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| See online version. or look for this free guide at your local nursery. |
Week 6 of the Master Gardener program covered watering. Here are a few pointers -
1. We are probably all over watering our yards, especially if you have desert landscaping. Big lush brittlebush popping up through your yard is a sign that you are over watering.
2. We need to move our drip emitters farther away from the trunks of our trees and shrubs out to the drip line (the outer canopy). The reason is that not all roots are water absorbing, the parts of the roots that absorb water are the feeder roots and they are out at the farther edges of the trees canopy, so that's why you need to move your emitters out farther.
3. Learn how to operate your irrigation control box and change the settings at least 4 to 6 times throughout the year changing with the seasons.
4. Put on new emitters where you don't know the flow rate.
5. Wateruseitwisely.com has a landscape watering guide and interactive online tutorial on how to water your landscape properly.
6. Try attaching a filter to your system to keep
chlorine, calcium and salts contained in city water away from your
plants and soil. Available locally at GreenLife at a great price!7. If you are really an avid gardener, and are buying a home in the valley, look for one in a neighborhood with flood irrigation. Its the best irrigation method and it's cheap! Flood irrigation water is river water, full of nutrients, no chlorine, flushes salts away from the tree root zones, and keeps salts from building up in the soil.
8. If you are not blessed with flood irrigation, the next best thing is rainwater harvesting. The benefit is not just what you store in your tank, but that you can redirect the flow of water off of your roof and into your garden and out to your trees. Slow it, spread it, and sink it is the mantra of rainwater harvesters.
There are a lot of great rain water harvesting classes and workshops coming in the next few months!
City of Tempe Water Harvesting Class Saturday, April 7 at 9 AM - 1 PM · Join us for a free class that will introduce you to strategies for using rainwater and greywater in your landscape. We'll teach you how to design your landscape to "plant the water" using rain gardens, rain tanks and greywater systems so you can grow lush plants, while saving money and water! vHosted by Watershed Management Group location - 1400 N College Ave, Tempe, AZ 85281
Rain Barrel Workshops and Giveaway on Saturday, May 5 at 10 AM - 2 PM - Tempe Water Conservation presents a Rain Barrel Workshop and Giveaway at the Historic Eisendrath House on May 5, 2018. Four workshops featuring a live demonstration of how to build and install a rain barrel will be offered starting at 10AM, 11AM, 12PM, and 1PM. Attendees need only attend one demonstration to receive a free 55-gallon barrel to take home. All attendees will also have the chance to tour The Historic Eisendrath House for Water Conservation where sustainable practices are on display. · Hosted by Project Rain Barrel - River Network and Watershed Management Group. Location - Eisendrath House, 1400 N College Ave, Tempe, Arizona 85281
Water Recycling - Saturday June 9th - 11:00AM at Tempe Public Library - Slash your water bills by learning to implement gray water recycling in your home! Do you have a pond or garden that could use rain water to keep it living? Did you know you can collect dew? Join Garden Pool and the Tempe Public Library to learn all about water recycling: how to capture, store, and reuse rain, dew, and gray water. Hosted by Garden Pool Location: TPL Meeting Room A, Tempe Public Library, 3500 S Rural Rd, Tempe, Arizona 85282
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