July 1, 2026
First: don't rush the irrigation
Reno can freeze well into April, so charging your sprinkler system too early risks a hard freeze cracking a line or a valve. Wait until overnight lows are reliably above freezing, then do a controlled start-up rather than just turning the water back on.
Open the main slowly to avoid a pressure surge, then walk every zone while it runs: look for broken or tilted heads, leaks at valves, and spray hitting the sidewalk instead of the lawn. Catching these before the system runs on a schedule saves both water and your TMWA allotment.
Set the controller to TMWA's schedule
Program your controller for your address's assigned days — odd addresses water Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday; even addresses water Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday — and keep every cycle before 11am or after 7pm. Early spring needs far less water than summer, so start with short run times and increase as it warms. Overwatering a cool spring lawn just invites disease.
Cleanup, first mow, and pre-emergent
Clear the winter's debris and rake out dead thatch so light and air reach the crowns. Take the first mow a little lower than usual to remove brown tips — but don't scalp. Early spring is also the window for a pre-emergent to stop crabgrass and summer weeds before they germinate; timing is everything, because a late application misses the window entirely.
Let a startup package handle it
Our irrigation start-up and spring cleanup are built into the Complete and Premier plans, and available on their own as well. We time the turn-on to Reno's frost risk so nothing gets damaged, program the controller to the current rules, and get your first mow and pre-emergent in on schedule.
Frequently asked
- Wait until overnight lows are consistently above freezing — often mid-to-late April in Reno. Turning the system on before the last hard freeze risks cracking pipes and heads.
- Early spring, before soil temperatures rise enough for crabgrass and summer weeds to germinate. A late application misses the window, so timing it correctly is the whole point.
- A controlled irrigation turn-on and full zone test, controller programming to TMWA's schedule, winter debris cleanup, and the first mow. Pre-emergent is typically added at the same time.
