Monday, June 1, 2015

Watering Restrictions and “Green” Watering Practices

With the recent news on the water crisis and looming restrictions in California, we thought we'd share what the current watering restrictions are like in Orange County.

Source: http://floridaswater.com/wateringrestrictions/

With that in mind, here are some tips to make your lawn more drought-tolerant, thus requiring less water to flourish.

-       Grass should be watered only 2-3 days (or less) a week or as needed when it shows signs of stress from lack of water. Grass that is constantly watered will suffer from a short,         weak root system and will struggle in the hot summer months

-       Signs of stress include a bluish-gray color, closed leaf blades, long periods of time recovering from traffic, dry soil around root zone, etc.

-       Applying mulch to your plant beds will help to retain soil moisture and improve soil quality

-       Over-watering a lawn can promote weeds, disease, fungus, and insects

-       Water at the appropriate times in the day. Watering in the morning ensures a complete irrigation cycle into the lawn. Most of the water will quickly evaporate if sprinkled on the lawn         in the afternoon

-       Install an automatic, timed irrigation system to prevent over-watering

-       Most irrigation clocks allow for cycle/soak operation which will allow the watering of the lawn to be staggered to reduce potentially wasteful run-off

-       For most Florida soils, no more than ¾” of water is needed per application to revitalize the grass

-       You can measure the water output of your irrigation system by using the “catch” can method (placing small cans in your yard and measuring the water output)

-       When watering plants, consider using rainwater which is 100% soft water – free of chemicals, salts, and minerals that are found in municipal treated water, groundwater, and         surface water

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