Tips for Summer Gardening in Las Vegas
Our hot summer has arrived, but don’t worry—the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) has some summer landscaping tips to help your garden thrive and survive.
From May 1 through August 31, daily watering is allowed—but you don’t necessarily need to water every day. Try taking a day off watering, and just keep watch to see how your garden responds. Remember that shaded and protected areas may not need daily watering. Mulch is also a great barrier against water evaporation.
While watering is allowed any day, it is prohibited from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. from May 1 until October 1. This helps to reduce the amount of water lost to evaporation and daytime winds. Try to water early in the morning to avoid the evaporating mid-day heat.
Because of our valley’s hard soil, try scheduling sprinklers to water in three short cycles, about one hour apart. The SNWA recommends watering lawns three times a day for four minutes each cycle. This method provides a sufficient amount of water while giving the soil sufficient time to absorb it.
If you find that your lawn has developed a brown spot, zero in on the targeted area instead of increasing the watering time of your whole lawn. Lawns can develop brown spots because of problems in the sprinkler system such as blocked spray patterns, mixed types of sprinkler heads and improper spacing between sprinklers. Check your sprinkler system for broken or misaligned sprinkler heads and drip emitters. Visit snwa.com for more tips.
Summer can be as colorful as spring with beautiful heat and drought resistant plants. Visit the Springs Preserve’s eight-acre garden full of desert friendly plants that will look great in your garden.
A perfect time to visit the Spring Preserve is during any one of these great upcoming events:
Ice Cream Festival
Cool off with sweet treats by the scoopful–and listen to some great live music–as the Springs Preserve hosts its annual all-you-can-eat Ice Cream Festival, Saturday, May 11, beginning at 11 a.m.
Ohana Festival
The inaugural Springs Preserve Ohana Festival is a family-friendly celebration of Hawaiian and Pacific Islander culture, Saturday, May 18 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Visit SpringsPreserve.org or call 822-7700 more information on these and other events, classes, animal shows and exhibits.
