Watering Restrictions, Lawn and Garden Moisture Sucked Away

Walking around the neighborhood this past weekend I noticed many tending to their gardens in the early part of the day to avoid being out in the heat and wind. Wow, 40 to 45 MPH winds does not help the young plants in my raised beds. And the flowers that are in hanging baskets are drying out faster than ever. I'm grateful for the warmer temps which means better growing conditions but I sure could do without the strong winds.

With four raised beds I only water once per week in this type of heat. And by my own rule watering only in the early part of the day. And always at the base of the plant. Never a sprinkler raining down. After last week’s mowing, those lawn clippings have now top-dressed the peppers and tomatoes to help maintain moisture. About June 15 the bags around the peppers will be removed as they are mature enough.

As far as watering your lawn you should know the City of Sioux Falls has restrictions in three phases. Currently, we are under the Stage-1 restriction.

Stage 1 is in effect when the river flow is more than 50 cubic feet per second.
LAWN WATERING for all residential, commercial, industrial, and City facilities is allowed with the following exceptions:

Watering lawns is not allowed during the hours of 12 p.m. (noon) to 5 p.m.
Users with even-numbered addresses may water lawns on even-numbered calendar dates and users with odd-numbered addresses may water lawns on odd-numbered calendar dates.

Unless you just seeded your yard or put down sod do you really need that blue ribbon, award-winning lawn? Save the water for the garden.