I am in Florida - my 5 zones run every day, for 1 hour each, from 12 midnight to 5 a.m. The reason I do these times is so that if I want to work in the yard, it will dry somewhat. If I run it during the day, my day is messed up - works for me!

hey junta.. a GW newbie.. welcome ...

you question is impossible for anyone to answer.. but yourself ...

and the reason why.. is that we have no experience with your soil ...

how much water is necessary for you soil.. in your garden.. with your mulch and your sun .. can not be answered by anyone other than Mr. Experience ...

when i went thru this.. and searched for the knowledge you want.. the only way to figure it out.. is to run the system.. and then go out and find out what happened ...

take a little trowel ... and dig a few holes.. and find out how much water got into the soil ... and then adjust from there ...

you would be better off .... to provide a thorough soaking to about 2 inches.. once per week .. than you would be to mist them once a day ... does that make sense ..

but then.. whether that soaking is needed once a week or sooner.. or longer.. depends on how your soil retains the water.. and what kind of mulch you have on your soil to retain it ... again.. you just have to experiment ...

any frankly.. i have no clue what that has to do with the water in your gutters ... what falls from the sky is an interesting fact.. but it is hard to see what your soil will do with it .... again .. after rain .. without the system running .. you should go dig a hole after you get an inch of rain.. and find out how far into the root zone the water got .. and then perhaps you could extrapolate from there.. as to how to adjust your system ..

i usually sum this all up by saying that watering.. system or not.. is an ART.. rather than a science.. meaning it is not really some mathematical formula which fits neatly into a calender or schedule ...

all that said .. we do not water in the evening.. as we prefer the leaves to go into darkness dry [to avoid mold and mildews] .... and we dont water in the heat of the day.. or it just all evaporates away ...

a good time to water would be around dawn .... and for a period to time to ensure a deep soaking ... and then let the soil NEARLY dry before the next watering...

and all that is complicated when your garden has a diversity of plants ... e.g. your lawn will need water much more often than your conifers/trees .. and something like a water loving hosta.. will need water much more often that some of your plants that prefer dryness ... so you might even have to go so far as watering different beds on different schedules ...

i have spent a lot of time describing all the variables .. so that you could get a better 'feel' for what you are asking ...

but when it all boils down.. let the installer set it.. and if some plants look stressed .. change it .. lol ... really now.. lol .. [but then knowing whether it is stressed from too much or too little water will the the next question ...]

enjoy your new system ... ken

To answer your questions more specifically, the ideal time to water is very early in the day....like dawn :-) This is when water vapor in the air (dew) is highest so there is far less chance for evaporation yet allows plenty of time for foliage to dry before any disease issues may occur.

How long or how often you need to water will depend on soil conditions and the weather. Testing - as suggested - is the best way to determine this but be prepared to do some adjusting to the system to accommodate differing conditions. And keep in mind that infrequent but longer periods of irrigation are far more efficient and beneficial to the plants than daily short bursts. You want to make sure the water percolates down into the root zone and that doesn't happen if you run the system for 10-15 minutes on a daily basis.

Personally, I dislike pop-up irrigation systems/sprinklers for anything other than lawns. They are just not very efficient at delivering the water where it needs to go and in the proper quantities. And they tend to waste a lot of water......that may not be a issue where you live, but in many areas of the country, water is a very limited resource and its delivery to the garden is very closely monitored and delivery systems very closely evaluated for maximum efficiency.