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Get smart (water-wise) with this $150 rebate


Use your smartphone and the Rachio 3 Smart Sprinkler Controller to keep your irrigation in sync with the weather. (Photo courtesy RWA)

Regional Water Authority offers great deal on smart sprinkler controller

Considering how our spring weather has been bouncing from cold and wet to hot and dry, here’s a timely offer: A great rebate on a “smart” sprinkler controller.

Local residents can now save $150 (or more) on a Rachio 3 Smart Sprinkler Controller, thanks to an instant rebate program offered by the Regional Water Authority and Sacramento-area water providers.

Representing 21 local water providers serving about 2 million customers, the RWA always has an eye on reducing water consumption. A smart controller such as the Rachio 3 can save an estimated 13,500 gallons of water per year for a typical Sacramento household.

How does it work? The Rachio 3 Controller acts like a thermostat for your sprinklers, using local weather conditions to adjust how long your sprinklers run, explains Amy Talbot, RWA water efficiency program manager. The controller automatically reduces sprinkler run times when the weather is cooler and increases them when the temperatures rise. You also can manage the controller from your smartphone with the Rachio app.

The Rachio 3 Smart Sprinkler Controller typically retails for about $230 for an eight-zone system and $280 for a 16-zone system, but both models are being offered at a reduced rate of $75 plus tax. (Installation is not included.)

This deal is available for a limited time on a first-come, first-served basis until funding is exhausted. Rebate details, eligibility requirements and a link to purchase the controller are available at
BeWaterSmart.info .

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Garden Checklist for week of May 5

Survey your garden after the May 4 rainstorm. Heavy rain and gusty winds can break the neck of large flowers such as roses. Also:

* Keep an eye on new transplants or seedlings; they could take a pounding from the rain.

* Watch out for powdery mildew. Warmth following moist conditions can cause this fungal disease to “bloom,” too. If you see a leaf that looks like it’s dusted with powdered sugar, snip it off.

* After the storm, start setting out tomato transplants, but wait on the peppers and eggplants (they want warmer nights). Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, radishes and squash.

* Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.

* Don’t wait; plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

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