Marin County
To obtain month-by-month recommendations for each of the stations of your controller use the calculator below by answering the questions in each of the sections: Area Name, Plants, Soil etc. Once you choose "Calculate" you will see a schedule at the bottom of the screen. Add as many areas as you want. Click here for additional information.
Area Name
What would you like to call this landscape area?
(Examples: Front Lawn, Front Plantings, Back Lawn, Back Hillside, etc.)
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Plants
What type of plants are you watering in this area?
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Soil
How would you describe your type of soil?
| Clay Loam if either the native soil is mildly amended or unamended. This soil type is true for the vast majority. If you are unsure select this one. | Loam if the soil is heavily amended with organic matter and worked into the soil thoroughly. | Sandy Loam if you live near water ways like Oceans, Bays, Rivers and Creeks. This is the least frequent soil type for residential gardens. You will know if you have it because it is quite easy to dig holes in. |
Watering System
What type of watering system do you have?
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Other Factors
Watering shady or sloped areas does affect the Watering Schedule, please select as appropriate.
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The calculator has been designed to give you a schedule for the maximum amount of water which your plants may need each month of the year. Because everyone's landscape is different, the calculator has been simplified by using average numbers for weather, plants, and soils in Marin County. Thanks to Dan Carney of Marin Municipal Water District and Bob Eagle of Contra Costa Agency for consulting on this calculator.
Minutes per Cycle: How many minutes in a row that station or valve must run at one time. It is the length of one "run time".
Cycles per Day: This is how many times the above activity must happen to get the plant or turf enough water without incurring runoff. A Cycle is how many times the station or valve runs on a given day. Sometimes known as a run time. Some controllers don't offer as many cycle starts as are recommended in the Calculator. Do the best the controller allows.
Days between Watering: This is how many days must elapse before you should run through the routine of cycle(s) recommended above. Some controllers don't allow more than 7 days per run time or cycle start. Some controllers are based on days of the week and cannot have more than 7 days between watering. Do the best you can with this limitation.
Adjust as best you can your automatic timer according to the numbers you get from the calculator. You might need to make compromises based on the limitations of the controller. Pay attention to your plants for stress increasing or decreasing watering times accordingly. Skip watering days when it rains or when the soil is already wet. Re-program your timer each month using your GardenSoft Water Calculator schedule as a guide.
Important Drought Notice: The Water Calculator does not take into account any local mandatory conservation measures that may be in effect because of the current drought. Please check with your water provider to find out what watering days and times are allowed in your area.
Disclaimer:The information provided by this calculator is of a general nature and must be interpreted by the user for their own specific needs. Therefore the Water Agency and GardenSoft cannot be held liable for any landscape losses or damages from the use of this information. The reader of this information is responsible to verify these suggestions with local irrigation professionals.