As property owners make plans for their gardens and landscaping this spring, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) is offering a helping hand. The MCWD Cost Share program is offering grants to those who want to help protect clean water by installing raingardens, shoreline or streambank plantings, pervious concrete driveways or other stormwater best management practices (BMPs).

Grants are available to any public or private property located within the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, including residential homes, apartments, businesses, schools or cities. The deadline for most residential projects is May 31.

Polluted stormwater runoff is the biggest threat to water quality across the state and nation. In a natural environment, most rainwater soaks into the ground or is captured by trees or other plants.  

But in developed areas, rainwater runs off roads, parking lots and rooftops and carries dirt, fertilizer, pesticides and other harmful material into lakes, streams and wetlands. The poor water quality that results affects recreation, fish and wildlife, and reduces property values.

“In a sense all landowners have waterfront property, even if they don’t live on a water body,” said Joe Barten, MCWD Cost Share Specialist. “You can do your part to prevent polluted rainwater from entering local lakes and streams. We’re hoping these grants are an incentive to take action.”

The MCWD’s Cost Share programs help property owners make improvements that prevent runoff from occurring. Raingardens are bowl-shaped gardens that collect rainwater and infiltrate it into the ground. Because they typically involve native plants, they require minimal maintenance and beautify the landscape. Pervious pavement allows rainwater to pass through the material and into a drainage system below.

Native shoreline/streambank plantings filter and absorb polluted runoff, prevent erosion by anchoring the soil, deter geese and enhance your yard’s appearance.

The grants can pay for up to 50 percent of these projects, with certain funding limits.

To learn more about the options or to apply for a grant, visit www.minnehahacreek.org/CostShare or contact MCWD Cost Share Specialist Joe Barten at 952-641-4523 or jbarten@minnehahacreek.org.

Headquartered in Deephaven, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District covers approximately 181 square miles, including Minnehaha Creek, Lake Minnetonka, the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes and Minnehaha Falls.

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Edgar van Gusling and Andrew Jacobs have been working at Kirstenbosch for a total of 82 years. Picture: Cindy Waxa

Cape Town – Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens was once nothing more than a forest filled with alien vegetation, gravel trails, and corrugated iron toolsheds. That is a far cry from what it is today, but is how it looked when Edgar van Gusling and Andrew Jacobs first came to know the place.

Van Gusling, who retires this year, has worked at the botanical gardens for 45 years, while Jacobs has 37 years service with Kirstenbosch, which celebrates its centenary this year.

In recognition of their long service and the centenary, Van Gusling and Jacobs will fly to the Chelsea Flower Show this month in London, where Kirstenbosch displays have bagged 32 gold medals over the years.

Jacobs, 56, and Van Gusling, 64, were born in Protea Village, a now displaced community that was situated across the road from the botanical gardens.

Van Gusling recalls carrying 20-litre buckets as a boy to draw water from a nearby spring. There was a 100- litre tank at home that needed filling before he could go and play. Jacobs’s father worked at Kirstenbosch, and even though he was very young, he recalls delivering lunch to his dad at work.

In 1963, the Group Areas Act forced both families to relocate to Lotus River. Van Gusling was 15 and Jacobs was 6.

Van Gusling describes this as a sad time. “The houses (in Lotus River) had no ceilings and concrete floors. The walls were so thin your neighbours would hear you fart. We were thrown into this place that just wasn’t nice,” he recalls.

Employment at Kirstenbosch continued and at age 20, Van Gusling eventually got a job as a gardener.

“I grew up with flowers. In Protea Village, our hobbies were sport and nature,” he says.

Back then, there were no fancy hi-tech tools. “It was a lot of manual labour. We carried huge rocks with our bare arms. We were very muscular then,” he jokes.

Van Gusling moved from gardening and landscaping – he was involved in sculpting the contours and building rockeries – to being responsible for mowing and maintaining the lawns.

Anyone who has ever tried growing a lawn knows that getting it to the quality of the soft Kirstenbosch variety, is no easy feat.

