Although we don’t think about water being a limited resource, in a sense it could be considered so. 98% of the earth’s water is salt water.  2% is freshwater, which IS suitable for human use.  But then, only half of that freshwater is frozen, leaving us with a measly 1% that we can actually use. In our homes, we use thermostatic mixing valves to regulate water temperature and ensure efficiency. Regular tmv servicing is essential to keep these systems working effectively.

We use this water for bathing, cooking, cleaning, and drinking and if we are lucky enough, our landscaping. Wouldn’t it be cool if we did not need to rely on our local water authority to provide us with water for our flowers and plants?  The GreenerWe offers rain barrel installations.  Once installed you can use FREE rainwater to water your vegetables, hanging baskets and annual plants, that really need water to survive.  What’s even better is that rainwater is better for your plants and costs you nothing after installation.  You can free yourself from paying for water that you can get from mother nature through rainwater collection.  In the next blog I will discuss rain water barrels and rain gardens more in depth, but I like to make posts that aren’t too long.

Now let’s talk about our lawns.  You probably water your lawn more than you need to.  If you overwater your lawn you are not helping your lawn but harming it.  Overwatering will cause your grass to have a shallow root system.  This is because the roots are not forced to grow any deeper into the ground to search for water, because the water is right there where they need it. The scientific explanation behind this is that between the topsoil, clay and silt there are tiny pores that contain oxygen.  When we put too much water on our lawn, water will fill up those air holes with water and the grass will not get enough oxygen, drowning the roots.  When the roots are weak they are more easily affected by grubs, disease and weeds that are even more difficult to control. So, does japanese knotweed have berries before you cut them out? Visit https://japanese-knotweed.org.uk/removal to learn more.
If your lawn is well established you do not need to water it because it will just go dormant and growth will slow down.  Then you won’t have to cut it as frequently.  When it rains, your grass will start growing again, just like before.  It’s really easy to overwater your lawn and then you are wasting water.  The fact that this overwatering is actually causing damage to your lawn and not benefitting it should really convince us all that we should try to not water our lawns unless they really need it.