The lawn in the front and back yards of Tom and Rita Canales home in Manteca was, at one time, their pride and joy. But in the face of the ongoing drought that has prompted Governor Jerry Brown to put California on a state of emergency, the couple decided to do their part in the statewide water-conservation. They ripped out their lawns and, in their place, they now have drought-resistant plants in addition to utilizing non-plant garden accessories.
They went a step further in their daily water-conservation practices by saving the cold water from their faucet while waiting for the hot water to kick in.
The Canaleses are just two of some their fellow Manteca Garden Club members who have taken similar steps in conserving water and keeping in line with ongoing water-use restrictions, mandated and otherwise.
According to University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources experts, more than half of all household water use is typically used outdoors on landscape.
There are six key things that homeowners can do, as listed below, to conserve landscape water, according to UC ANR Cooperative Extension advisor in San Joaquin County, Karrie Reid.
• Tune up your irrigation system right away. When water is efficiently and accurately applied, less water is needed to keep plants healthy. Spray heads can get knocked out of alignment and end up spraying the sidewalk, street or driveway and running into the gutter. Check all spray heads to ensure they are hitting the target and twist those that aren’t back into place. Some heads have adjustable angles of spray, which can be fixed with a tool available at a hardware store. Look for cocked heads, which spray water up into the air, and sprays blocked by grass or those that have sunk below grade. Make sure all spray heads are made by the same manufacturer and are from the same line so they deliver water at the same rate, otherwise they’ll leave dry spots. Low-volume spray heads or rotators deliver water more efficiently. To check the watering depth, use a soil probe.
• Water the whole root zone. On allowed watering days, irrigate until the water reaches 12 inches deep for grass, 12 to 18 inches for shrubs and perennials, and 12 to 24 inches for trees. This provides a greater reservoir of water for the plants to draw from, and many will be able to get by on weekly, twice-monthly or monthly irrigation if they are conditioned to send their roots deep. To check the watering depth, use a soil probe or push a long screwdriver into the ground. The depth it reaches easily indicates how deeply the water has infiltrated.
• Avoid wasting water to runoff. If water runs off before the watering cycle finishes, split the cycle time. Set the timer to water in two, three or even four cycles at least an hour apart to allow the water to soak in. To ensure water isn’t flowing below the root zone, check the watering depth after each cycle.
• An irrigation scheduling worksheet created by Loren Oki, UC ANR Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis, and Darren Haver, UC ANR Cooperative Extension advisor in Orange County, helps fine tune irrigation timing. The worksheet is available for free online at the Center for Urban Horticulture website http://www.ccuh.ucdavis.edu.
• Switch to inline drip tubing for beds. Drip irrigation applies water where it is needed with less loss to the air. Be sure to lay tubing so water reaches plants’ entire root zone.
• MULCH, MULCH, MULCH. Adding 3 or 4 inches of organic material such as wood chips, shredded bark or bark nuggets will improve soil health while retaining water and lowering stress on your plants. Place mulch away from the street curb to prevent heavy rains from washing it into the storm drains.
• Replace water-needy plants with low water users in the fall. All plants use a lot of water to get established when they are planted in the spring and summer, and for about a year after. Trees may need extra water for several years until their roots have grown well into the surrounding soil. By waiting until temperatures cool in the fall to plant, it will be easier to abide by the water restrictions. It’s also important to use hydrozoning, which means placing plants with the same water needs on the same valve. Otherwise, irrigating to the thirstiest plants on that station will give other plants more water than they need.
