if i was you i would start at 12 am,so it gives water plenty of time too soak in too soiland for each root of grass too get its fill,before sun comes up,i water mine like that,and mine is a carpet for 4 years straight,kentucky blue grass,all so in the afternoon,around 3 pm,just too cool off blades of grass,on the hot days,take a butter knife ,stick it in the ground about 4 inches and rip a straight line in soil,about 4 inches long,then pull back that section,and look at the soil at that depth ,if its moist then your watering good,if its dry then you need longer times,the top 1/2 inch might be dry from sun,but from that point below it should have moister.grass burns because the roots are low on water supply,a well watered root can keep a blade of grass green in a 100 degree temp,and keep the soil sweet,you can use ashes from a fire place,or lime, you can do that once a month,not a heavy coat,i have two fireplace in my home,i have plenty of ash,i sift it like flour, and broadcast it with a spreader,hope this info helps,im not a pro but,it works for me

Actually, designing a swale or even a rain garden is a good idea for many gardens, even quite small ones. And it really doesn't make too much difference with the dryness - or not - of the climate. Unless already existing as a low lying, water accumulating area (i.e. a bog or swamp, perhaps only seasonally), a swale will simply catch and retain rainfall and allow it to be gradually absorbed into the soil. Among the reasons for this is to avoid seasonal flooding of the landscape, to reabsorb pollutants that are present in storm run-off before they can reach streams and groundwater or simply to retain and re-use infrequent rainfall. In your case, the latter seems most appropriate although when it does rain in SoCal, that rain can come fast and furious, so the other two reasons may be equally as valid as well, at least on a now-and-again basis. A swale is just a low lying area......when rainfall does occur, the water will flow to the lowest point, the swale, so it does need to be constructed to be lower than current grade. If any slope to the yard at all, the swale should be located at the low point. If not, you need to grade your new "lasagna" planting to slope away from the structure and toward to the designated swale site. And you will need to excavate the swale to some degree, depending on the thickness you can manage with your lasagna method. I doubt constructing swales was devised with a lasagna method of bed construction in mind. It does involve some work to do it correctly. Grading and directing water runoff to the correct area is critical. And you want something that slows water penetration yet provides good drainage at the bottom of the swale, not just soil - coarse sand and river rocks or coarse drainage gravel are common. And yes, this is much more of a landscape design issue than just a soil question ;-) Do some research online to see how to construct an effective swale. Even check out rain garden sites - they are a wealth of information for this sort of activity if for a slightly different purpose. One other thing you may want to do is investigate dry stream beds as a landscape feature. Not only do these make an attractive focal point to a drought tolerant garden, they will help to direct any rainwater runoff (even irrigation run-off) to the appropriate swale location where it can be dissipated evenly through the soil profile. Where moisture accumulates surrounding the swale and along its sides is where you can locate more thirsty plants. If you don't already have a landscape designer, you might want to consider hiring one. They could be a huge help in the layout, design and construction of this kind of feature, as well as offering suitable planting suggestions.

Thank you. When I re-read my question later, I realized it was impossible to answer without more details. I do hear the unit go on when I run hot water in the sink. And if I remember, it's an indirect feed since there really isn't anywhere to store it. I bought a 100 gallons. I can't imagine that won't last a few months for hot water only. Hoping I can get this complete before heating season.

Did anyone get to take a peek at what I bought? Kara, makes a lot of sense! Thanks That Melocactus. is to die for. NOw that would be a very easy plant to take care of if left in a sunny warm room! Mes, so the DEAD of winter for me would be about the end of November until the end of February..That is when the sun has the least affect, acts like a light bulb and it's the shortest and coldest days here..I can't see them dying from being dry with a sip of water if that for just two and a half months.. Believe this or not, my local nursery waters theirs once a week even though their temps in there are very cool no matter what, and they don't loose any. Weird. Probably because of lots of light? They were loosing a few 'Aloe' plants though, they seem to despise cool and moist. Paul thanks I appreciate your offerings as always. Very encouraging..I could never keep them alive, but from looking at this and not asking for help in the past, I could see why. From I understand of this thread, if it is actively growing all winter under lights and kept warm, then water as usual, dry out between watering s and that's that.. If kept in a very cool room, less light, the dead of winter and if I want them to go dormant so I can encourage bloom, then pull back on watering all together for the time they are kept cool and dormant..This is my plan! So , I will continue to water and grow in a warm environment with added lights in a very sunny window until about the end of this month, then I will encourage them all to go dormant by introducing cooler temps to them once the mix is dry... As an experiment, I bought two of each so that I could actively grow some and the other half put to sleep as I would my fig trees, brugs and plumeria's. They survive in a cool dark basement with little to no water at all..Force dormancy. By spring I can see which ones survived, how well they did, and which ones bloom! I will keep everyone posted on my success.. It's STRANGE, but if I were to liken these to another type of plant that likes the same treatment, cool and left dry, I would liken them to annual tropical BULBS, the kind you pull from the ground , keep dry until you once plant them again since the bulbs themselves hold their own moisture without roots. The cactus hold moisture on the main plant while the roots go bone dry, as if the roots draw back moisture form the water in the cactus once they resume growing....The bulbs don't desiccate if treated right without water. From the bottom of my heart, thanks for all the great advice..