#1 Zone or Cluster Plants with Similar Water Requirements
By grouping plants with similar water needs, you not only can keep water to the minimum requirement, but you also don’t risk drowning plants that require only scant amounts of water.

#2 Reduce or Remove Lawns
Grass—typically the largest water bug in California yards—can be replaced with a meadow of drought-resistant grasses, bulbs and low perennials. When considering the continuation of a lawn, it often helps to ask yourself questions, like: Is that massive lawn used for anything? Do the kids play on it? Is it used frequently for picnics? If the answer is no, replacing the lawn with alternative grasses or plants that require less water is probably a good choice.

#3 Flush Out Drip Irrigation Systems Annually
Drip irrigation systems should be cleaned out once a year, and spring is the ideal time. Once installed, drip systems require little maintenance, but they must be flushed out regularly, getting rid of any dirt or other particles that get into the system and ensuring water flows smoothly and hits the target areas correctly.

#4 Incorporate Succulent and Rock Gardens into the Landscape
Replacing lawns or other thirsty plants with succulent and rock gardens in areas of your outdoor environment reduces water demand and maintenance. Such gardens also add a modern and stylish look to landscapes.

#5 Mulch
The use of organic or mineral mulch helps retain moisture and maintain even soil temperatures.

#6 Sweep Up, Don’t Hose Down
Use a broom instead of a hose to clean off sidewalks, driveways and other hardscapes.

#7 Plant Winter-Growth Gardens
Use plants that grow in the winter when there’s moisture, rather than summer growers that require lots of water. Most plants and bulbs that are native to Mediterranean climates including Western Australia, the western coast of Chile, the Cape area of South Africa, California and of course, the entire Mediterranean basin are good bets for water conserving gardens.

#8 Collect Runoff Water
Keep runoff water on the property with French drains, swales or sumps, which contain water in a designated area and help to better manage water use. These systems also help filter pollutants and increase rainwater soil infiltration.

#9 Stop Using So Much Fertilizer
By all means, limit the use of fertilizers, which are not good for the environment and may cause damage to plant life. Most Mediterranean plants reject fertilizers, so plant selection is critical.

#10 Misuse of Water and Fertilizers May Attract Pests
Fertilizers and overwatering can cause overly lush growth, which can attract pests and diseases.

• Consumer Reports recently outlined several ways in which homeowners can reduce up to 60 hours of yard care per year and still have an attractive lawn.
• Let the lawn go brown during dry spells. It’s human nature to want to water a browning plant. But in the case of grass, the color change is merely an indication that the plant is entering a natural state of dormancy designed to conserve nutrients. Don’t make the mistake of giving it a light daily watering during dry spells; that will encourage a shallow root system that does more harm than good. Instead, give the lawn just one long soak, say, 30 minutes’ worth, at which point it should be good for another month. Hours saved annually: up to 12.
• Fertilize less frequently. Fertilizer companies recommend as many as five applications a year — they’re in the business of selling the stuff. But many lawns can thrive with no more than two annual applications. Memorial Day and Labor Day are the ideal times (a bit earlier in the Deep South). If you fertilize only once, do it in September, using fall fertilizer. Most high-quality products contain slow-release nitrogen, which promotes growth in the spring. Hours saved annually: up to eight.
• Let the grass grow a bit longer. You probably know that cutting grass too short can compromise root development. But the long-held rule that you should never remove more than one third of the blade’s total height has come under scrutiny. Most domestic grasses can thrive with 50 percent or more of the blade removed. So you can let the lawn grow to about 5½ inches before mowing. Hours saved annually: up to 10.
• Live with certain weeds and pests. You might not love the look of dandelions, but they don’t actually harm the lawn, and their penetrating tap roots might even improve the soil structure. But CR does recommend cutting off the heads before they go to seed. Clover, which takes nitrogen from the air and distributes it in the soil, also has benefits. Other lawn problems, however, are worth trying to eliminate. Crabgrass, for example, usually dies off at the first frost and promotes soil erosion. Try corn-gluten meal as an organic alternative to chemical herbicides. And remember that thick grass is always the best defense against lawn problems, so seed bare spots to help build up turf. Hours saved annually: up to five.
• Mulch, don’t bag. As interest in eco-friendly lawn care continues to grow, the lawn mower bag is becoming less necessary. The process of discharging finely cut clippings back onto the turf instead of bagging them saves time, plus it returns nutrients to the soil — reducing your lawn’s fertilizer needs by roughly 33 percent. That will help limit your fertilizer applications to once or twice a year. Hours saved annually: up to 15.
• Give low-maintenance grasses a look. Instead of grabbing whatever seed mix is on sale at the local garden center, CR suggests considering one of the new slow-growth, drought-resistant species. Fine fescues, including creeping red, chewings, and hard, all qualify as low-maintenance. But fine fescues don’t tolerate traffic well, so if your lawn doubles as a Wiffle Ball field, consider tall fescue. It does better underfoot but is susceptible to damage from ice cover. You’ll also find plenty of shade-resistant options, though trying to establish turf under the thick foliage of a maple or other shade tree can be a waste of time. Hours saved annually: 15 or more.

