48 replies to this topic

[mrdavex]

Well that are lots of people watering as you can see at night or in the mornings while driving around the neighborhoods. Which is fine because we are in still a stage 3 restriction which means water 2 days a week.

 

Good way to waste money

[Robert Gary]

 

My sprinklers have been off since November and my lawn is perfectly green.  The cold weather keeps your lawn dormant, and during the winter I don't really care about having a green lawn.  

 

I guess that was more my question. My lawn and bushes etc are nice and green and I've not watered in many months. I'm not gardener but I'm curious if watering in the winter while plants are dormant is even effective. I'm no water Nazi, not judging, etc, just honestly curious if there is any value in watering in the winter. 

 

-Robert

[SacKen]

 

I guess that was more my question. My lawn and bushes etc are nice and green and I've not watered in many months. I'm not gardener but I'm curious if watering in the winter while plants are dormant is even effective. I'm no water Nazi, not judging, etc, just honestly curious if there is any value in watering in the winter. 

 

-Robert

 

It's effective in the sense that the plants, especially lawn, may not go fully dormant.  My neighbor used to water through the winter when I didn't.  My lawn had that dormant, almost dead look for a couple months while their lawn still looked lush and green.  Mine came back just fine in Spring. So it was just a cosmetic issue at the expense of a lot of water.

 

Moisture from overnight dew and fog are plenty during the dormant months.  I regularly turn off all my sprinklers and drip around Nov and don't turn them back on until late Spring (earlier if it is a dry Spring).  The lawn will get that dormant look to it and not stay nice and green, but everything lives.  Last year was the first time I watered during that period, but only once or twice in late Feb and March because everything was so dry and warm that we didn't even get enough overnight dew to keep things happy and everything was starting to bloom already.

[caligirlz]

 

My sprinklers have been off since November and my lawn is perfectly green. 

Yes, mine too. The front yard that is still green. The back yard is still virtually dead from this summer.

 

 

It's effective in the sense that the plants, especially lawn, may not go fully dormant.  My neighbor used to water through the winter when I didn't.  My lawn had that dormant, almost dead look for a couple months while their lawn still looked lush and green.  Mine came back just fine in Spring. So it was just a cosmetic issue at the expense of a lot of water.

I sure hope my backyard comes back this spring. I've never seen it so brown. Although, something good must be happening because there birds have been very busy.

[mrdavex]

A simple way to determine if you need to water your lawn or plants is the screwdriver test.  Take a Philips screwdriver with a 6-8" long shaft, and push it into the ground (do this at the drip line for trees).  If it goes in easily, your soil has plenty of moisture.  Of course, our soil is so rocky that you might hit a rock and not get an accurate reading.  Giving too much water to plants can cause the plants to develop shallow roots, and promote fungus and disease growth.  

[ducky]

Yes, mine too. The front yard that is still green. The back yard is still virtually dead from this summer.

 

I sure hope my backyard comes back this spring. I've never seen it so brown. Although, something good must be happening because there birds have been very busy.

 

I noticed a lot of birds on my lawn.  They were eating the grubs/cutworms, whatever those little caterpillar things are in the dirt.  I think that's why my lawn has those brown patches. It's certainly not because it needs water.  The soil is still really damp.

 

The only thing I've had to water are some potted plants.

[Robert Gary]

The worms the birds are eating are eating the roots. You'll notice you can easily pull the grass right out of the ground. They sell stuff at Home Depot that fixes this. Same happened to me a couple months ago. Now it's green again.

[ducky]

The worms the birds are eating are eating the roots. You'll notice you can easily pull the grass right out of the ground. They sell stuff at Home Depot that fixes this. Same happened to me a couple months ago. Now it's green again.

 

I figured they weren't good for the lawn, but I don't like using anything toxic in the yard.  Is there any organic way to get rid of these things, other than letting the birds do their thing  to keep the grub population down?

[Dave Burrell]

Last year we did our best to conserve water as much as possible, our sprinklers are still shutoff.

 

Looking at this website and comparing our water usage from 2013 and 2014, we used 111,459 gallons LESS in 2014. The main reason is because we stopped watering our front lawn and we did our best to conserve water in our household the entire year. Apparently it really makes a difference! Watering the lawn is/was our biggest waste.

 

This year I am going to reduce our lawn footprint and extend our planter beds, wish we could get of the front lawn entirely, it serves no useful purpose - would rather have a large garden like this..... 

[mrdavex]

 

I figured they weren't good for the lawn, but I don't like using anything toxic in the yard.  Is there any organic way to get rid of these things, other than letting the birds do their thing  to keep the grub population down?

 

Beneficial Nematodes.  I have a box at home, but I keep forgetting to apply them.  The instructions say a rainy day is the best since they shouldn't have direct sunlight.  I've seen them sold at OSH and Greenacres.

[ducky]

 

Beneficial Nematodes.  I have a box at home, but I keep forgetting to apply them.  The instructions say a rainy day is the best since they shouldn't have direct sunlight.  I've seen them sold at OSH and Greenacres.

 

Thanks.  Sounds like it's worth a try.  I think we are supposed to get some rain Friday or Saturday.  I'm hoping it's more than just a sprinkling.

[mrdavex]

 

Thanks.  Sounds like it's worth a try.  I think we are supposed to get some rain Friday or Saturday.  I'm hoping it's more than just a sprinkling.

 Here's some more info on them: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/TOOLS/TURF/PESTS/innem.html 

[nomad]

I know this was covered before but I couldn't find the earlier thread about the Dropcountr app from the city that lets you track water usage. I just loaded it today. 

 

I was appalled to see that homes near to me are using OVER 2x the water I am on average. What is it people don't get about water conservation?!?!

 

Short showers and collect the waste for re-use, let your lawn die, run only full loads of clothes and dishes, use car washes that recycle the water. Doesn't seem too hard. 

 

Folsom Lake is at about 56% of capacity right now and with zero snow pack run-off its going to be a dry, dry Summer.

 

 

[Howdy]

Thats me. I just don't care and will water on the 2 days I am allowed. Just following the rules they put in place. I pay for what I use. If it gets too expensive I will cut back. I am done saving my water for the new homes south of 50. 

[The Average Joe]

I've had my sprinklers off for over 5 months. I will turn them back on when needed. I will keep the pool full. I will run full loads of washer and dishwasher. I will fix leaks.I will flush on every use of the bathroom. I will shower until I am clean. I will not cart 5 gallon buckets around from shower to toilet/planter etc.  If those behaviors make me an arse, so be it. I don't live in a third world country. I see no reason to behave as if I do.

 

Much of this emergency can be traced to environmental groups preventing development of storage facilities. Just go here and sort by year built. You'll notice that despite huge population growth from the 70's to now, that is when the dams stopped being built. Coincidentally, that was when the environmental movement got going. The politicians answer for their failures is to conserve, but at some point, you can't conserve your way to supply. Just another "drop in the bucket" of reasons to leave CA.

 

Oops, forgot the link: https://en.wikipedia...s_in_California