I haven't watered whats left of my grass yet this year, just letting it die. However the Bermuda grass is tough stuff and will come back alive with any rain we do get. I do water my fruit trees, and have put an eight inch layer of mulch around all of them to conserve water.

In northern California where the rainfall is in reasonable amounts fruit trees planted in loam or clay/loam soil will do reasonably well. If however you have fruit trees with dwarfing rootstocks, especially if your soil is sandy or sandy/loam, summer water will be required. Drip systems adjusted to match your soils water holding ability, and the temperatures or wind of your area will be the best solution for your trees water needs. Mulching to prevent excess water loss from evaporation as well as preventing weed competition is a must. Al

I have all my gardens/trees on drip systems. I have two dump truck loads of free mulch from the local tree trimmers. It really looks good and keeps in the moisture. I mix in organic materials whenever I can. We have a well, but it costs so much in power to run the pump that we are always careful of our water use.

Water needy plants are now huddled as close as I can get them.And if that isnt enough to make them look good,they will be replaced. There are many low water use plants now available from around the world. Some as good or better than natives. Why limit yourselves to what just evolved here? take advantage of a worlds worth of plant evolution.
I do wish people would just plow under that dead lawn instead of saving water with straw colored weedy lawns all summer/length of drought. That's one ugly,ugly,look.-lol.

I tore up a 5x30 foot area of grass and put in natives and drought tolerant plants past fall.

The local news tonight was at JPL and they were saying the Pacific is showing LaNina.

I'm trying to figure out a cheap/free source for barrels for rain collection -- so if it ever does rain again ;-) I'll be able to save up for summer irrigation. Any ideas?

-Kim
Campbell, CA

Since it might be a temporary need-how about those cheap 6-10-12' liner pools sold by toy stores or hardware stores..even Sears used too. I would use them as temporary summer fish ponds when I raised goldfish. They would hold 300-1,200 gallons.A fraction of the cost of heavy duty fiberglass or galvanized tubs. And so much more easy to set up.

stanofh,

First, you still need to divert water from the downspout, because the pool won't fill up very fast.

Second, you can't hold rainwater in an open container like a liner pool for any length of time, especially over the summer. It will become a breeding ground for mosquitoes, a toilet for local birds and small animals, and the large amount of unenclosed surface area will just cause it to evaporate quickly.

You can build your own rain barrel very easily. The first part is finding an appropriate barrel--I got mine on Freecycle for nothing. Any 55-65 gallon food container will do. You'll need a downspout diverter kit, some cinder blocks, and a spigot as well as some basic tools.

Basically:

-cut the raingutter
-install the downspout diverter (there are plenty on the market, I've given you a link to the one I use)
-make a hole in the top of the barrel for the hose from the downspout
-make a hole in the bottom of the barrel for the spigot.

Voila!

Here is a link that might be useful: Downspout diverter

Saving water by the barrel sounds good, and back east where two weeks without water in the summer is considered a drought, it is a reasonable idea. For those of us in California who normally go five months with no rain, and only consider a drought when we have a dry winter, a barrel of water is not much relief. Calculate how much water you actually use on your landscape from May to November and then decide what size barrel you will need. Al

DH and I have designed a hose set-up that will take the gray water from the rinse cycle of the washing machine to piggy-backed barrels outside. It will require that I remember to hook it up, and then take it down when it's not in use, but that's a pretty small price to pay in labor, to reduce the potable water we use in the garden. Now we just have to find some free barrels and get the hose and *make* the thing.

Someone on Change.org asked me about harvesting the water that runs down the drain while waiting for water to heat for showers or baths or dish washing (I heat water on the stove for dish washing, but most folks don't do that), and that's an area of water harvesting/conservation I had never even thought about. I'm going to paste in her comments here (with her permission) and also direct here here for possible answers.

I doubt anyone will find many 55 gallon drums in good, clean condition for free, especially ones that didn't have toxic stuff in them. Look in the Recycler or Craig's List. I lucked out and bought about 25 barrels that had been used to hold medical grade glucose for $6.00 each by buying all of them in one shot, but ended up selling them individually for $12 to $15 each when I saw there was never going to be enough rain in southern California to fill them. Plus we have so little rain that the roofs become coated with dust, and most of the water that comes off your roof looks like muddy water. By the time it starts coming off clean the rain storm is usually about over.

SO, here's what Rae on Change.org wrote to me:

"I'm far more interested in figuring out how to collect my gray water. I waste way too much water, waiting for the hot water to flow (ridiculous distance between water heater and water fixtures - can't anyone plan these things better?) The amount of water that has to flow before it's hot does not lend itself to easy collection - most containers that would hold enough are too large to fit in the sink easily and would be too heavy to remove from the sink once full.

