The Northwest Voice

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With talk of water rationing coming from all areas of California, I thought it might be appropriate to go over some tips on water conservation. Even though we have always been quite lucky with our water supply here in Bakersfield, why not do our part? Good watering practices will save water and make our yards healthier at the same time.

For more detailed information on watering, visit: read my gardening article “Watering and our summer heat!”

For now, remember to mulch your flower and shrub beds with a light covering. Forest humus or small bark works well to help hold moisture in soil longer. Don’t build up mulch around the trunk or stems of plants as this can smother plants, causing them to rot off. Leaving an open area free of mulch at the base of each plant allows it to “breathe.”

Next, make sure you are watering in the early-morning hours. This helps with evaporation problems and gives plants ample water through the heat of the day. Give your yard a nice, deep soak when you water, encouraging roots to grow down and deep. Plants with a deep root system can go longer between waterings. Makes sense if you think about it!

Only water an established yard when the ground is dry. Check below the surface of soil to see if watering is needed. Do not water wet soil! If soil is pretty damp, allow it to dry before watering. If you have heavy soil you may be able to skip several days of watering. By paying close attention to your yard and watering only when needed, you can save a lot of water. Maybe if we all try this, we can avoid the strict rules of water rationing.

I can think of only one instance when you may need to water more than once a day. That would be when you have just planted your yard. Newly planted plants, whether just one or a whole new landscape, will require extra watering and careful watching. New shrubs, trees or bedding plants introduced into an existing yard will require hand watering beyond what sprinklers can give them. Likewise, a completely new landscape may need multiple sprinkler waterings through the day until a plant can get established.

Basically, an established yard should be watered once a day in the early morning and only if it’s dry (if you are trying to change from multiple waterings to once-a-day waterings, you may need to increase your watering time for deeper moisture penetration).

 This could be one of those problems we all can do something about. Essentially, it is a pretty easy thing to do — with a great reward for us all! Let’s conserve our water and have a beautiful yard at the same time!