He also did a stint as a security officer, but 20 years ago returned to the mowers – this time as a foreman. He is now the principal foreman.

“Everything I did, I enjoyed it,” he says. His green fingers have extended to his Rocklands home where he has a small but beautiful garden at the front of his house, and nurtures many indoor plants.

Jacobs’s career at Kirstenbosch started a little differently. He was the fifth of 12 children, and when he was about 17, he had to go and find work.

“I wasn’t really happy. But I was lucky and worked for a nice guy. He was one of the very few who didn’t see the (skin) colour,” says Jacobs.

He started out in the nursery in 1976 and while his father, who was employed at Kirstenbosch for more than 40 years, worked in another division, he kept a watchful eye on his son.

Jacobs had to weed, sow seeds and take care of succulents. He later moved to the plant recording department, where he engraved the names of plants on small plaques, and in the late 1980s became an information officer.

He recalls that learning about the various plants wasn’t a problem as he already had so much experience with that, but his English, on the other hand, took some work.

Remembering the move to Lotus River, Jacobs says it was unpleasant. “We weren’t rich, but when they took us to Lotus River, we became even poorer. The mice didn’t even want to come into our house,” he says”.

But five years ago things changed, not only for him, but his mother too. He became a communications officer and tour guide at Kirstenbosch and one of the perks was that he could live in the Kirstenbosch stone cottages, once part of his old community.

He moved there three years ago.

“It meant I could bring my mom back to Kirstenbosch. She was extremely happy when we fetched her. You could see the gladness in her smile,” says Jacobs.

His mother died a year later, but Jacobs, who says he still has another 10 years of working left in him, feels privileged that they were able to spend that time there.

Jacobs and Van Gusling describe Kirstenbosch as a special place, with a certain majestic quality.

“We have to be proud to be associated with this. People come from all over the world just to see it. There’s just something that keeps you here,” says Jacobs.

About their trip to London, they’re both excited to be going and plan to “paint the town red”. – Cape Argus

UNC Asheville’s Biology Department and the Botanical Gardens at Asheville will celebrate Appalachian nature with the 41st annual Spring Wildflower and Bird Pilgrimage May 3-5. This weekend of special events, including talks and guided tours, will focus on local flora and fauna. All are open to the public.

The popular annual celebration begins with registration at 6:30 p.m. Friday, May 3, in the lobby of UNC Asheville’s Robinson Hall. The registration fee is $5 for adults and $1 for students, which covers all events.

Following registration, Alison Arnold, owner of Alison Arnold Gardens and Landscapes, Inc., will present “Landscaping with Native Plants: Considerations for Selecting the Best Plants for Your Garden” at 7:30 p.m. in UNC Asheville’s Robinson Hall Auditorium.

Events on Saturday, May 4 include eight guided tours and activities. The outings feature both morning and afternoon half-day adventures such as a birding trip through Craven Gap and Beaver Lake, and a nature walk to the Ray Mine in Burnsville.

The day will conclude with a presentation by Jim Drake, former president and current board member of the Georgia Botanical Society. Drake’s talk and slideshow, “Wildflowers through the Seasons,” begins at 7:30 p.m. in UNC Asheville’s Robinson Hall Auditorium.

Events on Sunday, May 5, include a birding trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway, a trip to the old growth sites in the Craggy Mountains, and a wildflower walk in the Shinn Gardens.

Coinciding with the Spring Wildflower and Bird Pilgrimage is the annual ”Day in the Gardens” festival at the Botanical Gardens at Asheville. The celebration includes plant and craft vendors, food and entertainment from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at 151 W.T. Weaver Blvd., adjacent to campus.

For more information about UNC Asheville’s Spring Wildflower and Bird Pilgrimage, call David Clarke, UNC Asheville associate professor of biology, at 828.232.5151 or visit biology.unca.edu/wildflower-pilgrimage.

Wilton’s loves to put forth a “semi-rural village” self-image, in its politics as well as its physical look. It’s the guiding principal in the historic town meeting system of government as well as the defining characteristic used to make rulings on everything from signage to storefront appearance.

