Effective Tips To Surviving The Drought

The SFWMD has recently imposed their most stringent restrictions to date and with our population continuing to increase resulting in an even greater demand on a fresh water supply a permanent water conservation effort is in affect. Below is a list of items that can be done in your yard or garden to continue thriving during times of drought.

• Mulch landscape beds - A good 2” to 3” of organic, shredded, mulch will not only suppress weeds but will keep the soil cooler during the day and hold moisture in the soil. Be sure that you do not pile mulch up around the base of plants and trees. Rubber mulch, although pretty to luck at, does not break down to add nutrients to the soil and does not help to retain moisture. Rubber mulch does have its place however, and that would be playgrounds.

• Place plants with similar watering needs together- Group plants that have similar water requirements together. This will help keep all of your plants happier. Grouping like plants together will allow you to adjust your watering to meet the needs of the plants and not wasting water on plants that do not need as much as others.

• Plant Natives - Native plants tend to adapt to our climate changes better than non-native species. Native gardens also tend to draw a wide variety of wildlife to your gardens like birds and butterflies.
 
• Go low - Low volume irrigation is the way of the future. When installing a new irrigation system, look into low volume irrigation. You will probably need to contact an irrigation professional but the savings in water will more than make up the difference. Low volume irrigation works by installing low volume emitters in locations that maximizes the water’s use by the plant. Irrigations should also be broken down into zones. These zones should be separated by the plants water needs. Sod should be irrigated separate from planter beds and so forth. Existing irrigation systems can be retrofitted to a low volume system and SFWMD does not have any restrictions on facilities that use low volume irrigation systems.

• Minimize the sod - Minimize the amount of sod areas that you have in your yard. In landscaping sod the most water demanding plant around. Sod requires up to more than 3 times the amount of water than a well mulched planter area.

• Increase mowing height. A typical Floritam or St. Augustine yard should be cut at 3”. This allows the roots to grow deeper into the soil which in turn gives the roots a larger root zone to draw water and nutrients from and also will make your lawn more wear tolerant.

By following a few easy steps and a little thought into your next garden project you can have a beautiful, thriving yard no matter what the conditions.
For more information on landscaping during drought contact the City of Pembroke Pines Landscape Division via email at: landscapeit@ppines.com.