Here is a general guide for watering in AZ. We have really dense soil that can retain a lot of moisture for quite some time. It just takes a long time to soak in deeply to where you want it! I like using my drip system on the trees and bushes for a few hours once a week in the summer and every two to there weeks in the winter, unless we get a nice long gentle rain that soaks in, then I skip a watering.
Our desert soil is designed to hold the little bit of rain we do get so many of us water too often and too lightly when we do. By not doing a deep watering with our alkaline soil and water we start to build up the salts around the plant and you will see burning of the leaves on the tips and edges. Think of the farmers and orchards doing their flood irrigation, long deep waters but a lot less frequently.
Now you can't just go out and turn the drip system to a dramatically different schedule, you have trained these plants to survive the best they can on the watering you have been giving them. You will have to wean them down in frequency and at the same time increase the amount of water.
I always hand water the gardens and flower beds because it will just be too difficult to get a schedule down precisely for the many different plants I grow. Sometimes the corn on the one end will need more water and the tomatoes on the other end a lot less. Just easier to go out and water what needs it in these spots.
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