Waterwise Gardening

Water is becoming one of our most precious commodities, and conservation needs to be at the forefront. We all have to do our utmost, around the home, and in the yard and garden to conserve water and use it wisely.

There are four things that are top-tier in saving water in the garden:

Remove as much lawn as possible
Irrigate smartly--mostly with drip irrigation: Drip Basics and Intermediate Drip
Mulch properly
Water-wise plant selection, such as natives and Mediterranean-climate plants

And for this summer, delaying the planting of ANY new plants until fall, just before rains, is the best idea. See Guidelines for Managing Drought in Urban Landscape for guidelines on irrigation systems and management, prioritizing your plants, lawns, signs of drought stress, and drought tips.

Removing and Replacing Lawn

Lawn takes far more water than anything else. Gardeners and homeowners should seriously consider lawn-replacement (replacing all - or at least part) of thirsty lawns with low-water use plants. There are several different techniques for taking out lawn, and many alternatives to supplant it.

Irrigating smartly

Emitter Line

Using minimal water to keep plants alive and healthy in the dry season, and wasting nothing are the watchwords. If you have sprinklers, make sure there is no overspray outside the area which needs water. Watering the right length of time, and at the right times are, important, too. Drip systems are the best way to minimize water use in irrigation--drip is over 90% efficient, whereas hand watering and sprinkers range only from 50-70%. Irrigate slowly and deeply, to encourages plants to develop deep root systems that are better able to tolerate drought. Periodically check soil moisture with a moisture meter or a soil sampling tube, which extracts a 12-inch or longer core, showing inch-by-inch how wet or dry the soil actually is.
Also, group plants according to water needs--a practice known as hydrozoning. It's critical with drip irrigation, and a water-conserving practice even if you water by hand.

Drip Irrigation

Calculating Drip Irrigation Schedules

Water-wise Garden Design and Plant Selection

Xeriscapic plants are those which need relatively little water, and a water-wise approach generally incorporates many such plants, some of which are natives, but many of which are those used in Mediterranean Gardening. Sonoma County, with our significant maritime influence, is one of the world's Mediterranean climate areas. Ornamental Grasses are a wonderful design element, and also a great lawn replacement strategy. California native plants are more often than not water-thrifty. Sonoma Superstars contain almost all low water plants, and our Very Drought Tolerant list is

rhamnus_californica

just that.

Remember that many landscape plants establish themselves faster when planted in native soils with little or no amendments. This is especially true for California natives. Plant in the fall whenever possible to allow young plants to establish themselves with the help of winter rains.

Other Water-saving strategies

Proper mulching is one of the best strategies for reducing water loss through evaporation, and hence water use. Harvesting rainwater, while less effective in our climate than in those with summer rain, can be useful in certain situations. Stormwater and runoff management considerations are also important in the big picture, and there are landscape design issues to address those. Here are some reasons for Why a Rain Garden?

Re-cycling and re-using household gray water is an idea whose time has come. This can range from simply diverting bath and wash water to a tank for later re-use in irrigation, to a more complex system combining a sand filter, holding tank, pumping system. A few package systems are commercially available.

Click here for a list of tips for minimizing water use

Click for a compendium of drought-fighting tools

Mediterranean, Xeriscapic and Native plants make beautiful gardens