Container plants by Sunset

Though I dream of owning a home in the near future and landscaping a yard into an outdoor oasis, for now I must settle for small containers that are easy to care for and light-weight for mobility. Living in an arid region, I’m well aware of the variety of drought tolerant plants, like ornamental feather grasses, lavendar, and succulents. Usually these types of plants are very low maintenance and require little care and water. However, once you place them in a container or pot, instead of the ground, their maintenance needs increase. The amount of water needed increases since the small amount of soil in any pot can’t hold onto the water nearly as long as ground soil that has been saturated by a recent rainstorm or weekly dousing. Over the years, and through experimenting with different varieties of plants, I’ve found some great ways to extend the life of potted gardens that saves me money in the long run.

Selecting Pots and Containers Matter

Last year, I purchased two beautiful hanging baskets with coconut weaved bottoms. The coconut bottoms replace the old fashioned moss covered bottom baskets, and I thought that maybe they had finally perfected the drainage issues that had made the moss bottoms unsuccessful. I planted a gorgeous variety of perennials such as petunias and lobelia, and even lined the basket with a little bit of plastic wrap to help hold in the moisture. The coconut weave bottom has some disadvantages and advantages, but a huge disadvantage is that it doesn’t hold any water in the basket! Not unlike the old-fashioned moss bottom ones. As the days got hotter, no matter how often I watered my hanging basket plant, the water didn’t stay in the soil long enough for the plants to drink it. In the end, my poor petunias, the last remaining plant to survive, couldn’t take the heat and perished.

Selecting pots and baskets that have proper drainage is important, a few holes will do;  too few, and your soil can become mildewy, too many holes and the soil can’t hold the water in long enough for the plants to benefit.

Selecting the Right Plants

Depending on where you live, your local nursery should carry plants that grow well in your region. However, every so often they will also carry plants that require much more care than your region can support. Be sure to check the tag of the plant before purchasing, make sure you also follow the directions of that tag. Many indoor plants don’t do well outside, even if it is only sitting out on a patio, and many outdoor plants won’t do very well inside. Luckily, by planting in containers, you can move your plants around where they will best benefit.

Going that Extra Mile

Container plants don’t have the benefit of leaching minerals from the surrounding soil, like in-ground plants do. Some plants need nutrients added to their soil every few months. Here are a few tips to extend the life of your potted plant:

• Add Miracle Grow or mulch to your potted plants every so often, especially if the plant is looking a little yellow-ish or droopy even after watering.
• Trim off dead leaves and flowers to help promote new growth.
  
• Soak your plant with water every few months in addition to its weekly watering needs. Just be sure that the soil isn’t continually drenched.
  
• Transplant your potted plant into a larger pot once the plant begins to out grow its original container.

For more ideas on what to plant and how to cluster your container plants, check out Sunset Magazine’s slide show.

Rain Barrel Harvesting (Photo by Sunset Magazine)

I’ve been researching some ways to “green” up an existing home, in case we end up purchasing a “fixer-upper”. Some of these ideas are less inexpensive, like losing the lawn and planting drought-tolerant plants in a semi-arid region, others are more expensive like installing solar panels and running a portion of your household energy off of it, then reselling the excess to your utility company (a sweet deal!). But an idea I researched a while back, and the recent rain storm made me recall this idea, is rain collection in arid and semi-arid areas. Indulging my continued curiosity, I further investigated this idea through Sunset Magazine, I love the photos in this mag. They had some inspiring, and unusual, ideas for collecting rain. However, before I begin describing some methods, let me explain a few laws about rain water collection that I didn’t know existed:

• Colorado: If you live in Colorado, the rain that falls from the sky is not yours to keep! Did you know that? Because many of their streams feed into rivers that deliver water to other states, all rain water is supposed to end up in the streams. So rain water harvesting (I like this word) in this state is out for now. (source: Wikipedia)
• Utah and Washington: You may harvest rain water only if you own the rights to your ground water. So if you are using well water, you may then collect your rain water. I’ve read on other sites that this law is not enforced, so you could probably get away with collecting it on the down low. (source: Wikipedia)
• New Mexico: In contrast to neighboring Colorado, some areas require rain water collection on new dwellings. What a terrific idea! Most likely, this is due to their desert-like region. (source: Wikipedia)
• Arizona: Due to their desert topography, homeowners can receive a tax credit for capturing and recycling rainwater. (source: Sunset Magazine)

Other states and regions may have laws regulating stagnant water and collection techniques, so if you’re unsure, you may want to check with your city.

