water before it drains away.
Clay soil (more common inland in parts of St. Johns County and western Duval County) drains slowly and holds moisture longer. Water can pool or run off before soaking in. Clay soil lawns often need less frequent irrigation but may require cycle and soak techniques. Best approach: Water until you see runoff beginning, pause for 30 to 60 minutes, then continue. This allows water to soak in rather than running off.
Mixed soil (common in many Jacksonville area neighborhoods) requires observation and adjustment. Watch how quickly your lawn shows drought stress after irrigation to gauge water holding capacity.
Your Jacksonville Area Irrigation Schedule at a Glance
Recommended Weekly Schedule by Season
| Season | Frequency | Amount Per Session | Best Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | Once weekly or less | 0.5 inches if needed | Early morning | Skip if rain falls |
| Spring | Twice weekly | 0.5 inches | 4 AM to 8 AM | Increase gradually as temps rise |
| Summer | Twice weekly | 0.5 inches | 4 AM to 8 AM | Reduce after afternoon storms |
| Fall | Once to twice weekly | 0.5 inches | Early morning | Decrease as temps cool |
Signs Your Irrigation Needs Adjustment
| Problem Sign | Likely Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Grass turning blue gray | Underwatering | Increase run time or check for coverage gaps |
| Fungal disease appearing | Overwatering or evening watering | Reduce frequency, water in morning only |
| Dollarweed spreading | Overwatering | Reduce irrigation frequency significantly |
| Brown patches in sunny areas | Underwatering or chinch bugs | Check coverage, inspect for insects |
| Soggy spots that never dry | Broken pipe or drainage issue | Inspect system, may need repair |
The Bottom Line
Proper irrigation is the foundation of a healthy lawn in the Jacksonville area. All the fertilizer, weed control, and pest treatments in the world can’t overcome consistently poor watering practices.
Key principles to remember:
- Water deeply and infrequently to encourage deep root growth
- Early morning watering between 4 AM and 8 AM prevents disease
- One inch per week including rainfall is the target for most lawns
- Seasonal adjustment is essential in Northeast Florida’s variable climate
- Water restrictions exist for good reason and align with lawn health best practices
Homeowners who master irrigation spend less on lawn care, use less water, and enjoy healthier turf than those who water incorrectly.
Let Lawn Squad Handle Your Lawn Care
While Lawn Squad doesn’t install or repair irrigation systems, proper watering dramatically affects the results of every treatment we provide. Our technicians monitor for signs of irrigation problems during every visit and will alert you if we notice issues.
When your irrigation works correctly, our treatments work better. Fertilizer reaches roots efficiently. Herbicides activate properly. Disease pressure decreases. Insect damage becomes less likely.
Our ELITE Program includes:
- Fourteen treatments across eight rounds for complete lawn protection
- Disease control that works best when irrigation practices prevent excess moisture
- Surface insect control for pests that target drought stressed lawns
- Soil testing to understand your lawn’s specific water and nutrient needs
- Unlimited service calls if problems emerge between scheduled visits
Our PRO and ESSENTIAL Programs provide:
- Consistent fertilization and weed control that depends on proper watering
- Professional observation of lawn conditions including irrigation related issues
- Expert guidance on supporting your lawn between treatments
A beautiful lawn requires partnership between proper irrigation at home and professional treatments from Lawn Squad. We handle the fertilization, weed control, and pest management while you provide the water your grass needs to thrive.
Contact Lawn Squad of Jacksonville and St. Augustine today at (904) 594-7380 to get a free quote and learn how professional lawn care combined with smart irrigation practices can transform your landscape.
