NJ Lawns Community

Hey everyone, I'm in Paramus and really frustrated right now. I installed a Rain Bird system last year and honestly it seems like my lawn is always dying in spots despite running it every day. I've got heavy clay soil (which I knew coming in) and I water early morning like you're supposed to. My neighbor has Hunter and swears by it but I don't want to spend that kind of money if it's not going to make a difference. Has anyone here with clay soil had success switching brands? Or am I just doing something wrong with my setup? The guy who installed it said it should be fine but my tall fescue keeps browning out in patches, especially near my driveway where the clay is almost solid. Any advice from Bergen County folks would be appreciated.

Not surprised at all honestly. Rain Bird is fine for sandy loam but clay is a whole different game. I've been doing irrigation installs in Bergen County for 8 years and here's the thing nobody tells you - it's rarely about the brand, it's about the nozzle selection and run time. For clay you absolutely need rotary nozzles that apply water SLOW. Like 45 minutes per zone slow. Those standard spray heads most guys install will just cause runoff in your soil type. I'd look at Hunter's MP Rotator nozzles specifically - they're designed for clay and compacted soil. Rain Bird makes something similar now (the VAN nozzles) but in my experience Hunter's pressure regulation is better out of the box. What zones are you running and for how long?

Mike is spot on about the nozzle situation but I gotta push back a little - I've got both brands working fine in Teaneck and it's definitely doable with Rain Bird. The real issue is probably your controller timing and frequency. In clay you need to water LESS often but LONGER per session. Daily watering in clay actually causes problems because it never gets a chance to percolate down to the root zone. Try every 2-3 days max, and make sure you're running cycle-and-soak. Most basic controllers don't have that set up correctly. Also - have you aerated recently? That made a huge difference for my KBG. I use Ryan aerator from East Coast Equipment in Garfield, highly recommend.

Ugh I literally just bought a house in Ridgewood and my soil is basically concrete. This thread is making me nervous lol. I'm a first timer with irrigation - do I really need to replace the whole system or can I just swap out nozzles? I had no idea this was even an issue. Also question - is it worth calling someone to do a soil test or should I just assume it's clay like everyone else says around here?

Thanks for the info everyone. @MowerMike I'm running standard spray heads, about 15 min per zone at 6am daily. That might be my problem right there. @SeasonalSteve I'll try the every other day approach and see if my controller has that cycle feature. Can you explain what cycle-and-soak means exactly? @NewbieNate I'd definitely get a soil test done honestly. Rutgers cooperative extension does them cheap and it'll tell you what you're working with. I wish I had done that before dropping money on a system.

Cycle and soak basically means you break up your watering into like 3 short cycles instead of one long run. So like 3 cycles of 15 min with 30 min breaks in between. Gives the water time to absorb instead of running off. For your setup LawnLover I'd also check your rain sensor is working properly - had a job last month in Hackensack where the previous installer never connected it and the system was literally underwateringing every day. Made the clay way worse. If you want to stick with Rain Bird call them about the VAN nozzles - they're compatible with their existing bodies I believe.

Update: I called my installer and apparently there's NO RAIN SENSOR connected! He said 'you don't need one in Paramus' which seems insane. I'm getting that fixed this week along with switching to longer run times every 2 days. Gonna grab some van nozzles from Home Depot in Paramus since they carry them. Will report back in a few weeks on whether my lawn survives. Thanks everyone!