Step one? Get an irrigation system audit. Many DFW cities offer this for free. After you get your audit report, reach out to a licensed irrigator to make the repairs and changes that your system needs. With Soils Alive, we give you the same soil moisture management tools that golf courses use, so you can water smarter not harder. Cutting your water bill can be done. Here's our 10 tips to save money on water.
Water Smarter This Summer: 10 Tips to Save Money
1. Get an Irrigation System Audit
Did you know you can probably get an irrigation audit for free? Just Google your city and "free irrigation audit" and see if your city offers this service. Many DFW cities do, including Richardson, Carrollton, Plano, Arlington, Denton, Dallas, and many others.
We talk to homeowners regularly who call us about brown areas in their yard and don’t know what to do. Many times it's a watering issue caused by leaks, broken sprinkler heads, malfunctioning timer/controller, electrical valve problems, pop-up failure, or clogged sprinkler heads. With an irrigation system audit, you’ll get a report of everything that needs to be done to get your system back into working order. It's common to have problems and not even know!
Water might not be the problem, however. A brown area in your lawn could be caused by chinch bugs. It can be difficult to spot the difference. When you water more and the grass still doesn't green up, you'll know it's probably chinch bugs which beneficial nematodes can prevent organically (or an insecticide can treat). Start with an irrigation audit and go from there. Call us if the problem persists.
2. Hire a Licensed Irrigator
Irrigation systems need to stay complaint with city codes. That's why irrigators have to be licensed. The code will determine how deeply pipes must be buried, required backfill prevention, if you're required to have a rain sensor, and other technical aspects of your system. When you hire an irrigator, they'll perform all repairs and changes to your system while ensuring the system fulfills the requirements of your area. Hiring a local company that knows your city's codes is really important.
An irrigator can also help you improve the efficiency of your system by putting in a soil moisture sensor. You might already have a rain sensor connected to your sprinkler system. But you can also add a soil moisture sensor to your system, to shut off sprinklers if the soil is still moist from a recent rain.
3. Use the Best Golf Course Technology
Golf courses use the latest technology to manage turfgrass root zone moisture. Why not use this for your lawn, too? It isn't how much water you apply.....it's how much water stays as root-available moisture in the soil. While spraying a surfactant will help break water surface tension, golf courses go even further with their treatments. So can you.
Harsh summer sunlight and heat sucks water out of the soil from evaporation. A humectant product will capture this water before it evaporates out of the soil, delivering droplets of water directly to plant roots. That means more of the water your sprinklers deliver actually gets used by the roots, allowing you to use less water.....and water less frequently. Soils Alive offers a Drought-Buster treatment that's good for 90 days, helping your lawn, shrubs, and trees make it through a harsh summer without spending more on water.
4. Water in Cycles
When clay soil is dry, it cracks open. When it gets wet it swells shut, so only the top 1” may actually be wet. Extra water will just shed off, if the rain falls too quickly. Clay soils are common in DFW and they have very small pore spaces, so running your sprinklers for too long can lead to water running off, instead of absorption.
That's why it's a good idea to water in short cycles (8-10 minutes), and repeat the cycle 3 times on your watering day. That way the clay soil can actually soak it all in. Watering less frequently, and deeper into your soil profile, will help encourage healthier, deeper roots. You can get a $15 soil moisture meter online, and after running your sprinklers check to make sure that your soil is moist 6” deep, not just 4”. If not, water a bit more.
5. Mow Your Grass Higher
In a hot DFW summer, you can mow your grass higher, taking only 1/3 off the leaves. Make sure to stay in the recommended turf height for different grass types. St. Augustine doesn't need to be taller than 3"; Bermuda no taller than 1.5" and Zoysia no taller than 1-2" depending on variety. A higher blade length promotes root growth for turfgrasses, and it also provides more shade of the soil surface, where the sunlight evaporates moisture away. Taller grass also competes with warm-season grassy weeds (like crabgrass and dallisgrass) so that you can use less herbicide, or go 100% organic with your weed control. For the health of your lawn, higher mowing in summer time will save you the most money on water.
