I only had 2 tuna cans, but I ran the experiment twice.

The first time, there wes no discernable difference in depth. I put one
can in the dryest spot and another in one of the greener spotts about 2 ft
away. I used the depth gage on my verniers, and measured 3 places in each
can. In both cans, I measured .120-.135 in in 3 places. I didn't take and
average, because the range was within the margin of measuring error.

The second time, I ran the sprinklers for 10 minutes instead of 5. I
compared another "dryest spot" (where the screwdriver stops at about 1.5")
with one of the greenest spots in the lawn only about 2 ft away and where
the screwdriver goes in 6" easily. I took the average of 4 readings in both
cases. In the dryest spot, the average was .263 and the average in the
greenest spot was .276.

I did this in the afternoon, and there is always wind here in the
afternoon, so that could be goofing up the data. The wind today is mild,
but it's here. I water at 4 am, when there is seldom wind. I will repeat
the measurement after tomorrow's first (12 minute) watering, with the cans
in the same place.

In the meantime, I would sure love to hear anything you have to say on
using gypsom and topper soil. You may have missed my second posting about
that. If so, please check my "More Info" posting.

"Tom Jaszewski" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 7 Aug 2005 13:09:59 -0700, "G Burton"
wrote:

I've checked that, and I am within spec. In fact, the problem is just
a
few feet from the head.


Once more....you have problem with uniformity. After hundreds of
homeowners consultations over 20 years I'm stilling willing to bet you
have a coverage and not a soil problem!!! Put some tuna cans out in
brown and green spots, run your irrigation for 5 minutes and measure
depth then report back!
Acts of creation are ordinarily reserved for gods and poets. To plant a
pine, one need only own a shovel.
-- Aldo Leopold