From The Field

June is peak growing season and irrigation season. But misinformation still circulates across fields, farms, and greenhouses. At Lee Rain, we’ve seen firsthand how the wrong assumptions can lead to wasted water, lower yields, and system failures.

Here are five of the most common irrigation myths — and how to correct them with smarter practices and proven tools.

 

 

 
Myth 1: “It rains enough in June — I don’t need irrigation.”


The Truth: Rainfall in June can be misleading. While it might look like enough on paper, uneven distribution and short dry spells can still stress your crops. Waiting for rain (or assuming it's enough) can set you back during critical growth stages.

How to Fix It: Use a reliable irrigation schedule that supplements rainfall rather than relying on it. Monitor weather trends and soil moisture to ensure consistency across your fields.

Smart Tools to Help:

AgSense by Valley: Monitor irrigation remotely by adjusting scheduling, water ...

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Irrigation Tips to Save You Time (and Water) This Summer
Summer will be here before we know it, for most people that means longer days, less stress, and more time to relax. But for our hardworking farmers and nursery owners, the days are never quite long enough to get everything done.

We see you and we want to lighten the load.

That’s why we created a list of the most effective and reliable irrigation tips designed to save you time, water, and give you the smoothest operation- without adding more to your plate.
1. Automated Scheduling
Automated irrigation schedules take the guesswork (and daily adjustments) off your hands. Tailor each schedule to your crop types and field conditions, and let the system handle the rest.The pressure of the constant worry and checking is now out.

Need to adjust for a new season? Just update the schedule once.

Got a rainy day, upcoming drought, or maintenance work coming ...

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April Showers Bring Healthy Crops… And Some Other Challenges
As April rolls in, farmers across the country look forward to the much-needed rains that mark the season of growth. While rain is essential for healthy crops, it also brings its own set of challenges. Too much rain can lead to waterlogged soil, while not enough can leave your crops thirsty. That’s where Lee Rain comes in. We’re here to help you optimize your irrigation system to navigate the unpredictable nature of April weather.

With the right irrigation practices in place, you can make sure your crops get the water they need without over- or under-watering. In this article, we’ll walk you through four crucial steps to ensure you have a successful season ahead: staying informed about the weather forecast, checking soil moisture levels, fine-tuning your irrigation systems, and setting an up-to-date irrigation schedule.

1. Stay Informed: Track Weather Patterns for Smarter Irrigation
Every April ...

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The problem with traditional irrigation management (i.e. manual or pre-set prescription), is that each irrigation timing event requires that you make two decisions, not just one. You must know not only when to stop irrigating (Decision #1), but also when to jump back in (Decision #2). And, assuming you get both calls right, you must repeat the process over and over, while factoring environmental conditions the plant is experiencing (i.e. heat, sun, wind, humidity and stage of growth, etc.).

After taking all this into account, it only takes one wrong irrigation decision to wipe out all of your prior successes, because even the slightest over or under-watering event negatively impacts yields every fifteen minutes. This is why Lee Rain believes that traditional irrigation management is a loosing proposition.

Recently, one of our patrons admitted that Lee Rain’s position on traditional irrigation made sense, but added: “I’m still tempted to stay in control ...

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What is the basis behind the Plant Empowerment Cycle we employ to deliver Plant to Irrigation (P2i) process?

P2i is all about the interrelationship between translation, communication and implementation to make it all happen in the field. The Plant Empowerment Cycle, which illustrates how P2i works, involves three coordinated elements—Precise Plant Intelligence translating into Precise Evaluation, which is then communicated for Precise Action which is implemented to meet the Precise Crop Needs, instantly. But what are the principles behind this methodology and where do we start?

Precise Plant Intelligence
First, we accept the premise that plants are extremely aware of their environment, and are able to process and integrate information in sophisticated ways. Plants have the ability to adjust and adapt to changing circumstances relative to a particular environment. They accurately compute their circumstances, make sophisticated internal adjustments and take defined actions to mitigate and control diverse environmental situations.

In fact, a plant’s roots ...

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Just for fun, since plant health and performance is directly impacted by the environmental conditions (both above and below the soil surface), tell me the amount of rainfall that occurred on June 6 of last year. Wait, I'll make it easier - tell me the total rainfall of any date in June last year?

Stumped? Well, so am I. Who could possibly remember that?

By that notion, you'll soon forget today's rainfall total too. And that's the point: If you are a grower who implements Plant Triggered Irrigation ---as we counsel our clients to use--- there is no need to be concerned with what rainfall occurred or for that matter if the temperature, humidity, wind speed or sunlight intensity is influencing plant health on any particular day, hour or minute because the plant itself tells the irrigation system what it wants or needs every fifteen minutes.

Without Plant Triggered Irrigation, when weather instability ...

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