- Author: Betsy Buxton
I don’t know how your yard is surviving in this series of storms, but mine is doing rather well, thank you. Because the soil in Solano County is primarily clay – good for making adobe bricks and growing plants when you finally get them established- we have a tendency toward lots of run-off water.
To get the clay soil to hold water and not flood, we need to water slowly and in several “bumps” of water. Too much at a time and the water sheets off the soil surface, but too many “bumps” or prolong watering and you end with mucky, sticky mud which takes forever ( and sometimes a day) to dry out. How to get the right combination of water/soil/ air spaces is the trick.
Some folks put in French drains which is way of saying: 1) dig trenches where the water collects on their property; 2) put a bed of coarse gravel, road bed gravel which is large (1-2” pieces is preferred) several inches thick in the trench; 3) lay perforated pipe ( has holes evenly spaced along all sides) covered in weed-block fabric or buy the already bagged pipe in the trench;4) cover pipe with more gravel within 3 inches of the trench top and cover with soil. Remember to install a grate at the end of the pipe, preferably downhill so that the pipe drains out and to the street. In my case, I attached all the down spouts from the house gutters to my French drain which allows the water that would be standing on stop of my back and side yards to drain to the front street gutter. However, a caution: do NOT use chemicals during the wet season as the drains allow these products to leach into the storm drains where they do not belong!
I refuse to let my back fence which is falling section by section (repair one section and the next takes a dive in the (wind) to disturb my serene and unflappable self -- Today is my 1st day of retirement. I shall enjoy immensely! Actually, my serene mood changes each time I pass my neighbor’s house. A “trained” man with a chainsaw cut the green ash tree in front of it back to stubbed limbs and then cut out the lawn with a Bob Cat tractor. Serenity to the eyes it is not, but I shall learn to close my eyes when passing by.
- Author: Kathy Thomas-Rico
That scraping sound you hear is my soapbox being dragged out. Today’s rant is nothing new, but I’m gonna rant anyway:
Do we really need our front lawns? I don’t think we do.
I know many of us are wedded to the idea of a lovely green expanse that fills space and provides a great spot for kids and dogs to play. I maintain, however, that California is not the ideal place for a manicured lawn. Our climate is dry, unlike the Midwest and East where summer rains keep lawns moist and green. We Californians have to irrigate our lawns, a lot. And therein lies the rub: Our state’s precious water is needed for other things.
There’s no arguing that less-thirsty, more appropriate turfgrasses are being developed for Western yards. Check the UC Guide to Healthy Lawns (http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/TOOLS/TURF/index.html) for some really helpful, detailed information on turf species.
In the meantime, perhaps you’ve noticed a small trend in Vacaville? Some front yards have gone turf-free. And the results are really attractive. Water-wise plantings are being used, and I’m not talking cactus set among yards of white rock. I’m seeing colorful salvias, graceful meadow grasses, lush ferns, spiky phormiums, delicate Japanese maples, even edibles, all used to great effect.
You should know this: This kind of landscape is cheaper and easier to maintain than a lawn. Drip irrigation is perfect in these situations (placing water right where it needs to go), no need to mow (less air pollution), no need to blow (less noise), and very little need to fertilize (cleaner runoff after a rain). Perhaps best of all: That water bill will be lower, and the water is being used more responsibly.
Amen to that.