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H2O Conservation Tips for the Garden:
1. MULCH: Mulch is very important to keep water from evaporating
from the soil. Not only does it help the soil retain water, it keeps
temperatures in the root zone moderated which means less stress
on plants! Apply a 2-4" layer of the mulch of your choice. Do not
pack mulch up around the stems of plants as this can cause stem
rot which can kill the plant.
2. LESS FREQUENT BUT DEEP WATERING: Trees and shrubs that
have been in the ground for more than two years only need watering
during extended dry spells. Water early in the morning (ideal) or at
night so that less water is lost during the heat of the day. Deep
watering encourages roots to go deeper into the soil where water
is retained longer.
3. CATCH RAINWATER: Rainbarrels can be joined together in order
to catch more water. Homewood has 3 styles of rain barrel to choose
from. Cisterns are much larger and these can be installed both above
and below ground to capture hundreds to thousands of gallons of
water. Larger in-ground tank systems can be hooked up to existing
irrigation systems and to hoses as well. More information on that
to come...In the meantime, there are links below for large rainwater
capture systems.
4. REDUCE THE LAWN: Making lawn areas smaller and replacing them
with drought tolerant plants, hardscape, or "natural" areas.
5. WATER BY HAND: This reduces run-off, puts water at the
rootball where plants need it, and allows you to monitor plants more
closely to determine their water needs more accurately.
6. PLANT IN EARLY SPRING OR FALL: It's harder for plants to
establish in the heat of summer and it's harder to keep them watered
then, so plant in the cool months to help your plants establish more
easily and with lower water requirements.
7. PLANT DROUGHT TOLERANT PLANTS: Check out the links below
for plant lists and remember that even drought tolerant plants need
to be watered regularly the first year in the garden.
8. PRUNE: Thin out old tangled branches on trees and shrubs and
remove uneven lateral growth. This reduces the plants' need for water.
9. USE WATER-HOLDING GRANULES AND MATS: Available as
granules to mix into potting soils, mats to place in the bottom of
pots, or already mixed into specially formulated potting mixes,
these water holding products expand to many times their size to
hold extra water around root zones. These are excellent for
container gardens and hanging baskets!
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Spotlight on Conservation:
Want to capture rainwater for your garden on the cheap?
Here's a great idea from Homewood customer Dale Wenninger.
This is a homemade cistern that holds 500 gallons of water when full.
Total cost: $325
Mr. Wenninger constructed this using two 250 gallon grain additive
tanks that he purchased off of Craig's List. They are set on a
concrete pad, connected together with 2" PVC pipe with an
outflow joint at the center and a spigot attached. The shut off
valves come with the tank. A hose can be attached to the spigot
and if more water pressure is needed a pump can be screwed on
to the spigot and the hose attached to it.
A plywood wooden frame was built over the tops of the tank with
holes cut in for the water to enter the tanks. Mesh screen covers
the holes to keep mosquitoes out. A 6" PVC pipe connects the tanks
to the holes in the plywood cover. To pretty it up, Mr. W. attached
lattice to the frame. Holes are drilled into the 2x4's of the frame so
that overflow can spill out.
Click here for a labeled diagram
Click here for a close up of the valve connection
Click here for a close up of the pipe connections
SEND US YOUR IDEAS FOR CONSERVING AND CAPTURING WATER
FOR YOUR GARDEN!
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Ten Great Drought Tolerant Plants:
In no particular order, these have been selected for drought
tolerance, significant flowers or foliage interest, and ready
availability in garden centers. REMEMBER, DROUGHT TOLERANT
PLANTS MUST BE WATERED REGULARLY THROUGH THE FIRST SEASON.
1. Lantana - flowering annuals (a couple of hardy perennials)
that flower all summer. Butterfly attractor.
2. Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii) - Flowers all summer.
Tough. Attracts hummingbirds & butterflies.
3. Ornamental Grasses - Miscanthus, Pennisetum, Stipa,
Panicum, Muhlenbergia, etc. EXCEPTIONS: Sedge grasses
such as Carex.
4. Nandina - Evergreen shrub with white flower spikes, red
fall/winter berries, and red or burgundy winter foliage.
5. Russian Sage (Perovskia spp.) - Upright spikes of
lavender flowers in late spring and summer.
6. Moss Rose (Portulaca) - Flowering annual groundcover
with bright jewel-toned flowers and fleshy leaves.