The town’s small business owners have to operate within that framework to make a go of it. With the national economy slowly climbing out of the major dip of the last few years, local businesses are slowly regaining a foothold in town. New stores are opening—like the Painted Cookie and Mrs. Green’s; some are expanding, including Signature Style and Little Pub. Others have are still finding it more difficult—witness the closing of Steve’s Bagels.

Interestingly, many of the businesses holding strong are run by women; for example, one building in town—134 Old Ridgefield Rd.—is home to several small ventures that are, until recently, almost exclusively women-owned, including Hello Yoga, Aroma Spa, Renaissance Beauty, Evolved Home, and Signature Style. The last store has done so well since it opened three years ago that two weeks ago it relocated to larger digs for the second time in its short life.

Emily Humiston is a long-time Wilton resident (she grew up here and graduated from Wilton High School) who owns Tall Trees Landscaping.  “From the Driver’s Seat” sat down to talk with her about being a small-business owner in Wilton and what it’s like being a woman in a male dominated industry.

Are there any other women in the landscape business?

Not businesses. A lot of landscape architects, but not landscape businesses. This is my 20th year. When I started there was one other woman in Stamford that I knew of. There were no other women. I don’t even know of any women that own maintenance businesses, even now.

Are there organizations that helped you get started? Are there networks now that are helpful?

There were no networks back then—everyone looked at me funny 20 years ago when I started. Landscaping wasn’t even that big 20 years ago. Now there are “networking groups” where everyone owns a different type of business and they’ll try to help push one another—take the Chamber of Commerce, for instance. They haven’t really helped me though because I don’t have a storefront.

Volunteering in the community has helped me [grow the business] through Kiwanis [as past president] and now I’m starting to get more involved with Ambler Farm, which I really enjoy that a lot.

What do you get out of volunteering and helping in the community?

I want to be more involved in helping Wilton. It’s where I’ve lived, and hopefully will live my entire life. I really like helping people in need in the community because having grown up in that similar situation I know how tough it is, and if you can just do a little bit to help people it means a lot. There weren’t all these agencies, like social services, when I was a kid. That’s why we donate 25 trees to Wilton Social Services to hand out to families in need for Christmas. And I really like to help the seniors—this is their home. My mother has lived here forever, I’ve lived in Wilton my whole life. Someone has to help those two groups. Especially families in need, with kids—I know how hard it was when I was growing up and that’s why I want to help. It’s such an easy thing, I have the ability to do it, it’s so easy to do, and it gives me a lot of happiness.

Let’s talk about your work. What’s your service area?

Wilton, Westport and Fairfield, and now I’m kind of going into New Canaan. It’s word of mouth a little bit, although people don’t want their landscaper to get busy with someone else. But I’ve never really had an issue about getting work. I’ve been really lucky.

As a woman, what do you bring to your profession that makes you different?

Sometimes customers feel I’ll do a better, more thorough job. When it comes down to the nitty-gritty of the gardening, the deadheading, the perennials and all that, it’s really much better—I care more, it matters more.

Maintaining perennial gardens, we do a lot of overall maintenance. I don’t do much [plant] installation. We’re very particular with how we do the maintenance—I want it to be perfect, and very well taken care of. And I want to nurture it. I don’t want to work somewhere and do a job once and never see the plants again. You want to stay involved with a garden as it develops over the years. It’s not just a one-year shot. It really does take time.

Wouldn’t it be great if there were something to encourage the network of women-owned businesses in Wilton?

That would be great. If women would promote other women more. Just like people in Wilton will hire a landscaping company from Norwalk—you hope they wouldn’t but …

It’s a thought that has to be conscious: If I have to buy a birthday present for a child, I could go to Walmart to buy a toy, or to Wilton’s Toy Chest for that same toy.

There’s always a cheaper option outside of Wilton. But people need to embrace the community more. You can always go somewhere to get something cheaper. You can go to Walmart and get it. It’s so much different here now than when I was a kid. It’s all different.

