Reducing Water Usage

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Westchester County is advising people to do the
following to save water in the yard:

For the lawn

1. Cut the lawn at 3 inches or greater. A taller lawn will retain soil moisture better.
2. Water infrequently and deeply (a lawn requires about an inch of water a week).
3. If you use irrigation, be sure that you are not irrigating the sidewalk or driveway. If your system's timing is automatic, adjust it to fit current weather conditions. Water in early morning (before 8 am).
4. Make sure that the water output from you irrigation system does not exceed the water absorption rate of your soil, or runoff and wasted water results. Often, three 10 minute sessions over the course of an hour will be more effective than one 30 minute session.
5. Let low priority areas (or maybe the whole lawn, in the case of a serious drought) go dormant. Dormancy is a natural response to dry conditions. The lawn will resprout and become green again when water becomes available.
6. Fertilize sparingly or not at all this spring. High fertilization encourages lush new growth which puts extra water demands on a plant.

In the garden

1. Mulch in garden beds and around plantings to decrease evaporation.
2. Working organic matter into planting beds can help a soil retain moisture.
3. To irrigate, use water conserving systems like drip irrigation or a soaker hose.
4. Minimize or eliminate fertilization for woody plants. Fertilizers often add salts to the soil which can keep water in the soil, unavailable for plant roots.
5. Try to group plants with high-water needs together so that they can be watered more generously as a group.
6. In containers, hydrogels can help retain soil moisture.