7. Yucca - Yuccas provide great textural interest with clumps
of strappy leaves.
8. Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) - Bright orange-gold
daisy-like flowers with brown central cones in summer.
9. Crapemyrtle - Beautiful trees and shrubs with a long,
colorful flowering season in mid to late summer.
10. Butterfly Bush (Buddleia) - Tough shrubs with
spikes of colorful summer blooms that attract butterflies.
Click Here For Homewood's Full List of Drought
Tolerant Plants
NCSU Cooperative Extension Drought Tolerant
Plants Lists:
Click here for the Drought Tolerant Annuals List
Click here for the Drought Tolerant Trees List
Click here for the Drought Tolerant Shrubs List
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Spotlight on Conservation
 This rain barrel doesn't catch rain! It is a barrel
designed to catch air conditioning condensate. Homewood customer,
David Parrott, has cleverly devised a way to catch the run off from his air
conditioning unit and uses it in his garden. Thanks for the great idea, David!
Step 1: Locate the condensate outlet on the outside of the house and
identify the internal PVC pipe in the basement or stand up crawl that
connects it to the air conditioning unit in the attic. The builder had installed
a 1" diameter pipe. The rain barrel should be located next to this outlet, shown
to the left and half way up the barrel. To optimize accessibility, we purchased
four cement blocks to raise the barrel so a watering can could easily be placed
under the spigot.
Step 2: Modify the existing condensate outlet so that a new outlet allows
condensate to flow directly into the inlet of the rain barrel as shown in below.
Since the second floor cooling unit is located some 12 feet higher than the inlet
of the rain barrel, we rely on gravity feed and do not require a pump. After selecting
a location for the new outlet, it was necessary to drill a hole through the external
Hardy plank to match the diameter of the existing PVC condensate pipe located
directly behind the wall in the basement.
Step 3: Fit the garden hose and its attachments to the new condensate
outlet. We purchased a length of 1" PVC pipe, a 90 degree bend, a PVC fitting
to attach to a garden hose connection and PVC adhesive. Cut the pipe with a
small tooth saw to an appropriate length to connect the hose fitting to one side
of the 90 degree bend. The other side requires sufficient pipe to extend through
the Hardy plank in the basement or stand up crawl to interface with the existing
condensate drain pipe. Once a satisfactory dry fit is achieved, the parts can be
bonded using the PVC cement.
The picture above shows the modifications that were made to the internal
vertical condensate pipe mentioned in step 1.
Step 4 Cut this pipe to install the "T" piece. Condensate from the attic cooler
now feeds into the top of the "T", and the branch through the wall connects to
the new condensate outlet. The bottom part of the "T" is connected to the top
of a shut off valve. The bottom of this valve is reconnected to the original
condensate outlet. The picture shows the valve in the closed position so that
all condensate flows into the rain barrel. In the summer months, we would
typically collect 1 to 2 gallons of condensate per hour. When the barrel is full,
the valve can be switched to the off position to prevent back pressure in the
condensate line.
As with step 3, some cutting, dry fitting and bonding of the PVC components
are required. When these are completed, the final step is to apply silicone
caulking to the hole in the Hardy plank to provide a waterproof seal. Although
the installation process appears challenging, the long term benefits will certainly
justify the few hours, low cost and effort required.
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Links To More Information:
Technologies for Water Conservation Inside and Outside
the Home:
http://www.wateruseitwisely.com/newTech/index.shtml#irrigation
20 Tips for Water Conservation Inside the House from
WRAL.COM:
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1952570/
Managing Landscape Turf Under Drought Conditions:
http://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/news/management/Drought07_alert.htm
Very Nifty Virtual Tour of a Water-Saving House
http://www.h2ouse.org/
NPR radio story: Harvesting Rainwater By Not
Letting It Go to Waste
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17977057
Learn about using greywater:
http://www.greywaterguerrillas.com/index.html
Think rain barrels are ugly? Think again! Check out these
gorgeous painted barrels!
http://mystreamteam.blogspot.com/2008/01/what-rain-barrels-can-do.html
http://www.geaugaswcd.com/rain_barrell_yard_art.htm
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Large Systems to Capture Rainwater:
Gelco Systems:
http://www.secondsoakings.com
The Original Rainwater Pillow:
http://www.rainwaterpillow.com/
Rainwater Solutions:
http://www.rainwatersolutions.com/index.html
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