Perhaps you and I, as well as anyone else reading this, can consider the problem and find a solution. Although I try to minimize it, I find I need to get hot water two or three times a day. I would not be surprised to find I could water both outdoor and indoor plants AND fill the toilet tank (and go back to flushing after every use!) with the water I waste this way.

Ideally, the system would be convenient and easy to use. The collection container should have handles, maybe even wheels and/or spigot, so it's easy to get the water out too. The link between the container and the faucet should be large enough to direct the water into the container with no back up or need to "burp". Ideally, one could attach the water "catcher" to the faucet for hands free use. With some kind of protection from overflow, one could even leave it unattended, for a short period, which would be great!

There's some parameters I think are necessary - there are plenty of great minds out there - let's see what we can come up with!"

Back in the 70's, we had water rationing in the Bay Area. That was before low-flow toilets. 1. Everyone kept a plastic bottle or a brick in the toilet tank to reduce water use.

2. Our washer & dryer were in our garage, my hubby put a large 32 gal metal garbage can next to the washer and we would move the drain hose on the washer to the garbage can during the wash cycle.I used that water to water my garden. I washed clothes on alternate days so I would have time to use up the water before washing again.
   3. We lived in a two-story house. Everyone used the upstairs bath for our showers with the plug in. My hubby would siphon out the water with a hose running out the window.
   4.Keep a container in the sink to catch water while it is warming up. Use the water to fill the coffee pot, to make tea or cooking.

It's not easy, but you can save a lot of water. It all adds up.
Donna

We moved in 2-1/2 years ago and I've been planting a very low-water garden and mulching like crazy. It's a tough love garden for sure.

A very large section is devoted to Calif. natives, and we stopped watering that (except for newly planted additions) in early December, once the rains started, after it had been established for 18 months (2 summers and 1 winter). Our front yard is mostly succulents and low-water trees and shrubs, plus drought-tolerant ground covers.

When we built this house we put in a grey water system to take the water from the washing machine, showers and bathroom sinks. We're almost done completing the outdoor plumbing so that all the trees will be watered with grey water.

A few months ago we attended a very inspiring talk by water harvesting expert Brad Landcaster, and purchased his books on Rainwater Harvesting. Following his instructions we have built some swales and a place where rainwater can collect on our property instead of going into the sewer. He gives talks all over, so I recommend checking his website and seeing if you can hear him speak.

Also, most of our trees are found in "Ornamental Trees for Mediterranean Climates," which clearly identifies which trees are low-water. You can purchase this great book at www.SDHortSoc.org.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rainwater Harvesting / Brad Lancaster

Most of us have plenty of gray water going down the drain whether it rains or not. Art Ludwig has written a book of how to capture and use that water already paid for. For less than $20 order from Amazon "The New Create An Oasis with Greywater" Al

calistoga is right,and why I mentioned the pools. Barrels are far too small and too many needed to be of any help. If you use a pool-any 10cent goldfish take care of any insects-and goldfish are like a canary in a mine-if the waters good enough for them,then good enough for plants. If the spout is re -routed you could use a barrel over a pool as a filter.There are too many ways to make a gravity fed filter to go into.
City's use pond systems to reclaim gray water. A backyard one could also have water plants like Hyacinths-in soucal they are evergreen,up north cattails..again, a whole thesis in water filtering is out there to read.
My main problem-where to put pools? For those with large yards it would be worth a try.

I have a rep coming over to quote on a gray water system installation next week. I have a beautiful cottage garden with over 2000 sq. ft. of mixed beds, and even though I only water every 2-3 weeks in summer, it's still a lot of water that's needed.

Susi, I'm curious how much your grey water system cost to install.

-Kim

I'm not.

I have spent every last discretionary cent and every spare moment of the last twenty years building my garden. I'm in waaaay over my economic head.

Every water-sucking rose, daylily, and pelargonium has a history going back to a relative or Gardenweb friend, or a sacrifice of food, gas, and clothes.

The spectacular, lush, water-wasting and dust-reducing St. Augustine and Zoysia lawns that fill me with joy every morning despite the memory of starting with a few feet and digging and plugging and weeding for the last ten years will soon be gone.

Why, oh why, wasn't I born a rich Englishwoman?

Why didn't I develop an interest in, let's say, collecting Harley Davidson memorabilia instead?

I'm going out to roll around on my Zoysia with my dog while I still can.

Renee

One other thing I have been doing is reducing the number of potted plants. I realized my potted plants were using a disproportionate amount of water.A small area of many potted plants were needing almost as much water as my yards. Now,I'm tucking them in here and there. They will do better anyway in ground. Just hope for no big freezes-ever!

