A GROWING CONCERN: Cut water useage by design
Published 1:30 am Saturday, April 18, 2026
JUST TWO MONTHS ago, I was already sounding the alarm about this year’s water shortages. Now the state and other agencies have already declared “drought conditions.” Residents of the Peninsula may have no choice as various local, county, state and privately owned water agencies may enact and enforce watering restrictions.
With that said, here’s a comprehensive list of various things one can do to significantly lower his or her water consumption.
1. Add plenty of organic material. As we have discussed numerous times before, organic material is the miracle component of a great soil, partially because of its water-holding capacity. Make sure your garden soils and containers consist of copious amounts of organic materials.
2. There are products you can buy to amend the soil or premix soil blends that contain ingredients that greatly increase the soil’s ability to hold water and very slowly release the trapped moisture back to the plants over a several-day period.
3. Mulch. It is so easy and so good for the long-term of your soil. Not only does mulch help trap in moisture, it greatly impedes evaporation and cools down the soil while breaking down and adding organic material to the dirt. Use several inches if you want to achieve these benefits.
4. Water correctly. There is absolutely a proper way to water, and it will reduce greatly the amount you need to apply. Only water in the mornings. The earlier, the better. Sunrise is preferable. Moisture in the foliage and ground surface will dry out come evening, which will greatly reduce insects and disease. Also water heavy, forcing moisture deep down, then wait days before re-watering. This application will make the roots grow downward and deep, where the soil is cool and damp.
5. Pick appropriate plants. As indicated, Mediterranean herbs work well, as do sedums, California poppy and many perennials. Also, planting perennial plants, trees, shrubs and bushes, along with new lawn — all in early fall — means Mother Nature will water them in. Come the dry summer, their root systems will be well established.
6. Raise the mower up. I don’t know how many times I must speak power to truth, but raising the mower blade up to a very tall setting, 3½ inches or higher, conserves vast amounts of moisture. The ground is shaded from the sun and wind, so it dries out at a very slow rate. It really is that simple.
7. Don’t water the lawn. The problem is that the typical American lawn is composed of broadleaf grasses that go dormant in summer. So a brown lawn during summer is to be expected. Why fight it? Let it go brown to conserve the water.
8. Switch the grass type. Ryegrasses and fescues are green in the summer and drought resistant. Overseed your lawn twice a year (March and November) and slowly turn your lawn over to this preferred water-conscious blend.
9. Rain barrels. Especially if you have containers, rain barrels can capture enough precipitation to water them for quite some time, especially if you recapture the water that comes out of the bottom (and you have a good, rich, organic soil).
10. Use native plants. Our local Peninsula plants have evolved in our very dry summer conditions and, in fact, can thrive. Native plants handle our weather best.
11. Rock screes. Rocks never need water, pruning, fertilizer or deadheading to keep their gorgeous look. Rock screes can be as attractive as the gravel and boulders you use and artistically arrange. Then plant sedum and Mediterranean herbs around for an almost water-free botanical masterpiece.
Layering the garden in mulch is just as important as wearing layers during our outside working days as we change from shorts and tank tops on one day to grabbing the coat and gloves the next, when the wind blows across our snow-blanketed mountains and brings cold days to remind us it is still spring.
And please … stay well all!
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Andrew May is a freelance writer and ornamental horticulturist who dreams of having Clallam and Jefferson counties nationally recognized as “Flower Peninsula USA.” Send him questions c/o Peninsula Daily News, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362, or email news@peninsuladailynews.com (subject line: Andrew May).
