Water Efficient Lawns & Gardens

Encourage Deep Roots

Don’t think you’re harming your lawn by waiting to water, you’re actually strengthening by encouraging deep roots, as your grass grow deeper roots in search for water.

• Stress your lawn at the beginning of Spring by delaying watering since spring rain and mild temperatures will sustain your lawn.

• Your roots will grow deeper and your lawn will become stronger.

• Soil should be moist 4 to 6 inches below the lawn surface.

• Provides access to more nutrients (can only access nutrients as far as the roots will reach).

• Reduces the need for fertilizer.

• Creates a more drought tolerant lawn.

Aerating

Removes small, deep plugs of soil from your lawn.

• Allows air, water and fertilizer to reach the roots.

• Rake or mow over the small round cones of soil that are cut out of the ground to break them up.

• The micro-organisms in the cores will help to decompress thatch and allow your lawn to absorb more moisture, improving water penetration.

Watering your lawn

Watering your grass at the proper time will result in losing less water to evaporation and keeping more in the soil.

• Early morning watering allows time for the water to absorb into the soil before the sun comes out.

• Try not to water in the evening as soil will remain wet most of the night and can cause disease.

• Most soil diseases require prolonged surface moisture.

Shorten watering cycles - Clay soils, slopes and other areas where water runs off quickly, should use short watering cycles on separate days to minimize runoff.

Dormant grass - Grasses have a built-in mechanism to slow-down water loss during periods of dry, hot weather.

• The crowns or growing points of the lawn will remain alive for at least 4 to 6 weeks without water.

• Once this crown gets moisture again, it will come to life and the turf will green up in 10 to 14 days.

• Water dormant grass when: the blades don’t spring back upright when you walk on it and when the blades fold to show their lighter blueish green underside.

• If the lawns receive a lot of traffic while in a dormant state, there will be irreparable damage.

• Avoid watering heavily and breaking the dormancy and then letting the lawn dry out again.

• Forcing it back into dormancy can stress the lawn and result in your grass dying.

Mowing your lawn

Keeping your grass three inches long helps create a healthier, heartier lawn.

• Longer grass, shades soil and its own roots from the sun

• Allows the soil to more easily hold moisture

• Chokes out weeds

• Allows longer roots to develop

Grass clippings - It's easy to grasscycle with your mower. Keep the mower blade sharp and mow when the grass is dry.

Feed your soil

Keep your soil healthy by spreading compost and fertilizer.

• Top dressing your lawn with compost frequently, will reduce weeds, the need to water and improves soil quality.

• Fall fertilizers are important on lawns that have suffered drought dormancy, and will help lawn recovery by stimulating growth of new roots.

• Hold off watering after applying fertilizer to allow the fertilizer time to be absorbed into the soil.

• Avoid heavy watering to reduce runoff.

Leaves

Fallen leaves provide nourishment and food for your lawn.

• Mowing the leaves right into your lawn can improve vigor and slow weed germination.

• Compost leaves and apply throughout the season.

• Do not leave thick layers of leaves on your lawn as it can cause rot. Shred, mow or mulch them first.

A great way to help lower your outdoor watering use is to plant native species in your garden. These plants thrive in our climate and generally require less maintenance and watering. Consider creating drought tolerant gardens for areas of your property as an attractive, low maintenance, water wise alternative to grass.

Why Grow Native Plants

Encyclopedia of Native Plants

Gardening tips with Frankie Flowers