As the unprecedented drought continues to affect California and the San Diego region, homeowners can still balance the need to conserve water as efficiently as possible while preserving valuable landscaping, including trees.
Once you’ve finalized your landscaping plans, you’ll have some demolition work ahead of you, including the existing turf you plan to remove or replace. Removing turf presents choices about the best way to accomplish this task. Learn more about turf removal options and understand the steps before you begin.
Reclaiming an area of unwanted turf requires diligence. No matter what method of turf removal is used, plan on routine maintenance, including weeding or herbicide application, as often as every two weeks for the first three months after your take your turf out. Some tenacious warm-season grasses might give you a battle for even longer.
Natural turf removal. A natural way to remove turf and preserve the soil’s ecology is to strip the turf and water the area for the next two weeks to encourage grass to re-sprout and hand pull all new growth.
Sheet mulching. Rather than removing turf and taking it to the landfill, you can compost it in place. First, remove several inches of turf and soil from the edges near your hardscape. Wet the turf area and cover it with several layers of newspaper. Water again and cover with cardboard. Water again and cover with three inches of shredded mulch.
If you can invest the time, allow several months for the soil microbes to decompose the turf and turn it into friable soil for plants.
Solarization. Another alternative is solarization. This works best in the spring or summer. Turf areas are covered with rolls of plastic. Sun exposure heats the soil and kills the turf and weed seeds. The cover must be airtight with no holes and left in place for six to eight weeks. However, this method will also kill beneficial soil microbes. Using this method, you must follow up and apply compost or other soil amendments to restore the soil’s healthy biology.
Turf removal with herbicide. If you choose to use an herbicide, consult with your local landscape supply store and read the manufacturers’ label for best use practices and safety considerations. Since Bermuda grass and some other grasses are dormant in the winter, they must be treated when actively growing in the remainder of the year (May to October).
Grading. When the turf is removed, you need to grade your property. Set the soil level to direct water away from the house. To help slow down water runoff from your garden, try creating small depressions away from structures, walls, or paving where water is allowed to pool and slowly percolate into the soil. The more you slow the water down or hold it on site, the more you improve water quality in your area and downstream at local beaches.
Reduce runoff. Runoff carries with it soil particles and pollutants. Reduce runoff by using mulch.
Remove your old turf in a way that preserves valuable soil microbes. Photo: Anna Shvets / Pexels
Now that you have removed unwanted turf and other plants, it is time to condition your soil.
Soil amendments should be selected based on your soil analysis recommendations. Till them into the top layer of soil. Compost (15-30% by volume), gypsum, and fertilizer are typical amendments in arid climates like San Diego County.
The goal is to achieve healthy soil containing microbes which feed plants, improve drainage, and increase the natural water holding capacity of the soil.
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(Editor’s Note: The San Diego County Water Authority and its 24 member agencies offer programs, resources, and incentives to improve water-use efficiency for residential, commercial, and agricultural users. WaterSmart choices are a way of life in the region. Stay WaterSmart San Diego! For more water-use efficiency resources, go to WaterSmart.SD.org.)
You’ve decided to eliminate the thirsty turf areas in your current landscaping when planning your new sustainable landscape. It’s tempting to install hardscape. It needs no water at all. It might seem like a smart idea, but it creates a new problem: stormwater runoff. It can also increase temperatures and add in its own small way to global warming.
Finding alternatives to cover the area with plants instead of hardscaping will help prevent too much stormwater runoff and capture rainfall.
Consider replacing your lawn with groundcovers. There are many good choices of groundcover plants that make good lawn substitutes. Many species grow well in San Diego County’s six climate zones and the Mediterranean climate natives fall into the very low or low Plant Factor categories. They won’t use as much water than the same amount of grass.
California lilac (Ceanothus) is a native plant to San Diego County and produces spectacular blooms in early spring. Photo: Wikimedia
Silver Carpet (Dymondia margaretae)
Bluff California Lilac (Ceanothus maritimus)
Bee’s Bliss Sage (Salvia leucophylla) attracts pollinators including bees and butterflies to your landscaping. Photo: Wikipedia
Pink Yarrow (Achillea millefolium rosea)
Gold Coin Plant (Asteriscus maritumus)
Sundrops (Calylophus hartwegii)
Carmel Mountain ceanothus
Dwarf Mat Rush (Lomandra longfolia)
Bee’s Bliss Sage (Salvia)
Wooly Thyme (Thymus pseudolanguinosus)
Blue Chalksticks (Senecio serpens)
The Beach Strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis) provides a display of white flowers. Photo: Wikimedia
Creeping Manzanita ‘Carmel Sur’ (Arctostaphylos edmunsii)
Beach Strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis)
Pink yarrow, sages, and lilacs also support the lifecycle of butterflies, which are important pollinators.