Are there hurdles here in town as a small business owner?

My business is at my home. I can’t have commercial vehicles at my home. The town said I couldn’t have anything landscape related on my property—even if it was for my mother to use! Yesterday I tried to go to the transfer station, with my pickup truck and I can’t take my pickup truck because it’s registered to my business. I have to drive down to Norwalk . And I can’t go to Wilton? Just because my registration is made out to my business? The laws are made and there is just no flexibility with them. It makes it a little more difficult.

I’ve lived here my entire life. I just want to run my business, and I’m not bothering anyone. It’s not like I’m a landscaper in Norwalk trying to dump in Wilton. I live in this town, why does it matter what my vehicle is. Why can’t I keep my trucks here, why do I have to have an extra expense [to rent parking elsewhere]? It’s so hard to run a small business as it is. I can’t even dump recyclables, which are free. Just because my registration is made out to my business. Talking to anyone doesn’t seem to do any good.

We’re a small town, they should be able to come check to see if my trucks are in anyone’s way. It just one of the things that makes my life that much harder.

What do you recommend to people looking to hire a landscaper?

Get a good feel for the person, you need to feel compatibility. The whole relationship is important—it’s going to need to build for years and go on. Ask:  “Can you give me a game plan for the whole year? What needs to be done?”  I think it’s important to hire people who are very knowledgeable about plants.

Is there something particular to Wilton to consider?

It’s mostly near wetlands that you have to be cautious. But I don’t get involved with or use any chemicals, that’s where you have to be careful. There are lawn care companies that do the fertilizing and weed control, it’s best left to those guys and not landscapers.  Luckily, I don’t work with any of that stuff, because it is toxic.

I do spray my own property for ticks, but now with my daughter, I have to reconsider that. I didn’t really care for just me or my dogs, but now with her I will start to rethink that. But with ticks…tick companies are going to say, ‘Spray.’ People who are anti-pesticide say, ‘Don’t, it’s horrible.’ There’s no right or wrong. I think you have to get a good feel for the person you’re working with and trust them. And that’s why I hope that living here in Wilton my whole life and being in business for 20 years shows people that I’m not – I’m not going to become a millionaire being a landscaper. I just love what I do.

How did you discover that you loved working with plants?

My grandparents were gardeners, and when I was little I always gardened with them. It just is in my blood. It’s the only thing in my life I know for sure. I don’t even have to think about it, it just comes naturally. My mother loves to garden. It’s just in my blood.

It’s great to do what you love.

It has its great days, but then it has its not-so-great days. Like trying to get paid—I even have friends who have stiffed me! That’s why some landscaping businesses fail, the money flow is very difficult. We have to pay everything right away—my guys, my taxes, my supplies. And I can be waiting, waiting, waiting to get paid. I wonder if some customers feel they can take more advantage of a woman than a man.

But it’s that way for all of us. I used to say landscapers are below garbage collectors on the totem pole of getting paid. When I started, if I had stopped working for anyone who didn’t pay on time, I’d have no customers. You have to keep cutting the lawn every week. You can’t just stop because then you have no work all of a sudden.

We’re off in the winter. We just work really hard. We’ll do 55 hour weeks for the next nine months. You end up working the equivalent of a year in those nine months.

I think that women [clients] feel more comfortable dealing with a woman business owner—a lot of times I’m dealing with the wives, the majority of the time.

How is it supervising a crew of men?

I’ve been really lucky. I work with many Latino guys, they really have a loyalty to women, for the most part. They’re very family oriented, and I’ve never had a problem with respect. Last year I had one guy who didn’t like it, and he left, but that was the first time in 20 years.

Now, it’s almost like I’m their mother! I’m, like, 24 years older than these guys! [Laughs] So I hear all their problems, with their wives, with their girlfriends. I have four older brothers, so I really have that. I’ve never had a problem with respect, because I’ve always had decent guys working for me. I would have thought that it might have been a problem, but it hasn’t.

What do you want your daughter to see about you working?