I've been gradually replacing lawn space with drought tolerant plants. I've also switched some areas to drip irrigation, which greatly reduces the amount of weeds that pop up because water is just delivered in concentrated areas. One other thing i've done is begin to get rid of water-thirsty plants and replacing them with drought tolerants such as Aloes, Agaves, Sedums, Dudleyas, Sempervivums, .... etc. There are so many choices from all other places with similar climates such as Southern Africa, Chile and the Mediterranean.

RIOTBRRD - We did the greywater system as part of our new house construction. The extra house plumbing wasn't much, and didn't add much work at all. The clever computer, however, was about $2000. The small holding tank, pump, some special hardware, etc. came to around $2500 or so. We got the system from ReWater in Chula Vista.

Since this is our last house we think this expense was well worth it.

Here is a link that might be useful: ReWater Greywater Systems

Quite a while back (so it wasn't really in preparation for a drought) I decided that running water down the kitchen drain waiting for it to run hot was insane. We now fill a pot with cold water and heat it on the stove for dish washing. We use a large bowl for dish washing, too, which means that we also run into it the water that goes through the on-faucet PUR filter before it blinks green and is drinkable. We rinse flatware over bowls, and then use that water to rinse other dishes.

I was glad to see a reminder about putting bricks or other things in the toilet tank - that's another thing that DH and I can do right now.

If and when we come up with anything brilliant, I'll post it here.

*smile*

For those who have long distances to go between their hot water heater and kitchen sink, it might be worth investing in an instantaneous hot water heater below the sink to avoid having to wait for hot water. They can be installed as either gas or electric configured, and are really useful, and save running water.

I've been mulling over the idea of checking prices on a very large 1000's of gallons water tank which could be installed underground in my front yard, and used to store roof run-off, as probably the most practical method to conserve water and be able to use it for landscape irrigation with a pump system. I haven't gotten too serious about it yet as I have managed to stay under my water limits even with the voluntary 19% reduction in use requested by our local East Bay Municipal Water District.

I would love to see treated gray water available on a city wide basis from the local sewage plant as is often installed now in new residential neighborhoods and office parks, and apparently this is becoming more common in many south Florida neighborhoods as well. The down side is the cost to install all those underground lines around town, but it makes more sense than pumping that water into the bay/ocean, and would free up a lot of clean primary source water that is currently being used to water gardens. This would seem a better method to reduce water use throughout the state, and might even be a good way to keep people employed on infrastructure projects plus manage California's limited water supply.

Lawns are more of a status symbol than practical in our state.They take up too much of our resources and all the chemicals used to maintain a healthy green lawn pollute the ecosystem tremendously.Most of the Sod and Lawn seed used in our state are alien species and don't really belong here.It's proven that a patch of native wildflowers uses only 1/4 of the water it takes to keep a lawn green.

First, I applaud everyone who already has or is converting to drought tolerant landscaping. My garden blooms all year and supports wildlife - something that the water-sucking grass can never do.

For those looking for a simple, inexpensive system for grey water and rain run-off, consider putting in French drains. Rain gutter water and filtered grey water can then soak into the garden. We have 2 so far, and each took about a weekend to dig, lay, connect, cover and celebrate.

Pages 6 and 10 show photos of the installation of each - pretty easy to do if the soil is saturated. You'll need perforated pipe, connectors and an overflow up-pipe, plus gravel and landscape fabric.

Hope this helps ...diana

Here is a link that might be useful: front garden overhaul

slave2thefur:

Great pictures! I see you are in San Diego Co, so you probably get no frost (I do in No Cal) but can you share with us what you've planted that has grown successfully?

----lucia z9/sun15

For those of you annoyed by all the water wasted by waiting for hot water. I've just started greening of our home, and the consultants recommended "Demand Recirculation Pump". It is pump installed near the sink. When you request hot water, it starts pulling water out of hot pipe, and pushing it to cold pipe until water is hot enough. No water gets wasted. It also reduces time-to-hot, as the pump's flow is a lot faster than your low-flow faucet.

It sounds like a clever device, I was surprised I've never heard about it before. I'll install some in a couple of months.

Our shower is at the furthest end of the house from the water heater in the garage, so we have been putting the shower's hand-held spray head into a bucket to catch the cold water that precedes the hot. Then we either use it to flush the toilet or carry it out to water parts of our garden that are not reached by the irrigation system.

We already have a large central bed of succulents (Some of which are: black, purple, and green and yellow striped aeoniums; the bluish Senecio ficoides; Oscularia deltoides, which has small daisy-like lavender flowers; Echeveria giggiflora 'Mauna Loa', Pachyphytum oviferum, Echeveria glauca, some aloes, and a lot of Kalanchoe fedschenkoi, which is blooming with loads of pinkish bells right now. Looks good against the black aeoniums. Here's a pic of that part of the garden a year ago; sorry it came out so big.
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In two strips flanking the path to the front door, where not much sun hits, we have planted various gasterias, and they are doing very well, blooming often--though the blooms themselves are not spectacular, the hummingbirds love them--and growing big.

