Sprinkler Conversion

When we sheet mulched half of the back lawn last year, we did so with the intention that someday we would convert the sprinkler system (which hiss a couple gallons a minute per sprinkler all over the place) to a much more efficient drip system.

My advice for a project like this:

Take your time
Do it right
Plan it well
Buy the right parts the first time around

I made 7 trips to the hardware store last weekend. I even dared to enter Home Depot and Lowe's when my beloved Orchard Super Hardware (OSH) didn't have the part I needed. Talk about feeling completely overwhelmed! Now I remember why I don't like those places.

Like many of our projects, this one came to fruition kind of last minute. We decided last Friday that last weekend would be the weekend to convert the sprinklers. We also had a broken valve in the front that needed to be replaced, and given that our sprinklers were done when the house was built 10 years ago, the same replacement valve wasn't readily available.

First mistake
I went to cut the broken valve from the water supply and Chris came over and said, "That's not the broken valve." Strike one. Hey, at least I turned the water off! We ended up having such issues replacing the valves that we simply decided to cap them for now. We finally figured out on Sunday evening that they go to areas that are sheet mulched out front anyway, so we don't have any need for the sprinkler to be in working order (for now)! We fought with them all weekend, and the simple answer that could have saved us much time didn't occur until Sunday night? Tis life.

Second mistake
I did not plan this project well at all, and kept having to make trips to the hardware store to continue uninterrupted.

Third mistake
After digging up all of the sprinklers in the backyard, converting them to a drip system/capping them, I turned the water on to find that I had completely missed a sprinkler head in the corner! Drats. When I tried to dig the little booger up tonight, I realized there are tree roots wrapped around the entire thing. Sounds like a job for Chris!


Strike Four
The other mistake I made (duh! I can't believe this one folks) is that I didn't wrap the threads of the converted sprinklers in the back with teflon tape to prevent water leaks. Now I have to unscrew all of them and put on tape before screwing them back in. They leak! Arrgh.





Next time I will find and solicit the help of a local irrigation store in the planning and parts areas in which I so incredibly lacked this weekend. Once it's all finally completed and I'm happy with the results, I'll post pictures to make me feel better. Right now, I'm living in sprinkler purgatory!



Why am I telling you about my sprinkler struggles? It illustrates everything I'm doing wrong.

I've only recently realized that I need to take my time with projects. For some reason, I always put some artificial deadline on myself (we need to finish THIS weekend!) and then rush to get stuff done and at the end I'm not 100% happy with the finished job. I've been inspired after meeting Mark and Linda from Each Little World in Chicago a few weeks ago and reading their adventures since then. They take their time with projects and the finished products are absolute works of art. Their tea house, their fence, oh wow! It makes me want to be a better gardener/project-er.

Tale of the Sun & the Wind

The sun and wind were chatting one day when the wind spotted a man walking down the street wearing a coat.

"Watch this! I betcha I can blow his jacket off of him!" said the wind.

And blow the wind did. He blew harder and harder, but the man was undeterred and continued walking while grasping at the edges of his jacket, holding ever tighter so it wouldn't blow off of him.

The sun said, "No wind, watch this. I can make his jacket come off."

The sun shone brightly, and the clouds began to clear. The air warmed, and after a few moments, the man simply took off his coat to enjoy the warmth of the sun on his skin.

Moral of the story:
Sometimes you have to go slow to go fast