I want her to see that I’m a really hard worker. I want her to play outside in the garden and dig. I want her to have a strong work ethic and struggle a little—I think it’s good to struggle. If I had been handed everything, God only knows what I’d be doing now. I want her to be proud of me. People say, maybe she’ll take over your business, but I just want her to do whatever she wants to do.

Tall Trees Landscaping, (203) 762-8183 or talltreeslandscaping@gmail.com.

Residential rain gardens work with nature to create beautiful solutions to stormwater management. (Photo courtesy of water.epa.gov)

Only a few weeks ago, long-range weather forecasts were calling for another hot, drier-than-usual summer in eastern Missouri. Then, April’s showers arrived and kept coming until the area’s rivers – not that long ago at extremely low levels – rose above flood stage.

So, what’s it going to be? Another hot, drought-plagued summer? Or will homeowners in the West County area be seeking plans for the proverbial ark instead of figuring out how to keep their lawns, shrubs and trees alive when temperatures climb and everything dries up?

The best answer, according to Nathan Brandt, horticulture specialist with University of Missouri Extension in St. Louis County, is “both.”

“Given the weather patterns in our area, chances are pretty good that homeowners will need to deal with both types of conditions during the growing season,” he said. “They’ll need to be aware of what’s going on and what to look for in order to manage the consequences successfully.”

Pat Quinan, Missouri Extension climatologist, agreed.

“I don’t go out on a limb with forecasts,” he said. “No one knows for sure what’s coming and certainly no one forecast the magnitude of the adverse conditions that arose last year.”

Mark Grueber, urban and community forester with the Missouri Conservation Department, noted, “I liken yard care with preventive maintenance on a car. You don’t always know what situations may come up so you keep both – your car and your yard – in the kind of shape where they are able to deal with whatever conditions arise.”

 

(Illustration courtesy of watershedcouncil.org)

Spring rains won’t last forever

Looking ahead to typical St. Louis summer heat or worse, last year’s extreme conditions, Grueber and Brandt described a number of different scenarios affecting both lawns and plants and how to deal with them.

Trees and shrubs don’t require as close attention as lawns because they have bigger root systems and aren’t stressed as quickly in hot, dry weather, Brant observed. When leaves on trees and shrubs begin turning brown around the edges or start to curl up at the end of the day and fail to recover their normal shape by the next morning, they need water. A good watering once or twice a month usually is all that’s required in hot, dry weather.

One problem with some irrigation systems is that they are set to water the lawn, trees and plants the same way at the same time, Brandt said. “The end result is that nothing receives the optimal amount of moisture.”

Brandt and Grueber strongly agree that the most effective watering is the kind that encourages lawns and plants to root deeply where they can absorb moisture from a greater area.

 

(Photo courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden)

“My advice to people with irrigation systems is to turn them off,” Grueber asserted. “All too often the irrigation systems are set to provide water too often and not in enough volume to produce deep rooting.”

Grueber said homeowners with irrigation systems probably suffered more damage to their yards and plants last year than did those who watered using “manual” equipment such as hose-end sprinklers or soaker-type hoses.

“Things that were shallow-rooted went quickly with the kind of conditions we had last year,” he said.

Despite Grueber’s advice, some studies have shown the typical homeowner applies as much as 2.5 times the amount of water needed for turf growth when using hose-end sprinklers, so no method is guaranteed to be foolproof.

To remain green and growing actively, lawns generally require one to 1.5 inches of water weekly, either from rainfall or watering, Brandt noted. Tall fescue requires less water than Kentucky bluegrass, while zoysia grass needs even less.

Extended periods of hot, dry, windy conditions can stress lawns quickly. Brandt said lawns need water when they turn a gray-green color and when footprints remain in the lawn for several hours instead of the blades quickly returning to an upright position.

“If you have any doubt about the moisture level in your yard, push a screwdriver into the ground,” Brandt suggested. “It should go in easily 5 to 6 inches. If it doesn’t, you haven’t got the amount of moisture you need deep enough.”

