October is the overseeding time at Fountain Park, which requires many irrigation scheduling changes for about a month. With more than 30 acres of turf, this process takes several weeks, including weeks of scalping the existing Bermuda grass, applying the Rye grass seed and fertilizer, and sufficiently watering to germinate and allow the grass to become established. The process is expected to be complete in Fountain Park by Nov. 3.
Bermuda grass is Arizona’s heat-loving and sun-seeking summer grass. The shorter days and cooler temperatures of the fall and winter months cause Bermuda grass to go dormant. Overseeding with Ryegrass provides green grass within Fountain Park all winter.
Overseeding Bermuda with Ryegrass requires different maintenance. During overseeding, the Ryegrass seed must remain moist during the day to optimize germination in the warm sunshine. Thus, the overseeding watering schedule operates throughout the day, beginning just after sunrise at 7 a.m. and continuing through the afternoon until 7 p.m.
With more than 30 acres of turf to keep wet, the Fountain Park irrigation system operates four cycles per day through more than 200 valve zones that run over 1,000 sprinklers, which takes multiple hours per cycle. As a result, irrigation will likely be in operation during peak park usage times and will cause the walking path to be wet and potentially slippery. Four Peaks Park and Desert Vista Park have walking paths as an alternative during the overseeding at Fountain Park. This schedule is temporary, and staff will resume standard nighttime irrigation cycles by early November. During overseeding, the Town encourages park users to walk carefully, remembering that wet sidewalks can be slick. Signs posted around the park offer more irrigation information, and we hope this temporary inconvenience is offset by the green grass we enjoy year-round.