Ten Easy Ways to Conserve Outdoors

 

1. Cycle & Soak
   Use the cycle and soak method for watering your lawn and landscape. For fixed and pop-up spray sprinklers, water three cycles per day, four to six minutes each cycle. Schedule start times one hour apart. If you have rotating sprinklers, water three cycles per day, 10 to 12 minutes each cycle.
   
   
2. Adjust watering
   Shrubs, or lawn in shade (north/east side of your house). Will generally require up to 50 percent less water than the same plants in full sun (south/west side). Adjust your watering to account for different microclimates in your garden.
   
   
3. Water early
   Don’t water during the middle of the day. This can scorch the leaves. It’s best to water in the early morning as the sun is rising and temperature is cool.
   
   
4. Check your sprinklers
   Check your irrigation system every couple of weeks for broken or misaligned sprinkler heads. This can save a significant amount of water and keep your landscape looking great.
   
   
5. Manage your timer
   Every two to four weeks, adjust the watering schedule to reflect changes in the weather. Reducing the watering schedule by one-minute on each sprinkler station can save more than 50 gallons per day!!
   
   
6. Reduce your lawn
   Reduce the size of your water-thirsty lawn and replace it with water –efficient low-maintenance plants.
   
   
7. Mow
   Mow lawns to 2 ½ to 3’’ during the summer. This will improve the quality of the lawn and reduce water demand.
   
   
8. Attach a nozzle/ use a soil probe
   A nozzle allows a shutoff value to the end of your hose. A soil probe is dig down in the plant’s root area using a trowel, the probe determines how moist is the plant/ soil.
   
   
9. Prevent Weeds
   Eliminate the weeds to prevent it from stealing water from your garden by pulling the promptly and applying mulch regularly.
   
   
10. Aerate the lawn
    This is done by punching holes in the soil. This improves the movement of water into the root area and reduces wasteful runoff.