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Water Conservation

The drought continues in South Carolina, which makes it is more important than ever to conserve water.  Not only does it protect a limited resource, it saves you money and can even save the life of your plants and trees.  One source I found says that up to 70% of household water use is outdoors.  That gives us all a lot of room to improve. Here are some tips on how to cut back: –          Mulch, Mulch, Mulch!  Adding a layer of mulch will help planting beds retain water, and reduce run off and splashing. –          Don’t water between the hours of 10am and 4pm, or on windy days to reduce water loss through evaporation. –          Walk across your lawn.  If you can’t see your footprints, you don’t need to water. –          Does a screwdriver push into your lawn easily?  If so, it has plenty of water. –          Mow your grass to the right height.  The higher the grass, the more extensive the root system becomes. –          Invest in a rain gauge and if you have an irrigation system connect an automatic rain shut off device. –          Water deeply so you can avoid watering frequently.  Water that goes deeper promotes deep roots. –          Invest in a rain barrel to collect water from your roof. –          Only water if the top 2-3 inches of soil are dry. –          Ice cubes in hanging baskets prevent water overflow. –          Time your irrigation system to see when it reaches the point of run off.  Take off 5 minutes from the run time. –          Chose shrubs and groundcovers for sloped areas of your property.  It helps control run off. –          Chose native plants and trees for your landscape.  They will typically tolerate our hot summer weather better. –          When planting new plants and trees, look for a low water use tag at the nursery.  Consider plants and trees on how heat and drought tolerant they are and how insect and disease resistant. –          Don’t overplant your beds.  Leave room for shrubs and trees to grow by finding out their mature size. –          Plant new trees and shrubs in the fall when conditions are cooler and more rainfall is expected. –          Group plants according to their watering needs to avoid over or under watering. –          Remember that more plants die from overwatering than under watering.

Water Conservation

Mulch, Mulch, Mulch! Adding a layer of mulch will help planting beds retain water, and reduce run off and splashing.

Don’t water between the hours of 10am and 4pm.

Mow your grass to the right height.

Invest in a rain gauge and if you have an irrigation system connect an automatic rain shut off device.

Water deeply so you can avoid watering frequently.

Invest in a rain barrel to collect water from your roof.

Time your irrigation system to see when it reaches the point of run off.

Chose shrubs and groundcovers for sloped areas of your property.

Chose native plants and trees for your landscape.

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