Watering restrictions...

[HurricaneJesus]

Is it possible to grow a nice lawn in Florida only watering on Thursdays and Saturdays?

[cram]

so my good friend lives in orlando.
He runs a lawn maintenance company and jokingly refers to himself as an "Area Beautification Engineer" :)

Depending upon the grass and the level of cover in trees/structure, you can.
If you're growing a softer blade grass like rye or similar - no.
If you're growing that thick and rough blade grass that grows like weed - yes.

He also says there are ways around this, but you need to deal with it in an irrigation system. Running it away from sight (night) is the way to go 4am or so.

If you'd like, I could send you some water from here in nh. Since it's south, I believe it's a down hill trip and the postal costs shouldn't be that much.

[MudPies]

Plush green lawns are overrated.

[smiert spionam]

Plush green lawns are overrated.

Indeed, they are. Especially when they're not used for anything other than ensuring that one's house looks like every other one on the block.

[Hendrix99]

I stopped caring about my lawn when we got our boxer. She runs around like a crazy rabid animal back there and you can see little tufts of grass flying up behind her. The low-butt freak out sprint - hilarious to watch. After 3+ yrs it still cracks me up everytime she does it. It is like she is hallucinating rabbits and is on a mission.

So to the OP, if it doesn't work with the watering restrictions, get a boxer puppy. Very effective lawn control solution. They also eat any leaves, sticks, or other consumable items on the lawn (not excluding shrubs and flowers).

[Flyin' Brian]

Lawns are nuts:

God: Hey St. Francis, you know all about gardens and nature. What in the world is going on down there in the Midwest? What happened to the dandelions, violets, thistle and stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect "no maintenance" garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honey bees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now. But all I see are these green rectangles.

St. Francis: It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers "weeds" and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.

God: Grass? But it's so boring. It's not colorful. It doesn't attract butterflies, birds and bees, only grubs and sod worms. It's temperamental with temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass growing there?

St. Francis: Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it and keep it green. The begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning any other plant that crops up in the lawn.

God: The spring rains and warm weather probably make grass grow really fast. That must make the Suburbanites happy.

St. Francis: Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut it... sometimes twice a week.

God: They cut it? Do they then bail it like hay?

St. Francis: Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags.
God: They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?

St. Francis: No Sir. Just the opposite. They pay to throw it away.

God: Now let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away?

St. Francis: Yes, Sir.

God: These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we cut back on the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the growth and saves them a lot of work.

St. Francis: You are not going to believe this Lord. When the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.

God: What nonsense. At least they kept some of the trees. That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. Plus, as they rot, the leaves form compost to enhance the soil. It's a natural circle of life.

St. Francis: You better sit down, Lord. The Suburbanites have drawn a new circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and pay to have them hauled away.

God: No. What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the winter and to keep the soil moist and loose?

St. Francis: After throwing away the leaves, they go out and buy something which they call mulch. The haul it home and spread it around in place of the leaves.

God: And where do they get this mulch?

St. Francis: They cut down trees and grind them up to make the mulch.

God: Enough. I don't want to think about this anymore. Sister Catherine, you're in charge of the arts. What movie have you scheduled for us tonight?

Sister Catherine: "Dumb and Dumber", Lord. It's a real stupid movie about.....

God: Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.

[Midnight Lady]

One of the MANY things I appreciated about Australia during my two years there was the total acceptance of natural climate. In the location where I lived, the grass was green in Springtime when there was rain. Thereafter, when the weather became hot and dry, the grass turned yellow and then brown. No one cared. It simply became another good place to park your car.

Lawns are a total waste of water. They really are. If you had any idea of the amount of clean drinking water that was wasted on keeping your lawn as green as your neighbour's lawn, you'd be shocked.

Crops need water. Lawns don't.

[nnick]

Lawns are nuts:

God: Hey St. Francis, you know all about gardens and nature. What in the world is going on down there in the Midwest? What happened to the dandelions, violets, thistle and stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect "no maintenance" garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honey bees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now. But all I see are these green rectangles.

St. Francis: It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers "weeds" and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.

God: Grass? But it's so boring. It's not colorful. It doesn't attract butterflies, birds and bees, only grubs and sod worms. It's temperamental with temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass growing there?

St. Francis: Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it and keep it green. The begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning any other plant that crops up in the lawn.

God: The spring rains and warm weather probably make grass grow really fast. That must make the Suburbanites happy.

St. Francis: Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut it... sometimes twice a week.

God: They cut it? Do they then bail it like hay?

St. Francis: Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags.
God: They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?

St. Francis: No Sir. Just the opposite. They pay to throw it away.

God: Now let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away?

St. Francis: Yes, Sir.

God: These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we cut back on the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the growth and saves them a lot of work.

St. Francis: You are not going to believe this Lord. When the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.

God: What nonsense. At least they kept some of the trees. That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. Plus, as they rot, the leaves form compost to enhance the soil. It's a natural circle of life.

St. Francis: You better sit down, Lord. The Suburbanites have drawn a new circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and pay to have them hauled away.

God: No. What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the winter and to keep the soil moist and loose?

St. Francis: After throwing away the leaves, they go out and buy something which they call mulch. The haul it home and spread it around in place of the leaves.

God: And where do they get this mulch?

St. Francis: They cut down trees and grind them up to make the mulch.

God: Enough. I don't want to think about this anymore. Sister Catherine, you're in charge of the arts. What movie have you scheduled for us tonight?

Sister Catherine: "Dumb and Dumber", Lord. It's a real stupid movie about.....

God: Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.

Great post.

I am going through the whole suburban "keep the lawn beautiful" thing right now because we are trying to sell our house. What a waste of time. Life is too short for this.

[Tony Foran]

Here's my waste of water. Actually in Mi., you don't have to water that much and we have an endless supply of clean water. I also use organic fertilizer.

To the OP, there are drought resistant grasses.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v358/TForan/DSCF1899.jpg

[Barefoot]

At our place in Florida we have the Halifax Riiver across the street and the ocean 2 blocks east. The well is 90 feet and pumps largely salt water....why are there watering restrictions in this situation...what?......are we going to pump the ocean dry?

Power goes out and the timer gets out of wack. Then they send out letters threatening dire consequences if we don't water during the alotted time..............so find way to keep the power on like they do in the rest of the country....

Florida has become has become a bizarre place......if it wasn't for the winter and spring weather...