Landscaping and Gardening Info

We need to be aware of how much water we are using and do our part to save as much as possible. Some areas of the country have been flooded with too much water and in other areas they are in a drought.

As the weather changes from one season to the next water requirements for plants, lawns, trees, and shrubs change also. They don’t take in as much water as the temperatures cool with the shorter days. Of course the same goes with the change from winter to spring to summer as the temperature rises with longer days more water is required. It’s not only the temperature but also the water requirements decrease as plants go into dormancy.

When you take a walk through your neighborhood you’ll notice that some people don’t bother to reprogram their sprinkler system timer for the changes in weather.

You can save a lot of water by adjusting your sprinkler timer according to the needs of your yard, and especially if you have a meter you’re being billed for every drop of water that you are using.

With good soil preparation around your plants and regulating the amount of water you apply, your plants can be trained to put out more roots this will encourage them to flourish with less water.

In drier areas of the country where irrigation is a necessity a lot of cities have water restrictions and enforce them.

Check with your local water district to see what days you are allowed to water at your address. The schedules are generally odd and even days with the odd-numbered addresses taking one side of the street and the even-numbered addresses take the other.

After you’ve made the necessary adjustments to your sprinkler timer to set it for the allowed watering days go through each sprinkler zone and adjust the run time for the plant material you are applying water on. Most new sprinkler timers allow you to set multiple watering cycles. By setting multiple cycles you can put less time on each cycle and allow the water to soak in rather than run off.

Inspect each area of your yard, as your sprinklers are running to identify the areas that have been receiving too much water it’s best for the plants that they do not get over watered. Change plugged nozzles and repair broken heads and water lines.

As you begin repairing your lawn, and planting new shrubs in the fall hand water them so you don’t have to run the complete zones.

Tags: garden, landscaping