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Garden Gate:  Lawn Watering - a primer  |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 05 2004 : 09:45:21 AM
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For some of us in the NW, lawn watering is a big deal still, even as the need to conserve water is paramount. Here's Marianne's suggested solution to conserve water and improve your lawn. I love her sense of humor!
Q: Help! My lawn is my hobby and during this dry spell we have been told by our city to water our landscapes only every other day. My lawn gets water every morning and it loves it. During this hot weather, how can I keep my lawn from going brown so early in the summer?
-- Anon., e-mail
MB: If your sprinkler system comes on every day, your lawn definitely has a drinking problem and you are the enabler. Stop this nonsense cold turkey and repeat this mantra until it is well-rooted: "water lawns less frequently but more deeply." Mow on the highest setting. Water every four days to start, but water longer. This means, depending on your soil, the sprinklers could be on for an hour or more. Dig out a chunk of sod and stop watering when the soil is moist 8 inches down. After a few weeks, reduce this deep watering to once a week. If your lawn can't handle socially acceptable drinking levels, you need to do a serious overhaul in the fall. Aerate, top dress with compost, then reseed with the new drought-resistant grass varieties. Set a good example about responsible drinking for the neighbors.
Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural |
Edited by - Clare on Aug 05 2004 09:47:06 AM |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
Posted - Jun 06 2005 : 10:04:37 AM
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Here's an interesting article about letting your lawn go dormant, ie. brown in the summer time, and how that is actually a very stress-free thing to let your lawn do.... sometimes traumatic for us, but in these drought times (for most of us), it is the ecologically sound choice. Enjoy.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/pacificnw06052005/plantlife.html
****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****
"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb |
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Nicol
True Blue Farmgirl
200 Posts
Nicol
200 Posts |
Posted - Jun 06 2005 : 10:27:00 AM
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I am not real big on watering my lawn. I basically think it is a waste of water. My neighbors hate my yard. I live in the land of automatic sprinklers that water twice daily, fertilizer applied religously and weed killer applied obsessively. I let a few big weed bushes go in my back garden that flower because I thought they were pretty. My neighbor asked me about them yesterday. I told her I left it on purpose b/c it was pretty. She said something like she thought it was a noxious weed. And then she told me she needed to get her roundup out to use in her yard. The bushes are covered in bees and I saw a butterfly on it yesterday. I am just going to ignore her remarks. As far as I am concerned, it's not a weed unless I don't want it there. |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Jun 06 2005 : 12:00:30 PM
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Good for you Nicol! I hate Roundup, talk about poison!!!!
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. http://www.xs4all.nl/~josvg/cits/sb/sb101.html |
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ThymeForEweFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
705 Posts
Robin
An organic farm in the forest in
Maine
USA
705 Posts |
Posted - Jun 06 2005 : 4:23:52 PM
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Kudos to you, Nicole!
Robin
Thyme For Ewe Farm
www.thymeforewe.com |
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JoyIowa
True Blue Farmgirl
273 Posts
Joy
273 Posts |
Posted - Jun 06 2005 : 4:55:34 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Nicol
As far as I am concerned, it's not a weed unless I don't want it there.
Nicol, you've got a great attitude from where I stand too. Unfortunately farmers get a bad rap about weed killers and fertilizers, when it is people who have to have "the lawn" that does most of the damage. I still can't figure out why farmers have to do a farm chemicals class before they're even allowed to buy the stuff, and lawn people don't even have to read the brochure. I grow a bit of nettle in my herb bed. Shh! Don't tell anyone. I have it contained in a 6' piece of pipe that goes down nearly three feet. I love nettle tea and will not go without it. Oh give me the country soon!
Have a great time. Remember the only definition of a weed is something growing where you don't want it. I believe the dandelions we call weeds here in the midwest are actually grown in window boxes and the like in England. Long live dandelions and creeping charlie, and nettles!
Enjoy your day!
JoyIowa
To live without farm life is merely existing, to live with farm life is living life to it very last experience. |
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Nicol
True Blue Farmgirl
200 Posts
Nicol
200 Posts |
Posted - Jun 07 2005 : 08:35:18 AM
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Thanks Thymeforewefarm, Meadowlark, and JoyIowa. And JoyIowa, your secret's safe with me.
An interesting fact that I discovered is that if you do indeed have a "noxious" weed growing on your property here then the local government agency can spray it without notifying you and then send you the bill. They also do some roadside spraying here. Yuck! |
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Garden Gate: Lawn Watering - a primer |
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Lawn Watering - a primer