Here’s a great article from Organic Gardening explaining how you can have a thick healthy lawn without polluting water, harming wildlife, and endangering the health of your family and pets.

Americans spend so much money and time on their lawns, you’d think we either eat or sell grass. More land in the United States is planted in turf—32 million acres—than in corn. The typical American lawn sucks up 10,000 gallons of supplemental water (non-rainwater) annually.

What’s worse, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that about 80 million U.S. households dump nearly 90 million pounds of herbicides and pesticides on lawns in a year. In fact, lawn care is as much of a danger to our health and the environment as conventional agriculture is. (read more)

The purpose of this new app is to start a conversation about energy efficiency and to put it into a context people are familiar with. The app will use features already in Opower’s energy efficiency application and reports, which it provides through utilities. The company has found that comparisons to neighbors and word-of-mouth recommendations are effective in raising awareness of energy use and promoting efficiency. Some of the “social energy” app’s initial features include:

• Compare Energy Use to Similar Homes: People will be able to benchmark their home energy use against a national database of millions of homes. All benchmarking will be done on an aggregate level, ensuring complete data privacy.

• Compare Energy Use Among Friends: People will be able to invite friends to compare their energy use against their own, show how energy efficient they are, and share tips on how to improve.

• Publish Conversations About Energy to the Facebook Newsfeed: People will be able to share information about their energy use, rank, group participation, and tips they’ve completed.

Some might find that sharing their home energy usage with everyone on Facebook, or even against other similar homes, might be a bit too much. Facebook has been under pressure recently about its privacy settings and policies. Once the app is ready, people can start an energy profile by inputting their utility information either in dollars or in kilowatts. On the one hand, that sounds like a lot of work and if that information popped up automatically that would definitely be too much.

Hopefully, the “social energy” app turns into the agent of change that it’s envisioned to be, instead of another game or Facebook feature that folks would get bored with in just a few months. Something more has to be done to encourage regular consumers to care about energy efficiency and actually take the time to do something about reducing the energy used. Perhaps getting friends and family involved on Facebook, where it’s more visible and “cooler”, might be the answer.

If your iPhone runs out of battery quite often when you are nowhere near a power source then you may find the iFan helpful. The little fan-like device is attached to the iPhone to power it with wind energy. The fan looks like a conventional PC fan, with the difference that it does not need electric power to rotate, that’s taken care of by the wind! This obviously works best if there is wind around at the time.

It took about six hours to charge the iPhone fully which means that the iPhone can be used indefinitely for as long as there is wind around. Think of the possibilities. Maybe you are in the mountains, or at the beach. Situations with no power plug in sight. The iFan can supply you with enough energy to power the work with the iPhone all day long.

The “Chemical-Free Lawn” Project – Environment Canada

Be a good neighbor! Don’t poison the soil, the water or the people in your neighborhood with chemicals.

Weed & Feed and other chemical fertilizers and pesticides are not necessary and there are natural lawn care steps you can take to reduce your weeds and pest problems!

1. TOLERATE SOME WEEDS and allow beneficial plants to exist such as clover in your lawn for its nitrogen-fixing magic.

2. HAND DIGGING WEEDS is the best method of weed control. More than 80% of all weeds are annuals. Hand remove annual weeds before they seed, and remember to remove the roots of perennials. But don’t give up! An old knife or fork will do or dandelion weeders are inexpensive.