6. Build Organic Matter with Compost
Most DFW lawns need more organic matter added, as part of their lawn care program. Some of our clients have told us that their soil test showed only a 2% organic matter level. A healthy soil has 4-5%. Organic compost, when applied as a 1/4" top dressing to your lawn, will block harsh sun from hitting bare soil and sucking moisture away from grass roots. Compost will also decompose into soil organic matter, getting pulled into the soil by earthworms.
Organic matter soaks up water like a sponge, releasing it to plant roots as needed. If a soil test shows organic matter of only 2 or 3%....adding a topdressing of compost can help you reach a target of 4-5% organic matter. A $4 bag from a Big Box store covers about 100 square feet with 1/4". Your lawn care company can also buy in bulk from Living Earth and spread it for you.
7. Protect Your Soil Life (and Wildlife)
Herbicides harm soil life. It's best to kill weeds using spot-treatment herbicide instead of broadcast herbicide. Some lawn care companies mix herbicide into their liquid fertilizer, spraying it everywhere in your lawn even where there are no weeds. By taking the extra time to only apply herbicide to weeds directly, using a spot treatment, you can reduce herbicide use by 80%. That means your soil life is exposed to less toxins that disrupt beneficial microbes like nematodes that prevent chinch bugs, cranefly larvae, fleas, grubs, and mites.
Herbicides are pesticides, after all. They harm the life in your soil even when used as directed, and that soil life is what earthworms rely on to loosen up your clay soils and let rainfall soak in. Herbicides can also harm butterfly caterpillars, like the Monarch. Soils Alive only offers spot-treatment for herbicide applications, and we can also recommend DIY organic solutions for weeds.
8. Aerate Your Lawn to Let Oxygen In
If your lawn has very heavy, compacted clay, think about scheduling a core aeration. An aeration will pull small plugs out of your soil, about 2-4” deep, that allow water and oxygen better access to your grass roots. Yes, grass roots need oxygen! The reason roots cannot grow deeply into compacted soil is because there is little to no oxygen in the soil.
You can do a core aeration on established sod (not new sod). Aerations are done only in spring and fall when temperatures are cooler so as not to stress the lawn. If you plan to top dress with compost, doing a core aeration first will create pockets where the compost can settle into.
9. Recharge Your Soil Life
Most DFW lawns have little soil life. That’s why they are so compacted. New home construction involves scraping the site, pouring the foundation, and then leveling the lawn and maybe putting down a few inches of topsoil before laying sod. Years and years of excessive herbicide usage will also degrade soil life, and so when you bought your home, your lawn may already be in poor shape underground.
Organic lawn care will help restore damaged soil health. At Soils Alive, we offer our Liquid Compost treatment plan that contains worm compost tea, seaweed extracts, healthy microbes, and humates….all of which help to recharge your soil life that is responsible for looser, healthier soil.
10. Plant Drought-Tolerant Natives
If you have problem areas in your landscape (deep shade, or harsh sunny spots with radiant heat from concrete), consider adding native plants. If you have deep shade under a live oak, it can be hard to get St. Augustine or Zoysia to grow. Native groundcover plants can help cover the soil to avoid erosion and add beauty.
Native plants often have deeper root systems than plants you’ll find at Big Box stores. Buffallograss, a native grass that gets 18” tall, has roots as deep as 5 feet. The purple coneflower is a perennial that will come back year after year, providing beauty in full or part sun. With natives, you will use much less water, compared to plants that are not used to our hot, dry DFW summers.
DFW Organic Lawn Care, Since 1997
We hope that you'll try out these 10 tips to reduce your water bill. Start with an irrigation system audit, then hire a local, reputable licensed irrigator. If you need a recommended company in your neighborhood, let us know. Did you know that by 2040, DFW will be home to another 2 million people? So many people are moving here that our North Texas region is expected to need much more water in the years ahead. Conserving water continues to be an urgent priority for city governments.
At Soils Alive, we believe that an organic lawn care approach will help DFW manage its water wisely. Using less pesticides will keep the water in our creeks and rivers safer for wildlife. By introducing more native plants, we can restore habitat for our native birds and butterflies. For our turfgrass, using the latest golf course technology allows us to use less water, save money, and enjoy a healthy lawn through a hot DFW summer.