This article is part of a year-long series inspired by the 71-page Sustainable Landscapes Program guidebook. The Water Authority and its partners also offer other great resources for landscaping upgrades, including free WaterSmart classes at WaterSmartSD.org.
Landscape designs using the least amount of potable water necessary are greatly encouraged in arid or Mediterranean climates like in San Diego County. It’s an important motivation for homeowners to consider efficiency and sustainability to lower water use, saving a precious resource.
Maximizing your landscaping’s ability to capture and use natural rainfall can also help reduce or even completely eliminate your reliance on potable water for irrigation. Compare how much water your new landscape design will need against your existing landscaping’s water use. You’ll be able to estimate your future water savings.
Start by calculating the water use requirements of landscaping filled with plants that require high amounts of water, or moderate amounts, low or very low water requirements.
In these examples, evapotranspiration (ET), irrigation efficiency, and landscape area are exactly the same. The only difference: our examples are home to plants with different water requirements.
To calculate water use, you can refer to the San Diego Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance for guidance. Go to www.sdcounty.gov and search “Landscape Ordinance.” The four key variables are:
Use a landscaped area of 1,000 square feet, with an ET of 51 inches annually, and IE of 0.7. Look at the big difference your plant selection can make in your water use.
Example 1: High Water Use plants (PF = 0.8) – 36,137 gallons of water per year
Example 2: Moderate Water Use plants (PF = 0.5) – 22, 586 gallons of water per year
Example 3: Low Water Use plants (PF = 0.2) – 9.034 gallons of water per year
Example 4: Very Low Water Use plants (PF = 0.1) – 4,517 gallons of water per year
From the highest estimate to the lowest estimate, you could potentially save 17,103 gallons of water every single year.
This article is part of a year-long series inspired by the 71-page Sustainable Landscapes Program guidebook. The Water Authority and its partners also offer other great resources for landscaping upgrades, including free WaterSmart classes at WaterSmartSD.org.
When you’re replacing your landscaping with an eye to conserving water, it’s important to understand how much water plants really need. A quick, simple way landscape experts do this is a method the home landscaper can use, too.
Evapotranspiration (ET) is the process of assessing various factors to determine how much water plants use, and when they need it. ET explains and incorporates important environmental conditions such as solar radiation (sunshine) or cloud cover. The stronger the sun’s rays, the higher the ET.
Plant leaves work a lot like mini solar panels. Leaves gather energy plants use to transform water and carbon dioxide from the air into oxygen and sugars for growing.
Transpiration of moisture through leaves is similar to perspiration. It cools down the leaves. Water also evaporates from the soil itself around plants. The combined water loss from the plants and the soil together makes up evapotranspiration.
Understanding water loss in terms of ET helps you select the right plants for your sustainable landscaping by assessing your overall landscape water requirements, planning irrigation, and managing the Soil Moisture Account.
Plants with silver, leather-like leaves like this Agave are extremely water efficient. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
Do you need help identifying climate-appropriate plant choices for your new sustainable landscaping? Look for these four characteristics shared by drought-tolerant plants.
Stiff, Leathery Leaves: These leaves hold and store water, and stay evergreen most of the year.
Silver or Hairy Leaves: Light-colored leaves reflect sunlight to cool the plant. Hairy leaves hold moisture longer, and also protect the plant from hot direct sun.
Tiny Leaves: Tiny leaves are tiny solar panels. Lots of tiny leaves are easier to keep cool than a single larger leaf because there is more surface area to receive energy and use evaporation to cool down.
Solar Tracking Leaves: Some plant leaves are sun worshipers. They will turn toward the sun’s path throughout the day. As the day progresses, you will see the leaves more horizontally oriented. The plant is shifting its solar panel leaves to minimize sun exposure. Many California native plants like manzanitas have this ingenious adaptation.
The Water Authority’s Sustainable Landscaping guidebook contains a Plant List with climate-appropriate plants. They are also highlighted throughout the guidebook.
This article is part of a year-long series inspired by the 71-page Sustainable Landscapes Program guidebook. The Water Authority and its partners also offer other great resources for landscaping upgrades, including free WaterSmart classes at WaterSmartSD.org.
The Helix Water District’s administration office in La Mesa is sporting a new look with drought tolerant landscaping that has increased the curb appeal of the headquarters.
Three styles of drought-tolerant landscapes are planted around three sides of the building on University Avenue, Lee Avenue and Quince Street. The Mediterranean garden goes along University, a desert style on Lee and California native landscaping on Quince. Each is filled with flowers, cacti and other plants in myriad colors, scents, styles and textures.
