July is Smart Irrigation Month. Did you know that more than 50 percent of water used to irrigate lawns and gardens is wasted? The amount of water wasted by the average homeowner in just one year could be enough to fill three backyard swimming pools!
Water can be a precious commodity for lawns during a Nebraska summer, so using every drop of water is important.
Follow these tips to make every drop count on the lawn:
-- Measure the amount of water applied in a 15 minute period using collection devices such as tuna or coffee cans. Adjust the runtime to deliver the required amount. Change the runtime seasonally and remember to subtract any rainfall.
-- Water to the bottom of the roots. Use a screwdriver or soil probe to determine how deep the roots are and how far the water has soaked in. Try to keep the soil moist about a half inch deeper than the deepest living roots or to a depth of 8 to 9 inches.
-- Water in the early morning. Watering is more efficient in the morning due to less evaporation and low wind speed.
-- Observe automatic sprinkler systems once per month. Look for heads that don’t turn or spray the street or sidewalk, bent or damaged heads, clogged or worn nozzles or orifices and turf growth around the head.
-- Return grass clippings to the lawn using a recycling type mower. Clippings are a good nutrient source and help to conserve moisture.
-- Consider reducing the number of fertilizer applications or reducing the amount of fertilizer applied to produce less growth and moisture loss.
-- When watering on a slope, use delayed starts. Run sprinklers until runoff is noticed then stop. Wait three hours and resume. Aerate in spring or fall to increase infiltration.
-- When overseeding, irrigate lightly and frequently. The new turf plants have a shallow root system, so timing should be adjusted accordingly.
-- Adjust heads as landscape plants grow larger and begin to block the spray pattern. New installations or benches and decks also can decrease irrigation efficiency.
- Make every drop count on the landscape:
- The design of a home landscape should incorporate a thorough assessment of site conditions so that selected plants can be located to take advantage of existing soil moisture conditions and remain healthy and vigorous with minimal supplemental irrigation.
-- Install native and/or adapted plants that are drought-resistant and require minimal supplemental irrigation once established.
-- Create water zones by putting plants together that have similar water needs. Ornamental plants, including turf species, can be grouped into low, moderate and high water users. Each zone should be watered according to its need for supplemental irrigation, which should be accurately estimated based upon the month of application, actual precipitation and weather conditions.
-- Mulch garden plants to reduce evaporation and weed competition for available soil moisture. Organic mulches, such as wood chips, evergreen needles, straw, corn cobs and dried grass clippings also improve soil infiltration and water-holding capacity over time.
-- Amend soils with compost, manure or leaf mold to improve the water holding capacity and infiltration of soils as well as plant vigor and health during drought conditions.
-- Focus irrigation for woody plants at or beyond the dripline to promote extensive rooting. Apply water deeply and infrequently. Where practical, minimize evaporation and wind loss by using soaker hoses or dip systems and water in the early morning.
-- Maximize the value of natural rainfall by capturing and recycling rainwater in barrels or buckets to water patio planters or detain stormwater runoff in dry wells or streambeds to enhance landscape soil moisture.
-- Automatic irrigation of woody and perennial plants should be carefully adjusted throughout the growing season so that supplemental water applications do not exceed the water amounts required by plants and lost through evaporation.
-- Regardless of ability to tolerate drought, all plants require supplemental irrigation when first established. In order to increase water use efficiency and potentially improve plant establishment in a new landscape, consider hand-watering individual plants for the first several months of the growing season. This will ensure that the limited root systems are efficiently receiving adequate water without necessitating irrigation coverage over the entire landscape area.
These are just a few tips you can use to save water in your landscape this summer.
