The summer months are upon us, and with that comes extreme heat and potential drought in Nashville. Here are a few tips for conserving water during these dry, hot months while maintaining your lawn’s vibrance.
1. Store Water
One of the best ways to conserve water while ensuring your landscaping stays hydrated during a dry spell is to catch rainwater. Early spring and summer can be quite wet, but that much-needed hydration doesn’t always extend into the late summer and early fall. We’re no strangers to droughts in and around Nashville, so what can you do to take advantage of rain in the wet season?
Catching and storing rainwater can save you money on your water bills and help conserve water when everyone (plant life included) needs it most. Attaching rainwater collection systems to your home can help you collect and store valuable rainwater year-round, allowing you to use it to irrigate your lawn.
There are many ways to collect and store rainwater, with a method available for nearly every budget and type of home. Most systems use a home’s gutters to collect water into one or more storage barrels. These barrels can hold water for weeks or months, depending on how well insulated they are, and they can be collected from when the need for water arises. From whole-home collection systems to DIY rain barrels set up under your downspouts, the only limit is the amount of time and money you’re willing to invest in rain catchment. For most homeowners, the systems pay for themselves in saved water within the first year, as even the more expensive systems aren’t too costly. Since rain catchment is relatively low-tech, you don’t need a lot of bells and whistles to efficiently gather and store water for your irrigation system. You can supplement your summer irrigation with rain barrels and other forms of rain catchment, but chances are you’ll still need a full lawn irrigation system.
2. Tune Up Your Irrigation System
One way to maximize the benefits of your irrigation system is to ensure it’s functioning properly. A single, persistent leak may not stop your lawn from being irrigated, but it could waste gallons of water all summer long. When the ground is particularly dry, small leaks may not be noticeable before they’re absorbed deeper into the soil. Yearly irrigation inspections and tune-ups help ensure that you’re getting the most from your sprinklers.
The springtime is the best season to have your irrigation system pipes and sprinkler heads looked over for damage, but it’s not too late if you’re considering doing it in the summer! To conserve water with your irrigation system, make sure it’s functioning properly. Proactive sprinkler replacement is relatively affordable, but if your system springs a major leak, it may cost a lot more to fix in a pinch. Don’t let it come to that; opt for yearly Nashville irrigation services with The Parke Company.
3. Water at the Right Time
Knowing the right time of day to water and how regularly to run your irrigation system will ensure you save money and time this summer. So, what is the best time for irrigation in summer? It’s generally accepted that it’s best to water your lawn well before the temperature is going to reach its peak. Following that wisdom, the best time to water is in the very early morning. How early is too early? There’s no real wrong answer there. Between 4 a.m. and 10 a.m. works best, but when the weather is especially hot, it’s best to go earlier rather than later. The primary reason for watering so early in the morning is to avoid evaporation. When you water early, when the sun is either completely down or just rising, the water has enough time to properly soak into the soil. Watering during daylight hours means you’re losing a certain percentage of water to the air before it has a chance to help your lawn at all. Evaporation can happen quickly in the summer (it’s what makes summer so humid here), so don’t underestimate the water savings that a proper irrigation schedule can provide.
Watering in the evening is not great for plants because it can allow the moisture to sit too long in the soil, leading to fungal growth. Maybe you’ve noticed that after a particularly wet week, mushrooms crop up in the garden. This can happen with irrigation systems, even during a drought. Timing is everything, but fortunately, there’s a wealth of wisdom available on when to water in every specific region, taking into account the current weather trends. Don’t want to do all the research yourself? Work with a landscaping company to help determine your watering schedule, and have us do the programming and planning for you. You might think that a drought instantly calls for more water than when the climate is more normal, but that’s not always the case. Many plants, especially those found in Nashville, are naturally drought-resistant. Giving them too much water, even when it’s drying up at record rates, may be detrimental to their health.
4. Prepare Garden Beds and Other Plants
It’s not just your lawn that needs water during a drought. Every plant in your landscaping will struggle to remain hydrated in the summer heat. That competition can deprive your grass (which has shallower roots) of the moisture it needs. One way to keep your grass healthy is to maintain the water levels of the surrounding trees and garden beds on your property. Mulch is an excellent insulator, which can protect the ground around flowers and trees from rapid drying under the sun’s intense rays. Mulch helps with water conservation by keeping moisture where it needs to be, and can act as a short-term storage for water, as wood and other natural mulch materials absorb water.
Since mulch keeps roots cooler, they need less water to properly support a plant’s growth and nutrition. Mulch also protects roots year-round, so when we do get some torrential rain, the healthy soil doesn’t wash away when a lot of water falls quickly on the garden. Exposed tree roots can dehydrate under even mild summer heat, which can greatly weaken a tree’s foundation and negatively affect its health.
Go Into the Dry Season With Confidence
Want to ensure that your home or business’s irrigation system is ready for summer, no matter how hot it gets? Give us a call at The Parke Company for a consultation and full inspection of your sprinkler system today.