Train your lawn to use less water

BAKERSFIELD,CA- Local water districts including the East Niles Community Service District, are reporting increases in residential water usage.

"Last year if you look at the average consumption for January 2013 was 1,500 cubic feet for residential customers and January of this year, it went up to 1,900 cubic feet," said Tim Ruiz, general manager at East Niles Community Service District.

Ruiz says the culprit is irrigation.

"Watering everyday is not good for your plants, not good for trees, it's not good for anything and it's definitely not good for California," said Dale Edwards with Old River Sod.

Edwards says you can get the curb appeal you want with less water by training your lawn.

"The drought is a serious thing. We have to prepare now and not wait until the middle of summer because you can't transition your roots that fast," said Edwards.

It starts with getting the roots strong and healthy by using a core aerator to puncture holes to let your choice of soil conditioner in, which keeps the pores in the soil open and breathing. Edwards says healthy roots need less water.

Second, add days between each time you water. Edwards says nothing too structural, it's based on color. The color of the grass can give signs on its condition and adding water may not always be the remedy.

"I will look at my grass and it will turn this light color blue or little bit of gray color and then that means okay it's time to need some water. It starts turning a little bit of yellow, that's the time it needs a little bit of fertilizer," said Edwards.

Edwards waters his lawn every six weeks but its taken him ten years to train is lawn. But he says if you follow these simple tips, you can save up to two-thirds of water in less than a year.

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Train your lawn to use less water