 

(Illustration courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden)

Water management – a tricky balance

“Adequate moisture” is a key ingredient in keeping plants healthy, Grueber said, but the definition of “adequate” varies according to plant and soil types.

“Know your trees’ requirements and the kind of soil they are in,” he urged.

Information is available from a number of reliable sources on these and other lawn and plant care issues.

Trying to gauge the adequacy of watering by measuring how long a hose-fed system or irrigation equipment is on presents another set of issues, Brandt reminded.

“Every delivery system is different. Water pressure is a big variable and can change on a day-to-day or even an hourly basis,” he said. “Sprinklers vary in the amount of water they deliver, too. The type of heads used in an irrigation system also can apply differing amounts.”

According to Missouri Extension, the best time to water a lawn is from 6-8 a.m. Water pressure generally is highest then and winds usually are more calm and less likely to disrupt the water application pattern. Water lost by evaporation also is much lower than when temperatures rise.

Early-morning watering also lessens the chance that turf diseases will develop due to moisture remaining on the grass for extended periods.

As for determining how your landscape has benefited from Mother Nature’s own moisture, nothing beats a rain gauge.

Available at most nurseries and in lawn and garden departments at big box stores, the measuring device should be mounted where it’s not covered or protected by a roof overhang, other structures or trees. Gauges usually provide appropriate installation instructions.

Officially reported rainfall amounts are fine – for those specific locations. But the amount of rain that comes down even a short distance away can and does vary, often by significant amounts. Therefore, it’s best to rely on your own gauge to determine how much moisture your yard receives and what, if any, additional water is required for your lawn and plantings.

 

For all kinds of weather, consider using ‘rainscape’ techniques

Given the amount of rainfall this spring, Brandt predicts it will be some time before established lawns and other plants will need added moisture this year.

As with most everything else, there also can be too much of a good thing and recent rainfall amounts have created problems of their own.

“Too much moisture can be harmful to plants and lawns, especially if the soil is the kind that doesn’t drain well,” Brandt said.

The heavy clay soils in West County provide a good example.

Perhaps more important is the fact that drainage problems around any home can lead to problems inside the dwelling. If gutters are overflowing, chances are downspouts are clogged and need to be cleared so excess water is directed away from the home and planted areas.

(Photo courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden)

“Many plants don’t like ‘wet feet’ and even lawns can suffer if too much water collects too often,” Brandt continued. “But there are effective ways to deal with this kind of problem.”

Rain gardens or “rainscapes” are one attractive and environmentally friendly solution, he said. Brandt noted that Missouri Extension soon will complete a website (showmeraingardens.com) with information on how to establish a rain garden and with what plantings. The existing site already provides a variety of details.

“Rain gardens offer a way to work water into the soil naturally to avoid runoff and help prevent erosion,” Brandt explained. “They may not be as formal-looking as other garden areas, but they can be made very attractive – certainly much better than just grass.

“There are lots of plants that like and do well with ‘wet feet,’ and it’s just a question of working them in together.”

Additional benefits:

• Rain gardens reduce pollution in lakes, rivers and streams.

• Rain gardens are helpful in recharging groundwater.

• Rainwater remains on the homeowner’s property where it naturally belongs.

• Native habitat is created, attracting wildlife and butterflies.

Nearly 70 percent of the pollution in our surface waters gets there through stormwater runoff, according to studies by the Environmental Protection Agency. About 50 percent of that pollution is chemical pollution from products used in yard care, household activities, and from our yard waste.

Rainscaping options run the gamut from something as simple as installing a rain barrel to planting a rain garden, amending soil, and /or replacing lawn grass with trees, shrubs and low-maintenance ground cover.

The RainScaping Guide on the Missouri Botanical Garden site (mobot.org) can help landowners determine which sustainable landscaping options are right for their sites. The guide can be accessed by clicking on the “At Home” link under the “Sustainability Conservation” tab.

The guide also offers advice on designing and building a rain garden, selecting plants and choosing landscape alternatives.

