Here’s a fun fall fact: In San Antonio, the day will be 80 minutes shorter on the last day of October than it was in September.
There are also more hours of darkness than daylight. For many of your plants, this means they have less time to soak up the sun. So, they produce fewer leaves and their water needs are much lower than they were in summer.
And for your home water use, it signals the beginning of the season to save.
That’s because you can dial down landscape watering for the year — and reap the benefit of a lower water bill just in time for the fast-approaching holiday season.
Many sprinkler system controllers have a seasonal adjust feature to make it easier to shorten the irrigation cycles. As warm season turfgrass winds down its growing season, watering times can be reduced. A good rule of thumb is to reduce to 70% for October, 40% for November, and turn it off completely in December, running it manually once-per-month in winter only in the absence of rainfall.
As temperatures begin to cool, it’s also a good idea to switch turfgrass watering to the morning hours instead of evening. This helps prevent the risk of fungal disease which can spread in wet grass overnight.
It’s time to give watering a rest for the season. Your plants and wallet will thank you!
For more ways to save water and money all year long, visit GardenStyleSA.com.