Water conservation tips, Citrus County, FL, July 2023
Water Conservation
Schedule irrigation for one day per week according to the schedule below. If you need training on your irrigation system or how to adjust the controller, call 352-527-7669.
July through November: One scheduled irrigation of 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch each week. 3/4-inch of irrigation is about 45 minutes per rotor head zone and 20 minutes per spray head zone.
Per restrictions, allowable watering is limited to one day per week, either before 10:00 a.m. or after 4:00 p.m. (not both), as follows, with Street Address Numbers Ending In:
• 0 or 1 - water on Monday
• 2 or 3 - water on Tuesday
• 4 or 5 - water on Wednesday
• 6 or 7 - water on Thursday
• 8 or 9, and locations with a mix of addresses or no address - water on Friday
Irrigation Controllers
Each year the Irrigation Association designates July as “Smart Irrigation Month” to raise awareness about how residents can improve irrigation efficiency, conserve water, lower water bills, reduce runoff and eliminate waste.
Irrigation systems are exposed to lawn mowers, car tires and environmental elements. And, with an average of 50% of Citrus County Utilities’ water supply being used for landscape irrigation, it is more important than ever to maintain irrigation efficiency through regular inspections.
• Begin by manually starting the irrigation system. Some controllers offer a test mode.
• Walk each zone while it is running to find inefficiencies such as leaky heads, misaligned sprays, sprays blocked by lawn/landscape, and spray onto driveways, roads and sidewalks.
• Check for wet spots near and away from irrigation heads. Wet is normal, squishy is not. This can be a sign of an underground break.
• Look for dry spots. These dry areas can be a sign that heads are too far apart, water pressure is low, a break in the zone; sprinkler heads blocked by overgrown grass or landscaping, or clogged heads.
• Test the rain sensor by spraying water into the top of the device while the sprinkler is running. It should shut off irrigation once it captures 1/2” to 3/4” of water. If it doesn’t, it likely needs replacing.
• Consider upgrading to a Water Sense labeled irrigation controller that automatically adjusts the volume of water applied based on rainfall and cold weather. A $100 account credit available to customers with irrigation connected to the utility.
If you need guidance, Citrus County Utilities offers a one-time training. Call (352) 527-7669 to schedule an appointment.
If every home with an automatic sprinkler system installed a WATERSENSE LABELED irrigation controller, we could save $2.4 billion in water costs each year and 220 billion gallons of water.
Rebates Available for Products with EPA Water Sense logo
• Rain Sensor Replacement — $50
• Water Sense labeled Toilet — up to $100 (pre-approval required) Replace up to two pre-1995 toilets per household.
• Water Sense labeled Irrigation Controller — $100 (auto-adjusting controller)
For details and to apply for rebates, click here: https://www.citrusbocc.com/departments/water_resources/water_conservation/programs/water_savers_rebate_program.php. If you have auestions, call (352) 527-7669.
Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Program
Join a FREE workshop available for in-person or online participation. Upcoming topics include:
• Managing Pest Wisely
• Palms in Central Florida
• Drought Tolerant Plants
• Optimizing Irrigation Systems
For details and to register, go to: https://ccufflprogram.eventbrite.com or call Florida-Friendly Landscaping Coordinator Steven Davis at 352-527-5708.
July Planting
Annuals/Bedding Plants
Summer annuals to plant now include celosia, coleus, torenia, and ornamental pepper. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_annual_landscape_plants
Vegetables
Start your Halloween pumpkin seeds! Cucumbers, peppers, and southern peas, can also be planted now. Watch for insects and disease symptoms.
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_vegetable_gardening
Bulbs
Butterfly lily and gladiolus can be planted during the middle of summer.
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_bulbous_flowers
Soil Solarization for your Vegetable Garden
Use summer heat to solarize the vegetable garden for fall planting. It takes 4–6 weeks to kill weeds, disease, and nematodes, so start now. With soil solarization, a sheet of plastic is used to cover the soil surface, allowing the soil to reach temperatures that are lethal to many pests and weeds. Deciding if solarization is right for your garden is about weighing the good and the bad. Like most pest management efforts, there is a down side to soil solarization: the high temperatures needed to kill all the unwanted soil occupants will also kill many beneficial organisms. It may help to know that often the beneficial organisms will return more rapidly than the harmful ones.
Azaleas
Prune no later than mid-July to protect developing buds for next spring's bloom.
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_azalea
For more details on these topics and more, visit:
https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/lawn-and-garden/florida-gardening-calendar/