Now on to some rain water collection methods (all require containment or lids to avoid open, stagnant water):

• Rain (whiskey) barrel collection: With a little work, and a gutter system, you position your rain or whiskey barrel at a point where your gutters drain, usually at a corner of your house or structure. Affixing a hose or pipe from your gutter to the rain barrel, the rain collects into the barrel. They can hold about 50-60 gallons. A spiget towards the bottom of the barrel makes it easy to use the rain water.
• Rain Chain: This is a beautiful way to collect rain. The rain drips down from small bowl to small bowl, then eventually ends up in a catchment of some kind. It can fall into a creek or rock covered area of your lawn. Beneath the rock area would be a tank that holds the water until you need to use it.
• Cistern: Using a gutter system, cisterns can hold hundreds to thousands of gallons of rain water. It’s a more complex system, but if you have a huge yard or garden, this might be a feasible option.

Here are a few links I came across that describe in detail how to build a rain water harvesting system (and sell the supplies you would need to start this process!):

• A beautiful way to catch rain water.
• A huge assortment of whiskey barrels.
• How to collect rain water. Treehugger also has additional links at the bottom of this article on how to store it as well.

How many of you reuse your rain water? How do you collect it? Have you thought about installing a system recently? What if you live in an apartment, can you find a way to use rain water to water your house plants?

This 'Drop Your Pant's Here' sign is really cute!

Lately, my plate has been full of responsibilities. On top of working full time, helping my husband with his projects, and school part-time, I still have to keep the laundry under control and the bathrooms fairly clean. My husband has been wonderful picking up a few of my usual chores. For instance, he has been throwing laundry in when he sees the basket overflowing. Of course, he sometimes forgets the laundry is in the washer or dryer, then we have to deal with ironing or redrying, but it’s better this way than not at all. He also has been making sure I eat a nutritious meal. When I come home on my one late day, he has dinner waiting for me at the dinner table.

But, I still need to get everything accomplished in a timely manner. How do I do it? I multi-task like crazy! I wake up one hour earlier than normal so that I can squeeze in some time for me, meaning time to write this post and comment on some of my favorite blogs. If I didn’t use this time wisely, I’d never have any ‘me’ time, and that would make me cranky. At school, over my breaks, I try to plan and organize the classroom so that I can leave right away at the end of the day. That might mean planning for the week ahead, entering test scores on the computer, preparing an art or writing project, or grading tests.

When I come home, I quickly make sure no one is looking for me, meaning a client that needs something. I check my email and respond to those that only need a few-word reply. I ask my husband, while throwing in a load of laundry, if he needs my help before I spend an hour or two reading for class. If my help is needed, then I allot an hour to a client project, leaving me an additional hour to read or write a paper. Before walking to the bedroom to read, I might water my potted plants on the back patio. Luckily, they are drought-tolerant and only need watering a couple of times a week. Purchasing low maintenance items make life a lot easier.

Since eating doesn’t take much time, I chow down a meal between books so that I have the energy to continue studying. One day during the work week I make sure I spend 30 minutes to an hour completing any papers I have due that Friday. On the weekends, I schedule one half-day to completing longer research papers.  Before my one weekend work-day begins, I can usually clean both bathrooms, minus the shower, and have another chore completed, and the bathrooms in decent condition. Usually setting aside 3 to 4 hours will suffice and I can accomplish enough so that I can spend some quality time with my husband on the second weekend day. As the evening is approaching, I can complete any laundry I forgot about or spend time with my husband, who has lately been neglected.

My one weekend day off, I indulge myself with sleeping in. My husband and I might decide to go to breakfast, a favorite local place that only charges $10 – $12 for the both of us. Living frugally the majority of the week, we feel we can splurge on this one meal. We establish our grocery or shopping list and take a portion of this day to shop. In the early evening, with the weather still warm, we might decide to grill out on the patio. Since I am usually caught up on school work, I don’t feel stressed or guilty that I can take one day off to enjoy the day. Multi-tasking makes my one guilt-free day possible.

I’m quite excited over the weather predictions for this week. According to three weather websites, they are predicting rain 2 or 3 days this week. It is very exciting. We haven’t had rain this early in the fall season in about 4 years. I’m really hoping that this means we will have a very wet autumn and winter, and these next few months will pull us out of our terrible drought. Lately, I’ve been thinking that we were going in the direction of Australia, which has been in a record 7-year drought (12-year drought by some articles).

