This has been a cool but dry year for the Bay Area. My yard and garden are as dry in July as it usually is in September. To make sure each drop of landscape water is used efficiently, I have heavily mulched and installed drip irrigation with timers. These were tricks I learned at the water-wise gardening classes that were sponsored by the Vallejo and Benicia Water Departments last spring. Some friends have given up on backyard lawns, letting them turn yellow. Grasscycling is a healthy alternative and lessens the need for water and fertilizer. Cut grass when the surface is dry, and keep mower blades sharp. Mow your lawn often enough so that no more that one-third of the length of the grass blade is cut in any one mowing. Frequent mowing will produce short clippings that will not cover up the grass surface.

You can grasscycle with most mowers. The mower collection bag can be removed to allow clippings to drop on the lawn. If your mower does not have a safety flap covering the opening, you need to purchase a retrofit kit. There are new mulching or recycling mowers which cut grass blades into small pieces and force them into the soil. VALCORE Recycling has copies of the grasscycling brochure published by the California Integrated Waste Management Board in both English and Spanish. I am always amazed when I see water flowing down the street from landscape irrigation systems. All that wasted water washes litter down our storm drains and into the bay.

There is a new product on the market called Pervious Concrete Pavement. According to experts at www.perviouspavement.org, this pavement is used to recharge groundwater thus reducing stormwater runoff and helping to stop erosion. When used for parking lots, it helps cool the air above the lot, resulting in healthier trees in and around the area. In addition, there are no more puddles of standing water for mosquitoes to breed.

Alternatively, there are paving stones that create the same results. UNI Eco-Stones (www.uni-groupusa.org) are interlocking concrete pavers with drainage spaces between the stones that are filled with small pebbles. Airostone’s ekopavers (www.airostone.com) are water permeable and are installed without gaps. Water is filtered through these stones back into the water table. Saving water in our homes is easier with the myriad of water saving devises such as low flow shower heads that are available at hardware stores. If you are replacing a toilet, consider a dual flush toilet (www.sustainablesolutions.com). One button allows a minimal amount of water to flush away urine. The second button uses more water for solid waste.

ReUse
It is a pleasure seeing all the new recycling and yardwaste carts in use all over Vallejo. Several friends have called with suggestions for reuse of their surplus yard waste cans or old blue recycling bins. One friend drilled holes into old yard waste cans and set them on top of concrete blocks to use as compost bins. At the annual garden tour, I saw a line of blue bins with healthy tomato plants. The gardener said they would be easily moved to follow the summer sun.