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      Lush Lawns with Less Water

With drought conditions occurring across the Prairies and parts of Ontario, water conservation has become more important that ever. Yet you may be surprised to learn that the average Canadian uses over 350 litres of water every day! Where does it all go? A five-minute shower with a standard showerhead uses 100 litres of water (versus 35 litres with a low-flow showerhead). Flushing a standard toilet uses 16 litres. Other common household uses include washing clothes, cooking, drinking and cleaning. It's easy to see how water use adds up.

In the summer, residential water consumption nearly doubles. Summer is the time when most of us are washing our cars, taking long cool showers or better yet filling swimming pools. Of all the household uses, the biggest culprits in the summer are our lush green lawns and gardens. They make our homes look wonderful and tending them is a favourite pastime, however, they can gulp down several hundred litres of water per week! Here are some easy ways to conserve water while still enjoying a lush lawn and garden.

• Collect all the water that would otherwise be wasted while waiting for the hot water to reach your faucet or showerhead. Use this to water your houseplants or outdoor planters.
• Before watering, check the moisture in the soil with a fingertip or a moisture reader available from hardware stores.
• Water before sunrise or after sunset to reduce evaporation.
• Water on calm days to prevent wind drift and evaporation.
• Encourage deep root growth by watering fairly heavily but infrequently. Rather than watering lightly twice a week, water well every two weeks. Deep roots will be better able to withstand extreme heat and drought.
• Collect rainwater from your roof in a rain barrel or other large container by placed beneath a drain spout. It's an easy way to conserve water for dry days ahead.
• Shaded grass roots are better able to hold water so avoid the golf course crew cut look for your lawn. Keep your grass fairly high about 6cm or taller.
• Be sure your hoses are set up to avoid spraying patios, driveways, or walkways.

Soil

• Be kind to the worms in your lawn! They keep your lawn aerated and add an appreciable amount of organic fertilizer to the soil. To keep worms alive and well, avoid using commercial fertilizers and any amount of pesticide or insecticide.
  
  
• If your lawn dries out quickly, the soil may not be retaining enough water. Add loam, (composted matter), which holds onto moisture.
  
  
• Apply a layer of mulch about 10 cm deep over the surface of the garden to retain moisture, moderate soil temperature, and control weeds. Pine bark, grass clippings placed on newspaper, cocoa hulls and straw are just a few of the materials that can be used as mulch.
  
  
• Aerate your lawn once a year in the early spring or fall to improve water penetration. Afterwards, apply a thin layer (max. 15 mm) of organic material and rake to distribute evenly. If your soil contains large amounts of clay, your lawn will require less water than normal as drainage is compromised by clay. Over-watering on this type of soil is not only costly; it can lead to fungus and mold growth.

Plants

• Consider a backyard of wildflowers - you won't need to water or cut your lawn.
• Choose plants indigenous to your region-they will be better suited to local climate conditions. Ask at your local nursery for plants that can tolerate less water.
• If there are some water-loving plants you can't live without try planting them under trees. The soil under trees tends to retain more moisture because it is shaded for part of the day. One word of caution: the soil beneath coniferous trees can be quite acidic which is not be suitable for all plants.

Remember that if left up to Mother Nature, your lawn would not be green all summer long. In the case of lawns, green is not necessarily the most environmentally friendly option!

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