Landscaping – Outdoor Tips

Learn more about local water-saving initiatives at: waterwisesb.org

Concerned about Trees? This one-page diagram has tips for Keeping Trees Alive During Cyclical Drought

Greywater is a thing in Santa Barbara County! View the handbook

Your Landscape is the Best Place to Focus Your Water Conservation Efforts

Equip all hoses with shut-off nozzles and use drip irrigation systems.
Adjust sprinklers so that they don’t water the sidewalk, street, or create runoff.
Water after 6pm or before 10am to avoid water loss due to evaporation.
Place mulch around plants and trees to reduce evaporation and discourage weeds.
Use a pool cover to cut down on water evaporation.

Make sure your irrigation controllers’ budgets, or “seasonal % adjustment” on the controller, are set down 50 to 60% until late March as the sun is weaker than in summertime!
Cut your watering frequency for grass to once a week, and for established shrubs to once every ten days. Make sure they’re on separate programs on the controller to have these different frequencies by zone.
If a storm brings more than .2” of rain, keep your controller turned off until the grass shows it needs water (7 to 14 days recommended).
Most established shrubs and trees need little if any water during the cool, shady winter days. For all landscaping, no watering is typically needed during rainy periods.
Keep your irrigation controllers’ clocks off as much as possible from mid November through the end of March. See if you can keep your controller off from one storm to the next throughout the rainy season!

When it’s foggy, reduce scheduled watering days and times by as much as 30%. Please use the weekly water index on waterwisesb.org.
Mow lawns every two weeks instead of weekly to keep them protected from the sun’s damaging rays and heat
All large, well-established hedges and trees need little irrigation. If needed, water only once or twice DEEPLY all summer long!!!
Native oaks are adapted to dry summers and wet winters; watering during summer is typically not necessary and may actually be detrimental to their health.
Call the District's water conservation expert when changing your garden from water-thirsty to water-wise planting; we may provide you with helpful tips that could save you money.
Make sure all the shrub and flower zones are on separate controller programs from the grass stations so they are watered much less frequently; shrubs and flowers need 1/3 to 1/2 as much water as grass.
To detect leaks, turn off all water use fixtures including dishwashers, washing machines, water softeners and other treatment systems, irrigation, etc. and check your meter. If the dial is moving with all fixtures off, there is a leak.

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