Ok I dont know about you but when I look around, I see plenty of water. When I go North on Interstate 5 and see our aqueduct flowing almost to capacity, I wonder why we have chosen to create a dustbowl in one of our richest agricultural areas...

While I will not pretend to understand why it is so important to save such a small fish from extinction, I do feel very sorry for the hundreds of farmers that have staked their lives on thier crops only to have the spicket shut off by the feds to protect a minnow.

Anyway, that is what we have....A legal water shortage as opposed to something Mother Nature or Global Warming produced. Question is, what do we do with it now.

As you know from my bio, I have been in the Landscape Industry for many years and currently hold a C-27 contractors license as well as an Arborist Certification. My company struggles daily with the mandated water restrictions...Our customers are frustrated with brown spots in their grass and dead flowers, and we stress over being able to apply enough water to keep our projects thriving, thereby keeping us in business!

Over the years I have discovered a couple things for the average homeowner that can make things easier if you are currently a victim of these restrictions.

• First: Turf Aeration. This is the process by, with the help of an aerator which you can rent and any local rental yard, cores holes in your lawn, allowing better water penetration and less runoff when you apply that precious water. It is vitally important that you use a core type aerator as opposed to something that just pushes a hole into the turf.

When you use a core type aerator you wil remove a plug from the soil ultimately allowing the soil to expand and create more air spaces which roots need to grow and thrive.

Using a punch type aerator actually compresses the soil making the ground more compacted and basically exhasebating the problem ten fold.

Aeration is the one thing that can make a huge difference in the appearance of your turf with the limited water we have.

• Second: Polymers. Polymers for plants are actually a silicone based material that holds many times its weight in water when mixed into the soil. This in turn allows you to water your plants and actually store water in the soil to be available to the roots at a later time. Eventually the polymers will actually attach themselves to the root structure and greatly reduce the amount of water needed to keep houseplants and annual color looking good all year.

These Polymers are readily available at your local Garden Centers and are relatively cheap when you consider what is lost in time and money replacing plants.

We will make it through this tough time. Ultimately I am very confident that we will return to better times. I dont know about you but I've worked to hard and long to not be able to enjoy a nice long shower.....FIVE MINUTES!!!! right........Gimme a break.

Stay with these tips and at least you will be able to keep your garden beautiful. You will have to figure out how to get that left over shampoo out of your hair.

All the best!

Please view my other blogs and articles as well...