You can turn on your sprinkler or drip system manually, or you can simplify things by installing a timer to water your yard automatically.

A sprinkler timer uses a clock to regulate the flow of water to the circuits attached to it so you don’t have to worry that your plants are getting too much or not enough water at regular intervals, especially when you’re out of town.

The most basic timer setup turns water on and off at one faucet, making it ideal for a system with one circuit or to water small areas individually. More complicated timers allow you to program how often and how long each circuit in your system waters the landscape.

See next: Mechanical Timers / Wall-Mounted Electronic Timers