City of Sacramento water customers follow sprinkler days set by season and house number. Other providers set their own rules. Here is how to read the schedule for your address.
A fresh layer of mulch makes beds look finished, but too much in the wrong place can harm the plants it is meant to help. Here is how to judge depth and placement.
Most yards need both kinds of watering. A lawn wants even coverage across its whole surface. Shrub rows want water at each root zone and nowhere else. The drip versus sprinklers question usually has a split answer. Drip serves beds, shrubs and trees while spray or...
A shrub fresh from a nursery pot has all its roots packed into a small ball of soil. Until those roots grow out into the bed, the plant depends on water landing right on that root ball. New landscape watering is about bridging that gap, then stepping back as the plant...
Rock is easy to buy and hard to live with. A yard of bare gravel heats up in July, reflects glare into windows and does little for birds or bees. Low water landscape plants offer another path to a smaller water bill, one that still looks alive in August. The goal is a...
Many people hear about a Sacramento lawn rebate from a neighbor and assume it applies to them. The first question is not how much it pays. What matters first is which water provider serves the house, because each provider runs its own program or none at all. This...
Many yards mix plants with very different thirst on one sprinkler line. A thirsty lawn sits beside drought tolerant shrubs, and a fruit tree shares a valve with natives that dislike summer water. Hydrozone landscape planning fixes that by grouping plants that need...
New plantings need regular water, yet too much can drown roots. Learn why soggy soil and dry root balls can look alike and how to check before adding more water.
Water spraying onto sidewalks, fences and walls wastes money and breaks City rules. Most overspray can be fixed with head adjustments, nozzle changes and smarter schedules rather than a new system.
A smart controller changes when and how long sprinklers run based on weather or soil moisture. It can save water, yet it still needs a good system, correct settings and regular checks.