Before I begin, I know other counties have more severe restrictions than mine. BUT, that doesn't bring back my dead grass. It wouldn't even be so bad if I knew everyone had a few dead patches. Over the past week, my husband and I have seen a dozen violations in our little development. If I'm losing my lawn, they should too. I'm going to start calling that hotline to report them if they don't play by the rules.
800-662-8876.
For the official rules, click here. Here's what the South Florida Water Management District has to say.
If they're going to cheat, they could at least do it in the early am before the sun comes up. That way (1) I won't have to see it and get upset (2) it won't evaporate before soaking in like it does at 1 in the afternoon. Who waters their lawn at 1pm anyway? And to that one neighbor, you know who you are...using the hose daily instead of the sprinkler daily is still against the rules.
I'm on the verge of getting rid of the grass anyway. St. Augustine grass is not a natural ground cover for south Florida. It is a water hog to begin with. It requires lots of fertilizer, which probably runs into the aquifer. We spend over $100 a month to keep it trimmed. I can't run through it with bare feet like northern grass because it makes my feet itch.
Phase 1 Water Restrictions
> Watering is permitted on Mon, Wed & Sat from 4 a.m.-8 a.m. for my house (odd street address)
> Hand watering with one hose and an automatic shut-off nozzle is also allowed from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. on the same days.
> New landscaping, planted for less than thirty days, may be watered Monday through Friday from 2 a.m.-8 a.m.
> Hand watering with one hose and an automatic shut-off nozzle of new landscaping shall be voluntarily reduced.
> Watering in of pesticide/fertilizer by homeowners or nonlicensed individuals is allowed during hours and days of the watering schedule and for 10 minutes after application. Owner or agent
must be on site.
> Watering in of pesticide/fertilizer by a licensed technician shall be voluntarily reduced. The technician must be present during application.
> When cleaning, adjusting or repairing existing irrigation systems, ten minutes of operating the irrigation system per zone/per week is permitted. And, 10 minutes per zone of system operation is permitted on a one-time basis for new irrigation systems.
Isn't it annoying that people can't follow the rules? Most everyone has dead grass here but you can tell who doesn't by their lush green grass! I gotta say I do sneak in some watering for my containers, veggies and brugs. The grass...eh mostly weeds anyway.
ReplyDeleteHi ldybug,
ReplyDeleteHave you seen my post on the Drought buster, its a very effective way of syphoning your bath water out into a water butt so you can reuse it. You dont need to stand in the bath with your wellies on though.
Cheers Mark
Hey, re: the butterfly weed, just drop me an email at oceanicwilderness at gmail.com with your address and I'll put a little something together to send you this week.
ReplyDelete"I'm on the verge of getting rid of the grass anyway."
ReplyDeleteThat's the absolute best thing you can do. May your neighbors do the same...
We're 86-ing our grass (not really a "lawn", as it's an amalgam of about 8 zillion different types of low-growing plants in most areas) little by little to make way for food plants (for us), butterfly plants, and food plants for birds and other wildlife.
Who likes mowing a lawn? Not me, sister.
try to spread some used organic coffee bean powder after you enjoy your black coffee by any moka pot makers !
ReplyDeleteDead grass doesn't come back but badled sections do fill in with adjoining grass.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't have a sprinkler system, you can install a DIY, uncomplicated more than you might realize. With a sprinkler system, you set it to automatically sprinkle for two hours once a week in the early morning hours.. which is most ideal time for lawn and plants to benefit from the watering.
Take the time out to mow the lawn yourselves.. take turns with others in household.
Some of us just know how to take care of our lawns and still stay within the legal watering guidelines.
Having said the above, the state and county has a lot to do with the water shortage. BEFORE they gave out permits for all those skyscrapers now lining the county's shores, they should have made sure there was enough water to go around. After the fact, they put us on restrictions while they figure out the problem. That's called putting the buggy before the horse. So why shoud,the rest of us suffer for the greedy developers and county officials who pushed for this massive overgrowth that has incidentally, plays a major factor in So. Florida's real estate dilemma?
for those of you who want a solution for car washing. I found a waterless car wash here: www.rejuvenateauto.com/car-wash-waterless.php thought i might share
ReplyDeleteDanielle: It's possible your dead patches are caused by chinch bugs, which cause so much damage to St. Augustine lawns. Also, I don't have a sprinkler system and I haven't watered my lawn for a couple of months so we've had enough rain to not need additional watering.
ReplyDelete