Baseline Systems BaseStation 3200 - Manual (Page 15)

BaseStation 3200 Advanced Irrigation Controller Manual
Note: Root depth and water requirements for trees and shrubs vary much more greatly than for turf. Consult an
experienced Arborist or Master Gardener for specific guidelines for watering trees.
Most trees are watered along with turf in commercial landscapes. In this case, Baseline recommends that you
install biSensors in the turf areas and that you adjust the default run times of zones with trees to ensure water
application to 12 inches or whatever is required to optimize tree health.
Installing biSensors with New Trees
In the case of new landscape with newly installed trees that are watered separately from turf zones, it is important
to make sure that the sensor is located as close to the root ball in the top 1/3 of the root ball as possible. Watering
new trees with a sensor based watering strategy is a good way to avoid inadvertently “drowning” new trees and
shrubs due to overwatering.
Shrubs and Other Ornamental Plants
Many landscapes feature shrub zones that are separately watered from turf zones. Shrubs generally have very
different water needs from turf, so having separate zones is a good thing!
For shrub zones, choose a representative plant, and then install the in or close to the top 1/3 of the root zone for
the plant, without damaging the root structure of the plant.
If drip emitters or bubblers are used, install the sensor in a location that is not directly under the emitter or
bubbler to avoid partial watering of the whole root zone of the plant.
Gardens and Crop Plants
Sensors are excellent tools for maximizing crop results. They have been used for decades in irrigated agriculture.
Garden and crop plant watering depends greatly on the type of plants being grown, and a discussion of this topic is
beyond the scope of this manual.
To plan a watering strategy for larger gardens or crops, Baseline recommends that you contact your local
Cooperative Extension Office. You can find a national register of the extension offices at:
http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/
Watering Strategies
Each property is unique and has unique watering requirements. In order to support a broad range of climate
zones, plant types, landscape designs, and landscape usage requirements, the BaseStation 3200 provides a variety
of watering strategies.
The basic watering strategies supported by the 3200 are shown in the following table.
Timed Like all irrigation controllers, you can program the 3200 to run zones on specific times and dates.
Timed irrigation is the default setting for any zone that has not been associated with a moisture
sensor. Refer to Setting Up a Timed Zone on page 43.
Historical
ET
The BaseStation 3200 allows you to set the days between irrigation according to a Historical ET
calendar. This watering strategy, unlike typical seasonal adjustments, will promote deeper root
growth and healthier plants throughout the season. However, Historical ET based watering will
not protect your landscape from unusual weather patterns in any given season. Read the topic
To set up historical ET-based watering for a program on page 49.
Lower Limit Also called Lower Threshold. In this soil moisture based, smart watering strategy, irrigation is
suspended or skipped until the soil dries to the lower limit, which may be set manually, or set
using the automatic calibration process. This watering strategy naturally waters deeply and
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