In a couple of out-of-the-way corners of the garden, we have Aloe arborescens, which are now blooming beautifully and never need any care. We also use cuttings from these aloes the same way people use Aloe vera. They grow much faster than vera and have given us less trouble.

Biwako - Excellent!

Lucia, you're right that I seldom have to worry about frost, and even the BF a few years ago did very little damage other than annoy my bananas and iochroma. My tracking file of haves/wants, plus growing notes, is very large. If you or anyone else wants a copy, I'll be happy to email it to you. The bones of the notes are Monterey Bay Nursery, and it has been expanded over the years with plants I find interesting and either have or am watching for.

Quite a bit of planning went into this - basically a year of research - since I knew nothing about gardening and landscaping when I started. The most important part was grouping plants by drainage/fertilizer/water needs, especially the SA and Oz/NZ natives that can't tolerate phosphorus. Only one plant gets pests: the lovely iochroma is adored by keel backed tree hoppers. Pyrethrin (use pet flea shampoo) takes care of them since the flowers are too beautiful to pull the plant.

Attached is a floral wander thru my winter garden. Actual monthly water cost during summer Santa Ana conditions: $15-18, during winter $6-7.

Here is a link that might be useful: winter blooms

BTW, we were advised by the gray water installer that we must switch from bio-degradable soaps to bio-compatible soaps. Otherwise, the eventual salt build-up will harm the garden plantings.

Also, plants that don't like phosphates (some New Zealand/Australian types, I believe?) shouldn't be watered with gray water, as it's usually fairly high in phosphorus. You may want to test your graywater after installation to be certain.

Cost estimate for a simple sand/cattail tub (55 gal) with overflow valve, small pump, shut-off valve and catch basin was quoted at $2500.

We'll probably get it installed in March, after some carpentry work is finished on the back porch.

This company also does roof rainwater systems. Although we have almost the perfect setup, I won't be doing it because the ideal place to put a 9' round aboveground container would completely disrupt a major corner of the garden, as well as being visually ugly not only to us, but to three of our neighbors as well. However, the rep said in a normal rainfall year (which of course, we haven't had lately, LOL) a roof rainwater system can collect an average of 15,000-18,000 gallons.

An excellent idea, and I wish I'd thought of it when we were originally landscaping. I could have managed to partially or completely hide a 12' concrete pad with its 8' tall tank, if I'd done it to begin with.

Hope this information is helpful to others.

Concerning collecting rainwater off your roof. Because we have so little rain in California your roof will become covered with dust, probably a lot of it full of pollutants, and your gutters will accumulate all sorts of debris like leaves, dust, and if you have an asphalt shingle roof lots of the granules they coat the shingles with. It usually has to rain hard for at least an hour, or if its the drizzle type rains maybe for a couple of days before the water starts coming off the roof reasonably clear. Before that its like muddy water. I tried tasting some once and it tasted terrible even though it was clear. My neighbor's dog was poisoned and died when it drank some water that dripped into its water bowl from a treated wood shake roof. I was going to use the water off my roof in my acqurium but after tasting it I figured it would probably kill the fish. I do save rainwater for watering plants in containers and for seed starting, but only water that fell directly into a clean container, and not off the roof.

I live in SoCa. We have been replacing many of our plants with drought tolerant succulents (and some cactus) and perennials. I don't really like cactus too much, so the succulents and flowering shrubs are much more to my taste. My favorites are lavenders and sages. I got some ideas from a local nursery in San Diego county that talks about creating water conserving yards, but without looking dead all the time. They were at a home & garden show and i looked them up on the web. Here's the link...
http://www.daylilyhill.com/level.php?id=13.

We use lots of mulch too. It helps trap the water and retain moisture longer.

Here is a link that might be useful: water wise article

Living in a rural area without a city water supply, I am facing the very real possibility of my well running dry. It happened one year back in the early 1990s.

Since then, some large orchards have been planted nearby, and I'm sure the farmers will be running their big pumps to irrigate this summer and draw down the water table.

I usually keep the yard well-watered so the grass and weeds stay green, but probably will not this year. Water will be dispensed as needed for the vegetables and a few container dwelling dwarf citrus I have.

I do have some barrels full of saved rainwater, but as others have stated, it doesn't go very far. I do have a homebrewed system for irrigating with the laundry water that has fallen into disuse over the past several years. It's probably time to revisit that.