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PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2011 12:56 pm 
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:( THE LAWN SOD HERE IN OUR CONDO COMPLEX (8 BUILDINGS) WAS LAID ABOUT 30 YRS AGO. DUE TO EXTRAVAGANT SPRINKLER SYSTEM WATERING THE LAWN IN SOME AREAS IT IS SO THICK THAT IT IS DIFFICULT TO WALK ON. THIS PAST SUMMER'S WATER BILLS OFTEN EXCEEDED $1000. WHICH DRAINS OUR ASSOCIATION FUNDS ANNUALLY.
AFTER A WATERING IT'S COMMON TO SEE WATER RUN-OFF ALONG THE STREET-SIDE DITCH.
I KNOW MANY WATER-SAVING TECHNIQUES SUCH AS GETTING RID OF THIRSTY TROPICALS LIKE OLEANDERS BUT I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT MANAGING ST AUGUSTINE LAWNS.
MY THOUGHT HAS BEEN THAT THE OLD GRASS IS LIKE A ROOT BOUND POTTED PLANT...ALL ROOTS NO SOIL TO RETAIN THE WATER. FROM WHAT I'VE READ HERE SCALPING THE THICK GRASS DOWN & THEN APPLYING NOURISHING, MOISTURE RETAINING SOIL IS NOT THE WAY TO GO. I MUST ADD THAT HERE IN HILL COUNTRY THERE IS LITTLE TOP SOIL ATOP NEAR SOLID ROCK IN MANY PLACES.
HAVING LIVED IN DRY TEXAS COUNTIES I'VE LEARNED ABOUT WATER CONSERVATION & TEXAS-FRIENDLY LAWNS, SHRUBS & OTHER PLANTINGS BUT IT'S DIFFICULT TO GET THE MESSAGE ACROSS TO MY NEIGHBORS WHO TAKE MUCH PRIDE IN THEIR GREEN LAWNS.
SHORT OF REPLACING THE ST AUGUSTINE AT A MAJOR COST (& I WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO SELL THE PLAN TO OTHERS, WHAT CAN BE DONE HERE?
CMCK


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 9:14 pm 
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Don't try and change their minds,the city will do it for you.Almost every city in TX. will be raising their water rates for the 2012 year . :cry:


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 3:54 pm 
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Hi Carol. One thing you can do is use your association's publications to inform people of the lawn management methods that have worked for others. Sprinkler systems have a few problems: One is that people like to run them every day. That is the exact wrong thing to do no matter what grass you have. Daily watering is what weed seed requires for germination. If you can allow the soil surface to dry out completely between watering, then you can just about completely eliminate weeds.
Another problem with sprinklers is people like to run them at night. In fact it is highly recommended to run them at night to minimize evaporation of the water before it hits the ground. I have mine set to run in the morning about the time I wake up. Then I can go out and look to see they are all working and there are no broken heads shooting geysers into the air. Nothing wastes more water and kills grass faster than a broken head.
Another problem with sprinklers is they put out too much water too fast. The soil cannot absorb water as fast as most systems can apply. If you do not have an automatic system, then my favorite sprinkler is an oscillator type at the end of a good hose (Sears Craftsman with a lifetime guarantee). It is almost impossible to put water on too fast with an oscillator. It takes me 8 hours per zone to get 1 inch of water with my water pressure. Eight hours may seem like a long time but it is the same amount of water that my neighbor's system puts out in 15 minutes. 1 inch is 1 inch.

Another thing you can do to use less water is let the St Aug grow tall. The highest most mowers go is 4 inches. That is a minimum height for St Aug in my opinion. Let it grow up to 5 or 6 inches before mowing back to 4 inches. It takes a few months to get all the grass up to that height, but once there, it looks very plush. Tall grass has deeper roots which pull water from deeper in the soil allowing you to water less frequently.

Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering lawns. Deep means one inch all at once. Infrequent means monthly in the winter and no more often than every 5-7 days in the summer. If you live in Phoenix or Las Vegas, then 5 days. The Texas Hill Country is easily every 7 days.

You can improve your soil's ability to absorb water by spraying it with shampoo. Use cheap, generic, baby shampoo at a rate of 3 ounces per 1,000 square feet. Spray that once now (or whenever) and then water. Next week or so water again without the soap. Then the following irrigation cycle use the soap again. When soil is "normal," it will be soft when moist and very hard when dry. It should be just like a sponge. The shampoo helps get the soil microbes going for you to absorb moisture.

Adding soil can be dangerous. It is very easy to change the drainage so that water drains into buildings instead of away from them.

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PostPosted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 3:10 pm 
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Location: Corpus Christi,TEXAS
Dchall

What do you use to apply your baby shampoo to acheive 3oz per thousand feet?

Thanks
Wayne


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PostPosted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:06 pm 
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One way to get 3 ounces per 1,000 square feet is this: First, measure off 1,000 square feet. The put 3 ounces of shampoo into a bottle and fill it with water. Spray the entire bottle onto the measured area and you will have exactly 3 ounces per 1,000 square feet.

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