Water-Efficient Landscaping
TMWA rewards water-conscious customers
Judges have selected the winners of Truckee Meadows Water Authority's 2008 Water-Efficient Landscape Awards. Entries were evaluated based on aesthetics, efficient irrigation system, plant selection and mulches.
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Six steps for a water-efficient landscape:
- Plan and create a design that uses water efficiently
- Make soil improvements and use mulches
- Install a water efficient irrigation system
- Reduce turf areas, use practical turf areas, avoid turf on slopes
- Use water-efficient plants and group together plants with similar water needs
- Properly maintain your yard and be sure your watering system is in good working order
The notion that water-efficient landscaping lacks color is a common mistake. A wide variety of plants, shrubs and trees provide colors ranging from bright green to violet to bright red. Many of these plants stay green year round. Creative use of ground covers can cut back on grass areas giving a lush, green appearance with less water. The use of rock mulches, such as crushed granite or riverbed rocks, can give your landscape a very creative and colorful look needing no water at all.
High Desert Lawn Care
Here in the high desert, lawns and other plants need deep, strong roots to tolerate our hot, dry summers and recurring droughts. The information in this section will help you keep your yard green and healthy throughout the growing season. By watering deeper and less often, you'll be encouraging stronger root systems.
Begin training your lawn early in the spring to need less water throughout the growing season. In March, after the ground has thawed, water the lawn deeply twice a month and fertilize. Most lawns benefit from aerating and older lawns may need thatching to help them absorb water and nutrients.
In April and May, or as the weather begins to warm, water deeply once a week on one of your assigned watering days. Fertilize again in late April or early May.
In June, July and August, water on your assigned days. In late June, fertilize once more for the summer. Remember to turn off your sprinkler system if it rains. When the weather begins to cool in September, fertilize and cut back to deep watering once a week, then once every two weeks. Also, fertilize your lawn one last time in October for the season.
Do not water from November to March since your lawn is dormant. Water evergreens only if it doesn't rain or snow for a month and only if the ground is not frozen.
Deep Watering Method
When water is deep in the ground instead of in a thin layer on the surface, grass roots are encouraged to grow longer and deeper and need less frequent watering.
- To achieve this, use the on/off method of watering no more than once or twice a week
- Turn your sprinkler on until the water puddles or runs off
- Turn the water off until the water seeps into the ground; wait 1-2 hours
- Turn the water on again until it puddles or runs off
Again, turn the water off. Keep repeating this process until a screwdriver pushes easily into the ground about 6 inches deep. You'll meet resistance when you reach the dry soil.
Most lawns need less water than you may think, particularly if they are well trained. Grasses usually take on a dull, dark appearance when they need water. If you think your lawn needs water, step on your grass. If your footprint remains, and the blades tend to stay flat, then your lawn needs water.
You will need to experiment to determine how long to water. Overwatering is wasteful because it saturates the soil well beyond the root zone of the grass. Overwatering by allowing the sprinklers to run for hours at a time is one of the largest sources of water waste in the Truckee Meadows.
Sprinkler System
Sprinkler systems are the best way to water large turf areas. With proper design and care, you can make them work very efficiently.
Most sprinklers are designed to deliver water faster than our clay-based soil can absorb. To minimize run-off, program your sprinkler clock to apply smaller amounts of water over several shorter cycles, instead of one long cycle.
The length of the cycles depends on the type of sprinklers and how long it takes for run-off to occur. For example, if it takes about 10 minutes for water to stop soaking into the soil and begin puddling or running off, reduce your water times to under 10 minutes.
Set multiple short cycles about one hour apart to apply water to a depth of 6 inches.
Even a landscape featuring water-efficient plants will use more water than necessary if the irrigation system hasn't been carefully set up. Zoning (putting plants with similar water needs on the same irrigation station) will further increase the effective use of water.
Hand Watering
Flower and vegetable gardens, trees and shrubs that need extra water may be watered by hand any day of the week. The rule here is that you hold the hose with ann attached shut-off nozzle rather than laying it on the ground and letting the water flow.
Thirsty New Lawns and Plants
Only new lawns, plant seedlings and a very few naturally shallow-rooted mature plants (flowering dogwood and rhododendrons) will need watering often enough to keep the topsoil moist all of the time.
Since new lawns require a lot of water, whether you're planting a new lawn from seed or installing sod, please do it in the spring or wait until fall. Avoid the heat of the summer.
Mowing
Always use a sharp mower that is set to cut grass at a height of about three inches. Keeping your lawn at this height will prevent it from getting "sunburned" and will inhibit weeds from sprouting.
Click here to view the winning landscapes.