I recently wrote a post showing how much water is left in our reservoirs, they are heading towards the empty mark, meaning we are quickly running out of water. Our local department of water and power has reduced the amount of days we can water our lawns and has restricted our water usage. My fear is that we may be heading towards a desert climate, instead of a semi-arid, temperate climate. Not that I don’t appreciate a desert climate or region. Much of Arizona’s population lives smack-dab in the middle of the Sonoran desert, and they have a booming population. However, I have read many articles that point to our next real problem: water shortages.

We might someday see a drought like Australia's here in the western United States- image by Treehugger

The last time my husband and I drove to Mesa, Arizona (just outside of Phoenix) to visit his family, we noted the sprawl of housing developments miles from the Phoenix city limits. My first thought on these communities is, why did they choose to expand this far out? Where are they getting their water from? Apparently, they get much of their water from the Colorado River and from underground aquifers. Some of their water also comes from the Salt River, but these water sources may not be enough to keep up with their population growth.

An article I read a few months back predicted that the Phoenix area of Arizona had enough water to last them 100 years. Well, that’s all well and good for the current occupants who won’t be alive 100 years from now, but what about their grandchildren? To me, this suburban sprawl seems ridiculous if water is in short supply. My only thought is that city officials aren’t thinking any farther into the future than a couple of generations. Perhaps they feel that a solution will appear or it will begin raining more in years to come.

However, history tells of something different. The Anasazi civilization, which lived around the Colorado River around 1200 AD, is said to have fled the area due to a severe water shortage, deforestation, and soil salinization. Tree rings in the area tell of a period showing a 23-year drought. If this lenghthy of a drought befell the west today, many states, including my home state of California, would be in big trouble due to the size of our population.

If we actually receive the rain predicted this week, it will be a promising sign that things are turning around. Our biggest problem in Southern California, is our large population dependent on a very limited water supply. A few months ago, I told my husband that I predict in 5 to 10 years Los Angeles county will encourage property owners to reduce their lawn size. He laughed when I said this, but from what I’ve read about semi-arid regions and the stress the Colorado River is under, this is not a far-fetched prediction. I hope I’m wrong.

Our Current Water Level - Yikes! We're almost out of H2O

Most of my life I’ve lived in Southern California, a fairly arid region. We hardly ever experience thunderstorms, or summer rain showers. From June through late November or December, our precipitation is minimal to none. Over the past few years, however, we have experience prolonged periods of dryness (prolonged meaning it stops raining in March and doesn’t rain again until the following January!), so that officially puts us in a state of drought. Our municipal department of water and power has put us on alert and is limiting how much water we can use. They are prohibiting spraying off sidewalks and driveways, limiting our garden and lawn watering to twice a week, and sending out tips on how to conserve water in the home.

My husband and I have been very good at conserving our water. We have stopped watering the lawn altogether; it’s really very hard to have a beautiful green lawn with a minimal watering schedule, so we’ve given up on the lawn for now. We have purchased drought-resistant container plants, we only have to water them twice a week. We have reduced the amount of laundry we wash, I’m trying to get better at wearing pants that aren’t dirty twice instead of only once and drying towels in the dryer instead of immediately throwing them in the laundry if they are still clean. We’re even doing the whole, “If it’s yellow, let it mellow” routine in one of our bathrooms. Our toilets are old, and since we live in a rental, we aren’t replacing them anytime soon. Our water usage over the past few months has been below our limit (28 HCF), which makes me feel like our efforts are paying off.

What made me think about our limited amount of rain are the trees around our house. Lately, they have been shedding their bark, splitting and cracking right though the branches, and looking like they are in distress. These aren’t immature trees, they are older trees that we have never, in our four years of living here, had to water individually. I’m beginning to think that the lack of rain, and our limiting the amount of water we are using around the house, is causing them to die.

One particularly stressed tree is a huge shade tree in our front lawn. It basically shades the whole front of our house. Its branches reach over our roof. One large branch, that leans over our roof, has a huge, gaping crack down the center. I’m afraid that in our next big wind storm (fall is the season for wind here in Southern California) that branch is going to crack in half and topple onto our roof! My dilemna is should I water the trees deeply and hope to reduce the amount of damage that’s been done or wait it out for the rain to come? What if the rain doesn’t come? Perhaps Southern California will turn into a desert in the coming future and all the large trees will eventually die out due to lack of water. Obviously, to resolve the current distressed trees, I think I can use a little bit of our water and give them all a deep watering this weekend!