How Houston temp record highs affect your yard? (Dallas, San Antonio: how much, house)

[behtypa]

Houston weather hits record highs for another year.. Not just Houston, actually. Nevertheless, I think we are witnessing a trend of highs getting higher and our yards being affected by it. So here is my thoughts:

If you are planning a new landscaping in your yard, it is probably a time to reconsider the way of doing things:

- I would NOT use plants/shrubs/trees that require a lot of water. Maybe, any sprinkler water. They can survive with a minimum watering. My main criteria would be native plants and/or seriously drought resistant. Absolutely no more water demanding and capricious exotic plants!

Does it sound like I am advocating succulents and "cactus design"? Not really. Many Texas native plants can actually get their own water, they have a very good root system for that.

Houston Arboretum has a good knowledge of native plants. Even better, a Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and Zilker Botanical Garden in Austin. Since they are located in a drought prompt hill-country they have a lot of material and also wildflower plants.
I have also noticed a similar water-saving program in Dallas Arboretum. They offer ready-to-use solutions. Free.



- I would try to minimize the use of grass. St Augustine is a survivor. However it needs a lot of water to survive. The same area covered with shrubs and flowers would require less water to live and it would look better too.

- more cities apply water restrictions. More frequently. Because it's just not enough water for people and plants anymore.

- sprinkler irrigation is going to be obsolete sooner than you think. In probably next 10 years. It's just too costly. I think it is time to have drip irrigation of any sort. Bubblers, drip, in-ground irrigation, you name it.

- using rain barrels becomes more and more feasible. My "ideal" rainwater harvesting plan is to have an in-ground (buried under the lawn) plastic water tank collecting rainwater, which is then delivered (low pressure drip irrigation) to a flower bed using a solar water pump.



Just an FYI.

[PedroMartinez]

I'm planning to use a pump and pipe into Lake Houston for my water needs.

[Dopo]

One of this grew on my backyard this weekend

[travelguy_73]

behtypa, you are pretty much right on. I think the emphasis needs to be on plants that are native (or have naturalized over time) to this area. So many people think of drought tolerant as being succulents (though some do very well here) and yards full of rock, but you can have a beautiful yard of native plants. They can be need and manicured or more of an English garden feel. Our rain barrel has been full all spring, I love it! If only we had a pump to get the water out more easily!

As for lawn, we have St. Augustine and it's decent, but not great. One of our neighbors has buffalo grass, and hasn't run his sprinkler system at all this year. The grass isn't perfectly green, but it's holding up well and mows nicely.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

Sprinkler systems are already outdated. The new thing is drip irrigation. In my "new" house, I replaced my lawn, I took out the old St Agustin grass, then I had the entire lawn re-graded, and in the process, I installed drip irrigation lines for the entire front and back yards. The system is connected to 25lb pressure reducers so the water flows slowly. I chose .9 gallon/hour emitters every 12 inches. I then sodded the lawns with Tiff Bermuda.

A drip irrigation system uses 60-80% less water than a sprinkler system simply because it is beneath the surface and the water goes directly to the roots and does not evaporate. You also get the deep roots that all lawn care specialists recommend, by default. I also installed a mixer so I can inject liquid fertilizer so the roots will absorb it more efficiently, no run off.

When I had the plumbing done in the house, I had the soil stacks go through the same pipe, but all grey water (all sinks, shower/bath and washing machine) go through a separate drain. The purpose of this is that someday I may install a grey water system to reuse the grey water for my lawn and trees. The soil stack will go to the sewer as usual.

Grey water systems can be DIY, or you can purchase systems ready to go. I am not a tree hugger, or environmentalist BTW, but doing this just seems logical. Water bills can be high and more than half goes to waste (grey water), why not reuse it for lawns, and such?

[MNCold]

If you don't mind, how much does it cost you to install the irrigation system? Pictures would be appreciated.
I hated sprinkler as I think it is not effective and costly.

I have been contemplating of installing a drip irrigation system but I haven't found a lot of residential information and homeowners that are experienced with it

[HookTheBrotherUp]

Originally Posted by MNCold

If you don't mind, how much does it cost you to install the irrigation system? Pictures would be appreciated.
I hated sprinkler as I think it is not effective and costly.

I have been contemplating of installing a drip irrigation system but I haven't found a lot of residential information and homeowners that are experienced with it

~ $750.

Now the long answer...

I will see if I have any pictures and post them, I did this back in October last year. For my install, I used 3 rolls of 500' drip line, and those were about $110.00 each. I also brought the 3/4 connectors to connect the drip lines to the 3/4 PVC, those are sold in bags of 25 and I brought two and I think those were about $30 per bag. I also purchased three sediment collectors, about $45 for all three, and three water pressure reducers, each $11. PVC SCH 40 is cheap, I don't even recall what I paid for a 10' section, but I used about 5 pieces, so I would say about $15 for that. Then I had to buy 3/4 slip/thread Ts... I want to say I needed about 60 for the whole install @ .87 cents each so we'll round it off to $60. Lastly, I brought three shallow cans for the collectors, this is optional, you don't have to do this, but it makes it easier for maintenance. These are the cans you would see where solenoid valves are connected... the ones with the green lids everyone seems to pulverize with their lawnmower a couple of times a year. , those were about $15 each.

So, the cost was about $588 for parts. This is about $150 more than it would cost for parts for a sprinkler type install. I had a couple of bids on a traditional sprinkler system and the costs were $1200 - $1800 for parts and labor. I hired a landscaper and paid him $150 for one day to help me trench and burry the drip lines, so I guess in all, I spent ~$750. It costs a little more than traditional systems, but you do not get any evaporation, no leaks (all sprinklers leak water), and as I mentioned earlier, it averages to about 70% less water.

To connect things, I had to do a lot of gluing; this part sucked, I had to create the manifold, so I cut the PVC into short lengths of about 8 1/2 inches. This was because after adding the T, it would end up to be about 12 inches, so that combined with the emitter spacing would equal a grid of 12 inches all across the lawn.

So I connected a T to each section, then the drip line connectors screwed into the T. One for each side of the lawn (thankfully it was a perfect rectangle for both front and back). I had about a 25-30' section for the supply side, then on the opposit side of the drip line, I installed the receiving end. The supply was capped at one end, and water pressure reducer/supply at the other. On the receiving end of the drip line, one side of the manifold was capped, and the other end received the sediment collector.

The system is quiet, you never know it is on. The watering times are longer, but that is because the water is not under pressure and pretty much trickles out and slowly soaks the ground. You never feel any moisture at the surface, but the grass is green and healthy and you can mow and water at the same time.

[travelguy_73]

Originally Posted by HookTheBrotherUp

~ $750.

Now the long answer...

Very interesting...yours is the first in-depth review I have read on this. I'm intrigued by the drip, and think for my beds it would be the way to go.

One of my concerns about drip is if the line gets plugged or otherwise stops working, you don't really know it (you can see when a head is broken). Do you have anything in place that lets you know if the system isn't fully operating?

[PedroMartinez]

Originally Posted by travelguy_73

One of my concerns about drip is if the line gets plugged or otherwise stops working, you don't really know it (you can see when a head is broken). Do you have anything in place that lets you know if the system isn't fully operating?

My initial thought as well.

If my sprinkler system goes out, I know it real quick. If a single goes out, I'll know it within a week or so.

I love the idea of a drip system for the lawn, and I wish I had done some research prior to installing my sprinkler system to know this was an option.

[Dopo]

You can't go wrong with "Texas sage"
I had it in my house in San Antonio on the west side of the house with almost zero water and they grew like crazy