Each of us should do our part to save water. Water is a necessary element in the sustenance of life. It becomes a strong issue in areas where there isn’t enough clean and sanitary water for people to drink. You have to admit we take a lot for granted

As the days get shorter and they are not as intense we don’t have the evaporation by the sun like we did during the long hot summer days. Plants don’t require as much water to stay healthy.

After reading this article, take a walk around your neighborhood and pay attention to the water usage of your neighbors. You’ll see there are all kinds of habits they have gotten into. Some leave their sprinkler timers set the same spring, fall, winter, and summer which means in cooler weather a lot to water is being wasted.

You can save a lot of water by adjusting your sprinkler timer according to the needs of your yard, and especially if you have a meter you’re being billed for every drop of water that you are using.

Plants can be trained to push the roots deeper by deep watering and even lawns can be trained to not require as much water as we think they should have.

Cities in areas of the country that have to be irrigated in order to raise plants and lawns generally have restrictions on the amount of water you can use, these restrictions are enforced.

Contact your water supplier, whether it is the local water district or your city water department to see what mandates they have set for scheduled water days. Water Day schedules most of the time, use the even number odd number, to determine what days you can water.

After you’ve made the necessary adjustments to your sprinkler timer to set it for the allowed watering days go through each sprinkler zone and adjust the run time for the plant material you are applying water on. Most new sprinkler timers allow you to set multiple watering cycles. By setting multiple cycles you can put less time on each cycle and allow the water to soak in rather than run off.

Another way to reduce your water usage is to just walk around your yard and identify the areas where there is being too much water applied by your sprinklers. Make the necessary adjustments by changing the nozzle or repairing broken heads.

As you begin repairing your lawn, and planting new shrubs in the fall hand water them so you don’t have to run the complete zones.

We’ve all heard the saying “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”. It’s often the simple things that are overlooked until it’s too late - things like water. If there is a drought, your landscape and garden will surely feel the effects. There are some things you can do conserve water during or before a drought to help.

First of all, you can mulch your plants. If you’ve already done this, you’re ahead of the game. Mulch will reduce water evaporation in the soil. Plastic mulch is fine for this purpose, but organic mulch will have the added benefit of adding organic material to the soil.

Mulch can go all around your plants in the flower beds, and between rows in a vegetable garden. You should know that it makes it tougher for water to get to the roots as well though.

Since you have a limited supply of water, you should make sure as much of it gets to the roots as possible.

Lawn Sprinklers, for example, are a poor form of irrigation because much of the water is waste on the leaves and other obstructions before reaching the ground. Watering the base of the plants with a slow, gentle, soaking stream of water will be much more efficient.

A drip or trickle irrigation system is a great option. They are inexpensive and easy to install and use. They apply small amounts of water directly to the base of each plant. There will be no wasted water at all using this method.

Make sure you know which of your plants is built to withstand the climate during a drought. You should use the small amount of water you have to keep the weaker plants alive. Plants that are mature and native to the area should survive the drought on their own, this is plain old good landscaping and lawn care advice.

To limit evaporation you should water early in the morning. This will also give plants moisture to deal with the heat of the day ahead of them.

One last tip to deal with drought conditions is to collect any water you can from downspouts when it rains. You’d be surprised how much water your roof catches. Get a large barrel to store the water in to use when needed.