save money Archives - Western Garden Centers

Welcome Friends! Glad you dropped in to learn about saving water and money by Turf Training.

You cannot teach a lawn to fetch the paper or to roll over. Even though some say that it can play dead, in the winter! But you can train it to grow deep roots now so that you and it will be happy in the heat of the summer later.

Now that your lawn is now coming out of the dreary winter, time to train it. You can train it to grow deep roots, so that you can cut your water bill during the summer and your lawn can be happy during those hottest Utah summer weeks. The process is more painful for the owner than the lawn itself, but by July, it is possible to be watering your lawn once every two weeks or less, depending on your soil type. I know it works; I’ve lived it. This plan is for established lawns; new turf requires different care to get established. Follow these steps and you too can have a well trained happy green lawn and a lower water bill.

April – This month, do not water your lawn! Mother Nature is taking care of that for you. DEEP INFREQUENT watering creates deep roots and thriving healthier plants.
April or May – Aerate your lawn. Perfect time is just before one of our spring rains.
Apply the proper spring fertilizer. Follow the directions explicitly. Again, the ideal time is just before a good rain to wash it into the turf.
If you haven’t already, apply pre-emergent.
Early May – Keep your finger OFF the automatic sprinkler system. Do NOT water your lawn. I know it is painful because the sun is shining and spring is here, but don’t do it. Your lawn is stretching its roots deep. Let them dive! “Let it go!”
Late May and June, repeat #5 unless one of the following occurs…
- a. Mother Nature hasn’t watered for 3 weeks.
- b. When you walk across your lawn, your footsteps don’t bounce back up. Time to water.
- c. When you look across your lawn, you notice a dull bluish green tone in spots. Time to water.
If 6a, b, or c, happen, then it’s time to DEEP water – Put a good inch of water or so on your lawn. Placing a tuna can on your grass will let you know when you’ve watered sufficiently.
Repeat steps #6 and #7
In August, you will notice that you may possibly need to water a little more often, but WATCH THE LAWN! Follow 6a, b, and c. It will tell you!

IMPORTANT NOTE – This training is not meant for the following: flower beds, newly seeded lawns, newly placed sod, trees or shrubs. Learn from our experts those proper watering techniques.

A TRUE STORY TESTIMONIAL – This personally happened to me. Read and see.

Texas SmartScape has a wonderful diagram that illustrates exactly what your lawn roots are doing according to how you water.

Graphic by Texas Smartscape

Also, watch this 1:38 minute video on wise watering tips to save you money and make your beautiful lawn happy and water-wise.

HELLO FRIENDS, WELCOME!

If you’re anything like me, you find gardening so rewarding—the planting, nurturing, and harvesting is such an amazing process. Eating something you grew, sharing it with friends and neighbors…it’s such an awesome feeling! And then it happens. You get you get your water bill in the mail and all those awesome feelings are gone! Ugh!

The first year we purchased our home, we had an amazing garden! I loved being able to see the progress and use the different vegetables in our family meals. We had an awesome crop of watermelons, which require quite a bit of water, and by the second month we had a water bill of over $200! I began comparing the purchasing of 6 or 7 watermelons from the store to my $200 water bill and I was second guessing my desire for a garden the next year!

If you are not using drip irrigation in your garden, then this is the time to start! I’ve got five reasons you need to invest in drip irrigation, and once you have it installed, you will see the benefits from day ONE, I promise!

5 Reasons You Need Drip Irrigation

1. Water Efficiency

Drip irrigation will deliver water directly to the root zone of a plant. The water will seep slowly into the soil one drop at a time. You will see that almost no water is lost from evaporation or through water running off into other directions, rather than the plant you are actually trying to nourish. Some studies show that using a drip irrigation system can save anywhere from 30%-70% water compared to other methods of watering, like sprinklers. Being able to conserve water in Utah is a must, almost every year we hear about the drought we’re living through!

2. Reduce Costs

No one wants to have a water bill of $200—it’s just way too much to pay each month! Because yards, gardens, and drip irrigation systems are all so different, it’s hard to calculate how much a person will save on their own water bill. The studies say that, on average, a person will use about 50% less water, and depending on different features and how efficiently the drip system is planned and set up, it can save up to 70%. Once you have your drip irrigation installed, compare your bill to the year before. You could save anywhere from 50%-70% on that part of your bill!!

3. Save Time

Life is so fast-paced, and we all wish we could have more time. Well, having a drip irrigation system can do that for you! Drip systems can eliminate the need to drag around hoses and sprinklers, set timers, and make sure you remember to rotate and then shut them off when the rotation is all done (I am definitely guilty of forgetting to shut them off!). If you opt for a system that uses a timer, you will only need to take a few seconds to turn the system on, and that system will shut off automatically for you when it is all done. Even if you don’t want to invest in a timer, you will really only need to turn it on once and remember to shut it off anywhere from 5-10 minutes later. So much easier than rotating sprinklers!

4. Healthier Plants = An Increase in Crops

Who doesn’t want to get the most they can out of their garden? Wouldn’t you love a steady flow of harvest throughout the summer and into early fall? Drip irrigation can help with that too! Plants watered with a drip system will grow more quickly, and are more productive. This is because they have all the water they need and the plant growth isn’t slowed by water stress (I know I am not the only one who forgets to water at the same time everyday!). Another thing that drip systems can help avoid are fungal diseases, which often develop under moist conditions and occur when plants get too much water.

5. Reduce Growth of Weeds

Who wouldn’t love to have fewer weeds to pull? I know I would! Drip systems help with that too! Because drip irrigation delivers water directly to the plants you want to grow, less water is wasted on weeds. The soil between the plants will remain drier, which discourages weeds from sprouting. I am all about that!

Are you ready to invest a bit of money and time into your garden? There are starter kits sold for gardens anywhere from really small to very large. Just make sure you purchase one that you can add to later, if you might need to. You wont regret it! You will love all the benefits of drip irrigation, and so will your pocketbook!

See the Happy!

For more questions about drip irrigation, stop by any of our locations and talk to a Garden Solutions Expert!