If you're like most homeowners, you love summer because of all the opportunities it provides for you to enjoy your outdoor living space with friends and family. However, one thing most people don't love about summer is higher water bills due to having to irrigate their landscaping. Fortunately, strategies exist that make it possible for homeowners to have an attractive outdoor living space without spending a bundle on water bills. Following are three of them.
Get Smart Irrigation
Instead of just turning on the sprinklers and letting the water run until you think your lawn and garden area have had enough, get a smart irrigation system designed to deliver the right amount of water. Many homeowners simply forget to turn off their sprinklers when the time comes, resulting in increased water bills and possible damage to plants and lawn grass -- wet and overly damp conditions provide a ripe environment for the development of fungal colonies. You can even program a smart irrigation system to shut off if it starts to rain, and there are even highly sophisticated models that are equipped to detect the moisture content in the soil and adjust the amount of water they provide accordingly.
Water Your Vegetable Garden Deeply
This may sound counterproductive, but if you grow a vegetable garden, water it deeply two or three times per week -- unless, of course, it rains more than an inch or two during the course of a week. If you water it lightly once every day or so, you risk losing most of that water to evaporation. Also, vegetable plants need to develop strong, healthy root systems, and this isn't going to happen without deep watering. It's also a good idea to refrain from using an overhead sprinkler system in your vegetable garden. A drip irrigation system ensures that the water is delivered right to the roots of the plants instead of being wasted on the leaves. Wet leaves also are at higher risk of developing powdery mildew and other fungal diseases that can seriously impact the health of the plants and the quality of the vegetables they produce.
Consider Artificial Turf
Today's artificial turf is a far cry from it's stiff, unnatural counterpart of the past that was painful to even walk on. The artificial turf that's available today can be walked on with bare feet and provides a safe surface for active children to play on. It doesn't need watering, weeding, or fertilizing. Unless you grow a big vegetable garden, the lawn is probably the part of your outdoor area that uses the most water, and you may be able to cut your water bill down significantly by having artificial turf installed.
For more information about these and other options, contact a local landscaping or artificial turf company like Integrated Paver Systems.
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