Several recent events have combined to pique my interest in promoting rainwater harvesting as an alternative source of water for landscape irrigation. The 2008 drought forced several area municipalities and rural water districts to place restrictions on the use of water for irrigating landscape plantings and home gardens. This should concern every gardener as demand for water is only projected to increase while ground water reserves are projected to decrease.
In light of the 2008 drought, watching thousands of gallons of rainwater pour off the roof of my house and escape the confines of my property this past spring brought home the need for and appropriateness of harvesting rainwater. As sheets of water flowed across my lawn and down the street, all I could think of was opportunity lost.
Harvesting rainwater for use in the home landscape saves money on your water bill while also reducing demand on municipal water supply and treatment. When water treatment facilities are forced to expand due to increased demand, the cost of expansion is passed on to the end user.
Often overlooked is the exceptional quality of rainwater. Rainwater is virtually salt-free and has a neutral pH. The same can't be said of many municipal water sources. The greater the salt content of water, the more energy plants must expend to use it. Salt-induced stress impedes growth and reduces fruit yield.
There are several factors you need to consider before investing in a rainwater harvest system. Depending on the size and complexity of the system, it could take several years for the system to pay for itself. Will you be able to install the system or will you need to hire a professional? Companies exist that specialize in the installation of rainwater harvest systems.
A common residential rainwater harvest system consists of a catchment (usually a roof), conveyance system (usually gutters), storage (usually an aboveground tank) and a distribution system (usually a drip irrigation system.) Storage containers can be made of polyethylene, fiberglass, wood, concrete or metal. Underground containers cost more to excavate, to maintain or to remove, and the need to pump water out of them adds to the cost.
To calculate the water harvest potential of your roof in gallons, measure the square footage underneath the drip-line and multiply by 0.6 for each inch of precipitation. For example, a house located in Ardmore (37 inches annual rainfall) having a 2,000 sq. ft. roof catchment area can be expected to harvest 44,400 gallons annually.
When sizing a storage tank(s), keep in mind that storage capacity doesn't equate to harvest volume. Because storage is continually being depleted, primarily during the summer months, tank capacity can be smaller than harvest volume. To calculate required storage capacity and any need for supplemental water, you must first calculate demand (plant water use). A garden can easily use 2 inches of water per week during the summer. This is equivalent to 1.2 gallons per square foot of garden space.
Do you feel guilty watching rainwater run off your property? Maybe it's time you consider installing a rainwater harvest system. For a detailed discussion on rainwater harvesting including information on calculating storage capacity based on demand, consult Texas Agri Life Extension Publication B-6153, Rainwater Harvesting, available online at rainwaterharvesting.tamu.edu/publications.html. You can find this and past articles on the web at www.mycountrytractor.com for your reference. Extension programs serve of all ages regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex, religion, disability, or national origin. The Texas A&M University System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperatings serve of all ages regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex, religion, disability, or national origin. The Texas A&M University System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating.
Thank you,
Tommy Neyland
County Extension Agent
Texas Agrilife Extension Service
P.O. Box 188
Centerville, Texas 75833
903.536.2531 phone
903.536.3804 fax
Mycountrytractor.com is the destination for those looking for community info. Mycountrytractor is involved with county events and child involvement to help support local 4-H and FFA events. We have wonderful Agriculture information for our visitors for all your farming and ranching needs
Monday, July 20, 2009
Chute N The Bull
Summer isn't always kind to Texas turfgrasses. Heat and drought combine
to put lawns through real struggles. Here are some simple guidelines to
help you – and your grass – survive summer intact.
Common bermuda should be fertilized every 8 weeks (dwarf hybrid bermudas
more often, but with lighter doses at each feeding). Use a high-nitrogen
or all-nitrogen lawn food, very preferably one that does not have a
weedkiller included. Mow it at 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inches, and mow on 4- or
5-day intervals to keep the grass low and spreading. If you find that
the grass is brown for 2 or 3 days after you mow, consider raising the
mower one notch (but not above 1-3/4 inches). That browning is because
you have been mowing down into stem stubble. Raising the blade will
help. However, you will need to remember to drop the blade down that
same notch in late winter next year so that the grass doesn't become
gradually taller.
If you have weeds in your bermuda lawn use the appropriate herbicide(s)
to control them. Apply a broadleafed weedkiller (containing 2,4-D) for
the non-grassy weeds, and apply MSMA to control grassy weeds such as
dallisgrass, crabgrass and grassburs. Use Image or Sedgehammer to
eliminate nutsedge ("nutgrass"). Read and follow label directions
carefully.
St. Augustine is a tropical grass that loves the heat. It also does its
best in the sun. Many of us use it, however, because of its tolerance of
shade. While bermuda and other grasses need 6 to 8 hours of sunlight
daily, St. Augustine can thrive on as few as 4 hours. St. Augustine is
the dominant grass of all the types we have at our disposal. As such, it
will crowd its way into all other types of grasses.
Fertilize St. Augustine in early summer, then wait until mid-September
to feed it again. Gray leaf spot (a fungal disease) can be an issue in
the hottest part of the summer when you apply nitrogen to it. If it does
show up, apply a labeled fungicide to stop its spread. Watch, too, for
chinch bugs. They will leave sunny, hot areas of the lawn dry-looking,
even after you water. They're small, black insects with white diamonds
on the backs of their wings. You'll be able to see them at the interface
of dying grass and healthy grass on the hottest summer afternoons. Lawn
insecticides will control them.
If you have nutsedge in your St. Augustine, apply Image or Sedgehammer
as mentioned for bermuda. If you have dallisgrass, you'll either have to
spot-treat with a glyphosate herbicide or hand-dig the weed. MSMA cannot
be used in St. Augustine turf. In fact, you can actually use MSMA to
eliminate invading St. Augustine from bermuda lawns.
