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Save water and your landscape, too

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED APR 21, 2021

Governor's emergency declaration is a reminder: Conserve now

This is a high-efficiency rotary sprinkler head. It sprays

large droplets of water rather than fine mist.

(Photo courtesy of Hunter Industries)

Get ready for a water-wise summer.

Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a drought emergency in two counties – Sonoma and Mendocino – that have seen their watersheds hit hard by lack of rain as well as by wildfires. But Newsom decided not to declare a similar emergency for the whole state – even though most of California had an extremely dry winter.

Newsom’s declaration recognized “drought or near-drought throughout many portions of the State,” but he held off on imposing any water conservation mandates. For now, that’s going to be up to the individual water providers.

So, the good news: We’re not officially in a drought – yet. The bad news? Reserves are very low. Unless we see some extremely wet weather very soon, water conservation mandates may still be enacted later this year.

What’s a Sacramento-area gardener to do? Be prepared. Start conserving now by cutting down on water waste.

Some simple steps can add up to huge savings – in both water and money, according to the Regional Water Authority, the umbrella organization over Sacramento-area water providers.

For example, high-efficiency rotary sprinkler heads can improve your sprinkler system’s efficiency by 25 to 30%. That adds up to thousands of gallons saved each month.

Changing sprinkler heads is an easy retrofit that you can do yourself. All you need is a screwdriver.

Other huge water savers include installation of drip irrigation and smart irrigation controllers. Drip systems cut down on evaporation and deliver water where it’s needed most – at the roots. Smart controllers factor weather into your landscape’s water needs, automatically making adjustments.

More good news: Rebates for irrigation upgrades are available from many local water providers.

Learn more here: https://bewatersmart.info/rebates-services/

Be proactive in water saving and get your rebates now!

As for water restrictions, stay on top of your provider’s current guidelines.

For more information and links: https://bewatersmart.info/watersmart/

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GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

Sacramento drought dry conditions drip watering Mendocino County Regional Water Authority irrigation gardening Sonoma County low-water plants water conservation water efficient gardening California

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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3

November still offers good weather for fall planting:

* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.

* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.

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