One of the most common things we find on an estimate is a yard watered entirely by spray heads: lawn, flower beds, shrubs along the fence and trees all on the same system. It works, sort of. But it wastes a lot of water, and it's usually why some plants struggle while others are overwatered. The fix isn't to choose drip or sprinklers. It's to use each one where it belongs.
Sprinklers are the right tool for lawns. Grass is a solid carpet of shallow roots, and it needs water spread evenly over the whole surface. Spray heads and rotors do exactly that when they're spaced so each head's spray reaches the next one. For a lawn, a well-designed sprinkler zone is the best option there is.
For almost everything else, drip does better. In a planting bed, a spray head wets the leaves, the mulch, the bare soil between plants, the fence and the sidewalk. Much of that evaporates on a hot day or runs off, especially on the heavy clay soil common across Hayward, the Tri-Valley and the East Bay hills, which can only absorb water slowly. Wet leaves also encourage mildew and fungus. Drip puts water right at the base of each plant, slowly enough to soak in, and leaves the rest of the bed dry, which also means fewer weeds.
The two should never share a zone. Spray heads put down water fast, in minutes. Drip emitters put it down slowly, over an hour or more. On the same valve, you either run long enough for the drip and flood the lawn, or run short enough for the lawn and the shrubs never get a real drink. Separate zones let each one run on its own schedule.
Converting a spray zone to drip doesn't mean replacing the system. In most cases we keep the existing valve, add a filter and a pressure regulator (drip runs at low pressure and clogs easily on grit), cap the old spray heads, and run drip tubing to each plant. Emitters are sized to each plant, so a young shrub gets less than an established tree, and the tubing is staked down and hidden under mulch.
Drip needs a little upkeep. Check the filter a couple of times a year, walk the lines in spring to look for emitters that have been kicked loose or chewed, and flush the ends of the lines now and then. When you add new plants, add an emitter for each one. That's all it takes to keep it working for years.
If you're not sure how your yard is set up, that's what the free estimate is for. We'll run every zone with you and tell you which areas should stay on spray and which would do better on drip. Call Garcia's Sprinkler System at (510) 472-5942. We serve Hayward, Concord, Dublin, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Danville, Moraga, Orinda, Lafayette, Livermore, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill and Berkeley.