Sacramento Digs Gardening Article
Your resource for Sacramento-area gardening news, tips and events

Articles Recipe Index Keyword Index Calendar Twitter Facebook Instagram About Us Contact Us

Five ways to save water this summer

With dry days ahead, here are suggestions to reduce use by 10% — or more

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED MAY 14, 2021

A moisture meter or just a screwdriver or trowel can be used to determine the moisture level of your
soil. Make small changes in irrigation to save water now. (Photo courtesy Regional Water Authority)

Can you save 10%? That’s the question the Sacramento area’s water leaders are asking local residential consumers during what looks like a very dry year.

On Thursday, the Regional Water Authority – the umbrella organization over the region’s 20 water providers – asked customers to voluntarily conserve water by 10%, especially outdoors where most water is used during the warm summer months. That followed reports that almost all of California is now under drought conditions.

According to the RWA, Folsom Lake – the major reservoir serving Sacramento’s 2 million residents – is lower than it was during historic drought conditions in 2014 and 2015. Fortunately, the Sacramento region is “in a strong position to meet the water supply needs of people,” says the RWA. But the dry conditions are expected to stress the Lower American River, vital to Chinook salmon and steelhead trout.

A dry summer also has potential to stress our landscapes – and plant-loving gardeners.

Don’t panic. Some small adjustments quickly can add up to that 10% savings – and more.

First, look at your baseline and determine your target. The average Sacramento-area household uses about 304 gallons a day, says the RWA. (Of that, 167 gallons goes toward outdoor use.) So, a 10% savings equals about 30 gallons a day.

Here are five suggested ways to reach that goal, courtesy of the RWA:

1. Mulch. A layer of 2 to 3 inches of organic mulch around trees and shrubs can save 30 gallons per 1,000 square feet every time you water.

2. Adjust your sprinkler heads to reduce runoff: Make sure they’re hitting the lawn and not the sidewalk or driveway. That tune-up can save 40 gallons every time you turn on the sprinklers.

3. Check your soil moisture. Before you turn on the sprinklers, use a moisture meter, long-handled screwdriver or other probe. If you can easily push the screwdriver 6 inches into the soil, wait on watering. Potential savings: 80 gallons a day.

4. Water in the early morning. There’s less evaporation and more water gets to plant roots. That can save 50 gallons every time you water.

5. Upgrade to a Water Sense-labeled weather-based sprinkler timer or controller. This one change can save 100 to 150 gallons a day. Several water providers are offering rebates on these smart controllers, too.

For more ideas and links to rebates: www.bewatersmart.info .

Comments

0 comments have been posted.

GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

Sacramento drought Regional Water Authority soil moisture irrigation gardening sprinklers landscape low-water plants mulch water conservation drought tolerant gardens

Newsletter Subscription

Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.

Flowers in My Back Yard Series

Aug. 25: Crape myrtles, Sacramento's unofficial tree of summer

Aug. 18: Pollinators adore scabiosa, aka pincushion flower

Aug. 11: Hardy hibiscus adds big tropical impact

Aug. 4: Dianthus a deceptively hardy flower

July 28: Naked Ladies put on summer show

July 21: Thank Luther Burbank for these long-lasting beauties (Shasta daisies)

July 14: How to keep hydrangeas happy

July 7: Grow these bright cosmos for bees and butterflies

June 30: Agapanthus adds blue fireworks to the garden

June 23: Easy-care gazanias fill those hot corners

June 16: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)

June 9: Grow coneflowers for pollinators -- and yourself

June 2: Sunflowers capture Sacramento's summer attitude

May 29: Are your roses going 'blind'?

May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs

May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power

May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens

May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend

April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look

April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower

April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact

April 7: Calendulas do double duty

April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come

March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)

March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots

March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums

March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come

March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy

Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?

Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come

Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers

Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses

Feb. 3: Why grow flowers?

Local News

Taste Summer! E-cookbook

Find our summer recipes here!

Sites We Like

Garden checklist for week of Aug. 16

During this break in the heat, feed your garden. Make sure to water before and after applying fertilizer.

* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips.

* Plant potatoes.

* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers. Also, give them a boost with phosphate-rich fertilizer to help fruiting.

* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.

* Feed citrus trees their last round of fertilizer for the year. This will give a boost to the fruit that’s still small.

* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don't let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.

* Camellia leaves looking a little yellow? Give them some chelated iron. That goes for azaleas and gardenias, too.

* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot. Then feed fruit trees with slow-release fertilizer for better production for next year.

* To prolong bloom into fall, feed begonias, fuchsias and container plants. Always water before fertilizing.

* Fertilize fall-blooming perennials, too. Chrysanthemums can be fed until the buds start to open.

* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials, then give them a boost of fertilizer. Make sure to water plants before feeding. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.

* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.

* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.

Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com

Taste Spring! E-cookbook