3. RESEED BARE SPOTS before weeds fill them in. Most important is to plant a mixture rather than a single variety (e.g. 60% fescue mix, 10% Perennial Ryegrass, 30% Kentucky Bluegrass + 2-3% Dutch White Clover). Diseases can be quite selective. A mixture of grasses will prevent complete destruction of your lawn.

4. TEST YOUR SOIL. Purchase a soil test kit. Such a test will give your soil’s pH, organic matter content and nutrients needed to balance it. Organic matter increases nutrient-holding capacity and improves aeration and water retention. Don’t underestimate the importance of knowing your soil’s condition!

5. REMOVE THATCH, the matted layer of clippings and debris on top of the soil, if it is more than 1/2″ thick. Thatch chokes out grass plants, prevents air, water and nutrients from reaching the soil, and promotes almost every possible lawn problem. Aeration and a brisk raking should remove much of the thatch.

6. AERATE THE LAWN to break through the deep thatch and reduce compaction of soil. This encourages deeper rooting and allows water, nutrients and organic matter to feed the soil. Earthworms are terrific aerators. Lots of worm holes in the lawn mean the job is being done for you.

7. FERTILIZE NATURALLY. If your soil test results show the need, add organic fertilizers. Natural fertilizers are more desirable because of their long-term benefits…and are needed less frequently. They improve the soil’s ability to retain and release nutrients and they are alive with beneficial micro-organisms which speed up decomposition of clippings and thatch. And if soil test says the pH is low, add a natural source of ground limestone when you fertilize (as long as you aren’t seeding at the same time).

8. MOW AT THE PROPER HEIGHT. Keep grass 2 1/2 to 3″ high. Never cut off more than 1/3 of the height at a time or your grass will go into shock! Keep the mower blades sharp so you don’t damage the grass. Taller grass will crowd out weeds, grow longer roots and shade the soil.

9. LEAVE GRASS CLIPPINGS. Less raking! Once the grass is no longer coated in chemicals, the clippings are a free and natural fertilizer for your lawn, as long as they aren’t too long or lying in huge clumps. Grass clippings begin to decompose almost immediately. They provide a 4-1-3 fertilizer, which is about as perfect a combination as a lawn needs.

10. WATER MORE DEEPLY & LESS FREQUENTLY. Water only when soil has dried out well into the root zone. LONGER GRASS = DEEPER ROOTS = LESS WATERING! Northern lawns may need watering only in dry summers. Frequent light watering encourages shallow rooting and leaves the grass vulnerable to insects and disease. When run-off occurs, the soil has absorbed as much water as possible. But, water that is not absorbed quickly may also be a sign that the soil needs aeration. Water slowly for better absorption.

11. CONTROL PESTS NATURALLY. Chemical pesticides are indiscriminate, killing beneficial insects and earthworms and deterring birds. Practicing natural lawn care will create a healthy lawn which is unattractive to pests. Get rid of thatch to get rid of pests. Just don’t use pesticides! (This is inconsistent with #9 – I think it best to come clean and say tolerate a higher level of pest damage).

12. ENCOURAGE earthworms and micro-organisms through these organic gardening steps. Welcome birds and beneficial insects (e.g. ladybugs, spiders, dragonflies). Above and below the soil, these are the keys to unlocking your soil’s potential.

Core aeration: Consider having your lawn aerated to prevent thatch buildup, encourage root growth, and create soil that is less compact.

Fertilize and reseed: There are many natural fertilizers available that contain things like bone meal, feather meal, fish emulsions, liquefied kelp and other all-natural and organic ingredients. The benefit of natural fertilizers is that you don’t have to worry about kids and pets playing on your lawn and being exposed to harsh chemicals. Add new seed to your lawn and water it well for a couple of weeks to ensure a lush lawn in the spring.

Cut your grass: Even though your lawn isn’t growing very fast, it still needs to be trimmed every week. But don’t don’t cut it to short  a higher setting reduces moisture loss and encourages deep root growth.

There are several ways to make lawn and garden care more eco-friendly. The use of an “electric mower”, organic fertilizers, and a little bit of elbow grease will ensure a healthy lawn and garden come spring – without increasing your carbon footprint too much!

If your in the Santa Barbara area and need help with your lawn care
call or email us for a free estimate (805) 76-LAWNS