Water Conservation

Tips for Conserving Water in the Landscape
1. Mulch trees, shrubs, flowerbeds and gardens to conserve soil moisture.

2. Eliminate weeds to prevent water competition with desirable plant species.

3. Choose drought tolerant plants over high water use plants for landscape plantings.

4. Check your irrigation system at least once per month for leaks, as irrigation systems often operate when no one is outside to inspect if they are functioning correctly.

5. Use rain barrels to capture and reuse natural rainfall.

General Watering Tips
1. Prioritize which parts of your landscape are most critical to keep alive, and provide water there first. Usually the trees and shrubs are most important to water during periods of drought or when water resources are limited, as they will be hardest to replace.

2. Water early in the morning to reduce evaporation and disease. Avoid watering in the evening or during strong winds.

3. Provide “mini droughts” in between watering to increase the depth of plant roots. Do not water every day. This can be started early in the season and is helpful to establishing deeper root systems.

4. Supply water deep into the soil to support plant roots. Most lawns need water 6-8”deep, while most trees and shrubs need water to soak 12-24” deep. A slow, deep watering works well.

Lawn Watering Tips
1. Increase turfgrass mowing height to increase drought tolerance of lawns.

2. Slow the flow when applying water, and do not apply water faster than the soil can absorb it in order to reduce runoff. Heavy clay soils can usually absorb only up to ¼” of water per hour, so cycle irrigation run times (instead of running one 20 minute cycle, run two 10 minute cycles, with time in between for water to be absorbed).

3. Don’t over fertilize, but maintain necessary fertilization for healthy lawns or plants.

4. Allow lawns to enter dormancy during drought. This will help to conserve water, as only ¼” of water is required per week to keep dormant lawns alive.

5. Invest in irrigation technology. Add rain sensors to existing irrigation timers to help apply irrigation more effectively and conserve water. Check irrigation systems often and replace as necessary.
Research courtesy of K-State Research and Extension sedgwick.ksu.edu/drought

Johnson’s Product Recommendations & Tips
1. MULCH around plants, shrubs and trees with a good mulch like Johnson's Blue Ribbon All Bark Cedar Mulch. In a vegetable garden use Hemp Mulch or Straw. 

2. Using ferti·lome HuMic when amending soil in veggie gardens and flower beds as well as in pots will help hold moisture. It is also great to add to lawns in spring/summer to help hold moisture when overseeding.

3. Soil Moist is an effective water management aid that is ideal for interior and exterior plantings such as for trees, shrubs, containers, baskets, flower beds, vegetables and turf. Soil Moist stores water in the soil until your plant needs it and is best incorporated into the soil at the root level. 

4. Apply Hydretain every 2-3 months to help conserve water. Hydretain pulls moisture out of the air and helps the soil retain its moisture. First Use: Begin with a full application of Hydretain. Follow-Up Uses: Apply again every three months, or sooner if you observe that more frequent watering is needed. Ongoing Care: To keep Hydretain working effectively, you can also apply a third of the initial amount each month after the first full application.

5. When planting new trees use a Dew Right Tree Watering Bag which can be filled with water to release slowly over the week giving roots the moisture they need. Add ferti·lome Root Stimulator to the Dew Right Bag as you water your new tree to help with root growth. Dew Right Tree Bags are good for 1-2 year old trees as well as newly planted trees.

6. Using a good watering wand such as a Dramm Watering Wand is excellent for helping to water newly planted plants gently without water waste.

7. Drip Hoses also work well to slowly add the water to plants without excess run off.