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Jed Boal reportingShould I water my lawn today or not? Many Utahns easily answer that question and save a lot of water. Others might want guidance.
Now there's a grassroots idea, of sorts, to help us avoid over-watering our grass roots. It's a partnership between two Utah organizations to broadcast a watering alert to advise when to shut off the sprinklers and when to soak a dry lawn.
As the weather heats up, sprinklers go on. But is it too early to water? "If we monitor when the storms are coming, if we can hold off our watering, great! Either that or spot water where you need to rather than the entire yard," said Lee Pettit, of the Utah Evergreen Council.
As a state, we conserved water during the drought at the beginning of this decade. During the last two summers, which were hot and dry, many returned to wasteful ways.
The state goal is to reduce water consumption 25 percent by 2050. The Utah Evergreen Council and the Utah Rivers Council want to work with broadcast meteorologists to come up with a watering alert symbol. "It simply says it's not a good day to water. Maybe it's raining, maybe it's humid; there are a lot of reasons not to water. We want to keep reminding people," explained Ted Wilson, of the Utah Rivers Council.
The core of the message is simple: We can save water and still have green lawns. "We are very interested in doing the right thing for Utah, but also keeping Utah beautiful and green and conserve water at the same time," said Peter Bell, also of the Utah Evergreen Council.
If we can hold off watering in the spring, it trains the roots to grow deeper to seek moisture. That's good for the turf, and it won't need more water later in the spring. "If we will just water sensibly, we don't have to rip everything out of our yards," Wilson said.
Here's something that might stir up trouble in your neighborhood: The Utah Evergreen Council has created cards to remind people to conserve.
The cards say: "As your neighbor, I want you to know that yards don't need watering yet." You can print one out from the Utah Evergreen Council's Web site and send it to the school that over-waters, or to one of your neighbors if you dare.
For more information on the Utah Rivers Council and the Utah Evergreen Council, and to print of your water conservation cards, click the related links.
Additional spring watering tips:
- Delay through May: Lawns are still dormant. Delay sprinkling until temperatures are consistently 80 degrees or higher. The exception to this is new lawns or seeds, which should be watered 1" per week.
- Green not gray: Check now to see if sprinklers are working properly. Test to make sure you are watering grass and plants, not concrete areas.
- Mow for flow: Don't let your lawn get too long to ensure precipitation gets to the roots and not just the blades.
- The need for feed: Now is a great time to fertilize. Use a slow-release fertilizer so sprinkling is not necessary. When brown spots pop up, fertilize first. Many people mistake dormant grass for dying grass. E-mail: jboal@ksl.com