Zoysias are warm-season grasses, and, as such, can be handled similarly
to bermuda and St. Augustine. Feed your lawn now and again in very early
fall. Mow as needed and at the height recommended for the variety you're
growing. There are scores of varieties, so ask questions of your turf
vendor. Some are intended to be mowed very short, while others must be
allowed to grow taller, to 2 or 2-1/2 inches.
Buffalograss grows slowly. It also requires a lot less maintenance than
the other grasses, and it's drought-tolerant to boot. However, bermuda
invades it and cannot be controlled. In areas where we have turf or
native stands of bermudagrass nearby, buffalograss will probably never
become mainstream so long as we have no herbicide that will eliminate
bermuda without harming the buffalograss.
Fescues look their worst over the summer. That's because they are
"cool-season" grasses that gear up and start growing in late September
and October, then breeze through the winter and into mid-spring, before
Texas' hot season takes its toll. Apply ample water regularly. Avoid all
plant foods until fall. Make plans to overseed every September to keep
fescue lawns full and dense. For the record, fescues are better suited
to Northwest Texas, where summer evenings are somewhat cooler. You can
find this and past articles on the web at www.mycountrytractor.com for
your reference. Extensocioeconomic level, race, color, sex, religion, disability, or national
origin. The Texas A&M University System, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperatings
serve of all ages regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex,
religion, disability, or national origin. The Texas A&M University
System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners
Courts of Texas Cooperating.
Thank you,
Tommy Neyland
County Extension Agent
Texas Agrilife Extension Service
P.O. Box 188
Centerville, Texas 75833
903.536.2531 phone
903.536.3804 fax
to put lawns through real struggles. Here are some simple guidelines to
help you – and your grass – survive summer intact.
Common bermuda should be fertilized every 8 weeks (dwarf hybrid bermudas
more often, but with lighter doses at each feeding). Use a high-nitrogen
or all-nitrogen lawn food, very preferably one that does not have a
weedkiller included. Mow it at 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inches, and mow on 4- or
5-day intervals to keep the grass low and spreading. If you find that
the grass is brown for 2 or 3 days after you mow, consider raising the
mower one notch (but not above 1-3/4 inches). That browning is because
you have been mowing down into stem stubble. Raising the blade will
help. However, you will need to remember to drop the blade down that
same notch in late winter next year so that the grass doesn't become
gradually taller.
If you have weeds in your bermuda lawn use the appropriate herbicide(s)
to control them. Apply a broadleafed weedkiller (containing 2,4-D) for
the non-grassy weeds, and apply MSMA to control grassy weeds such as
dallisgrass, crabgrass and grassburs. Use Image or Sedgehammer to
eliminate nutsedge ("nutgrass"). Read and follow label directions
carefully.
St. Augustine is a tropical grass that loves the heat. It also does its
best in the sun. Many of us use it, however, because of its tolerance of
shade. While bermuda and other grasses need 6 to 8 hours of sunlight
daily, St. Augustine can thrive on as few as 4 hours. St. Augustine is
the dominant grass of all the types we have at our disposal. As such, it
will crowd its way into all other types of grasses.
Fertilize St. Augustine in early summer, then wait until mid-September
to feed it again. Gray leaf spot (a fungal disease) can be an issue in
the hottest part of the summer when you apply nitrogen to it. If it does
show up, apply a labeled fungicide to stop its spread. Watch, too, for
chinch bugs. They will leave sunny, hot areas of the lawn dry-looking,
even after you water. They're small, black insects with white diamonds
on the backs of their wings. You'll be able to see them at the interface
of dying grass and healthy grass on the hottest summer afternoons. Lawn
insecticides will control them.
If you have nutsedge in your St. Augustine, apply Image or Sedgehammer
as mentioned for bermuda. If you have dallisgrass, you'll either have to
spot-treat with a glyphosate herbicide or hand-dig the weed. MSMA cannot
be used in St. Augustine turf. In fact, you can actually use MSMA to
eliminate invading St. Augustine from bermuda lawns.
Zoysias are warm-season grasses, and, as such, can be handled similarly
to bermuda and St. Augustine. Feed your lawn now and again in very early
fall. Mow as needed and at the height recommended for the variety you're
growing. There are scores of varieties, so ask questions of your turf
vendor. Some are intended to be mowed very short, while others must be
allowed to grow taller, to 2 or 2-1/2 inches.
Buffalograss grows slowly. It also requires a lot less maintenance than
the other grasses, and it's drought-tolerant to boot. However, bermuda
invades it and cannot be controlled. In areas where we have turf or
native stands of bermudagrass nearby, buffalograss will probably never
become mainstream so long as we have no herbicide that will eliminate
bermuda without harming the buffalograss.
Fescues look their worst over the summer. That's because they are
"cool-season" grasses that gear up and start growing in late September
and October, then breeze through the winter and into mid-spring, before
Texas' hot season takes its toll. Apply ample water regularly. Avoid all
plant foods until fall. Make plans to overseed every September to keep
fescue lawns full and dense. For the record, fescues are better suited
to Northwest Texas, where summer evenings are somewhat cooler. You can
find this and past articles on the web at www.mycountrytractor.com for
your reference. Extensocioeconomic level, race, color, sex, religion, disability, or national
origin. The Texas A&M University System, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperatings
serve of all ages regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex,
religion, disability, or national origin. The Texas A&M University
System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners
Courts of Texas Cooperating.
Thank you,
Tommy Neyland
County Extension Agent
Texas Agrilife Extension Service
P.O. Box 188
Centerville, Texas 75833
903.536.2531 phone
903.536.3804 fax
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