When choosing plants, the guide points out that “an aesthetically pleasing, low-maintenance landscape can be attained using a plant palette of regionally native plants.”

Native plants, it suggests, are well-adapted to local climate and soils as well as fluctuations in rainfall, beautiful, reliably hardy and enhance much-needed biodiversity while allowing for more opportunities to observe nature.

 

Good news, bad news

The bad news is that the types and scope of problems West County homeowners face in keeping their plants, trees and shrubs healthy and growing are numerous, to say the least.

The good news is reliable sources of information do exist on how to address those problems.

A quick check of the Missouri Extension Service website revealed a host of informational and how-to-do-it guides ranging from home lawn watering and irrigating trees and shrubs during summer drought to caring for flooded lawns. Simply go to extension.missouri.edu and click on “Lawn and Garden” for unbiased, research-oriented information on questions and issues you want to address.

Missouriconservation.org is a website that also provides information and suggestions on a host of problems and situations. Just list your question in the search box and go from there.

Surfing the Missouri Botanical Garden website at missouribotanicalgarden.org is another way of finding information from experts. The garden also offers a variety of classes and a list of native plants that can tolerate eastern Missouri’s unpredictable and ever-changing weather.

 

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Spring is finally underway. For many in New Jersey, this means the start of new gardening, lawn and landscaping plans. The spring planting season also coincides with the beginning of the area’s months of peak water demand.

In the height of summer, water usage in Monmouth County alone reaches 80 million gallons a day or more in the peak demand periods. Much of this increase comes from outdoor water usage in the summer months.

The demand for water in Monmouth County has been steadily increasing over the last 100 years, yet the current water supply in New Jersey has been essentially the same for decades.

Consumers can take steps early in the season to save both water and money on their water bills before the peak months are in full swing. According to Rutgers Cooperative Extension, using smart irrigation and landscaping practices, home and property owners can decrease their outdoor water usage and help conserve the water supply.

Keep in mind that it’s not necessary to water the lawn every day. Watering just two or three times per week for about 45 minutes per area allows the soil to absorb the water and encourages deep root growth, which makes lawns more drought-tolerant. An easy way to check if the lawn needs water? Just step on the lawn. If the grass springs back, it doesn’t need water. Make sure to water lawns and gardens early in the morning before the heat of the day starts.

Homeowners and other property owners with sprinkler or irrigation systems can adopt a number of practices to not only conserve water, but use it more efficiently.

At the beginning of spring, have your irrigation system inspected and tested. Check piping for leaks, breaks or collapsed lines. Sprinkler heads should be operating correctly and adjusted properly so that the correct areas are watered. Make sure sprinklers aren’t aimed at driveways, streets or other paved areas.

Another good idea is to adopt an odd/even watering schedule that corresponds to your street address. To conserve even more water, skip watering on the 31st of the month and on July 4, which is considered the peak water-demand period of the year.

Spring is finally under way and for many people in New Jersey this means the start of new gardening, lawn and landscaping plans. The spring planting season also coincides with the beginning of the area’s months of peak water demand.

In the height of summer, water usage in Monmouth County alone reaches 80 million gallons a day or more in the peak demand periods. Much of this increase comes from outdoor water usage in the summer months.

The demand for water in Monmouth County has been steadily increasing over the last 100 years, yet the current water supply in New Jersey has been essentially the same for decades.

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A great deal of household water can be recycled and piped outside for gardens and landscaping under a state law set up last year, and Ashland aquatic ecologist Malena Marvin, who installs graywater systems, will offer do-it-yourself classes in May.

“It’s easy to do, but it’s also easy to do wrong,” says Marvin, who has started the 100 Houses Graywater Challenge and is trying to get city planners interested in helping and promoting it.

“It’s important we do these right and that, if you do it yourself, that you have a consultant work with you,” she says, “so it will become talked about and accepted as a normal, good idea. We don’t want to have people winging it, then having problems, so then people think graywater is a problem.”

Graywater is household waste water diverted from one of four sources — washing machines, bathtubs or showers, bathroom sinks and kitchen sinks — and reused for irrigation. Water from toilets, dishwashers and garbage disposals can’t be used. Graywater can be used on trees, landscaping plants, compost, lawns and gardens, but not for edible root crops such as carrots and beets.

Until last year, graywater reuse was not legal in Oregon. In 2009, following the lead of several other states, the state Legislature passed a bill directing the Department of Environmental Quality to set standards and create a permit structure for graywater reuse and disposal systems. The agency completed the process in 2011 and began issuing permits last spring.

Costs for the permits vary depending on the type of system being installed. Costs and other details can be seen on DEQ’s website at www.deq.state.or.us/wq/reuse/docs/graywater/PermitsQA.pdf.

Showing the system in her backyard, Marvin, 35, shows how the flow is controlled by a three-way valve inside the house, so waste water can either be sent to plants or to the normal sewage or septic system.

Waste water travels to landscaping through 1-inch high-density polyethylene pipe. In Marvin’s system, the water goes into 4-foot-long “mulch basins” that are filled with bark dust. Roots of nearby plants suck up the precious liquid, she says.

Marvin, who charges $595 to install a graywater system, was trained in graywater design in California. She says she plans to get a contracting license soon.

Marvin does consulting on the systems and notes she can help with the DEQ paperwork and site plans. Permits require homeowners to calculate how much water the plants will use, she says, and that determines how much water you can divert to yards. They also require waste water to be 4feet above the summer water table. The systems are turned off in winter.

Marvin built an outdoor shower with mostly recycled materials and will hook that up with her graywater system.

“It’s about how to blend ecological design with esthetics,” she says. “It’s a great opportunity to interact more meaningfully with our own landscape.”

Marvin will offer a hands-on, DIY “Laundry to Landscape” workshop May 17-19. Participants will learn to modify a washing machine’s drain line, set up irrigation and design their landscape to make the best use of the water.

The workshop costs $135. Register at 541-821-7260 or www.elementaldesignbuild.com.

John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. Email him at jdarling@jeffnet.org.

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As property owners make plans for their gardens and landscaping this spring, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) is offering a helping hand. The MCWD Cost Share program is offering grants to those who want to help protect clean water by installing raingardens, shoreline or streambank plantings, pervious concrete driveways or other stormwater best management practices (BMPs).

Grants are available to any public or private property located within the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, including residential homes, apartments, businesses, schools or cities. The deadline for most residential projects is May 31.

Polluted stormwater runoff is the biggest threat to water quality across the state and nation. In a natural environment, most rainwater soaks into the ground or is captured by trees or other plants.  

But in developed areas, rainwater runs off roads, parking lots and rooftops and carries dirt, fertilizer, pesticides and other harmful material into lakes, streams and wetlands. The poor water quality that results affects recreation, fish and wildlife, and reduces property values.

“In a sense all landowners have waterfront property, even if they don’t live on a water body,” said Joe Barten, MCWD Cost Share Specialist. “You can do your part to prevent polluted rainwater from entering local lakes and streams. We’re hoping these grants are an incentive to take action.”

The MCWD’s Cost Share programs help property owners make improvements that prevent runoff from occurring. Raingardens are bowl-shaped gardens that collect rainwater and infiltrate it into the ground. Because they typically involve native plants, they require minimal maintenance and beautify the landscape. Pervious pavement allows rainwater to pass through the material and into a drainage system below.

Native shoreline/streambank plantings filter and absorb polluted runoff, prevent erosion by anchoring the soil, deter geese and enhance your yard’s appearance.

The grants can pay for up to 50 percent of these projects, with certain funding limits.

To learn more about the options or to apply for a grant, visit www.minnehahacreek.org/CostShare or contact MCWD Cost Share Specialist Joe Barten at 952-641-4523 or jbarten@minnehahacreek.org.

Headquartered in Deephaven, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District covers approximately 181 square miles, including Minnehaha Creek, Lake Minnetonka, the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes and Minnehaha Falls.