North Center Revitalization Assoc. (NCRA)

The monsoons stormed through once again

Turn off water?

The monsoons stormed through once again, and while some parts of the Valley
received substantial amounts, other areas did not. A rain gauge is a
helpful tool to determine if you have gotten the one-half inch of rain
needed to skip an irrigation cycle. If you don’t have one, there are a
couple of sites that show the rainfall amounts. The National Weather
Service has a site that lists daily precipitation by weather station
locations
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/psr/redirect.php?wfo=psr&pil=phxprecip&date=0&Print
.

And, the Flood Control District of Maricopa County has a map showing
rainfall over the last 24 hours with updates every half-hour. Find it at
http://www.fcd.maricopa.gov/RainfallPHX.htm.

If you did receive at least one-half inch of rain, you can skip an
irrigation cycle. Use the 'off', 'stop' or 'rain' setting on your
controller to stop the watering cycle without disturbing your programs.

Keep an eye on your landscape to determine when you need to turn the
controller back on. Use a soil probe or long screwdriver, and when you
cannot easily slide the probe into the soil, your plants need water again.

If you notice that your plants are greener and brighter looking after the
rains, it's with good reason... and not just because the dust got washed
off. Rainwater contains many beneficial ingredients for your plants, but
thunderstorms provide an added bonus when lightning converts atmospheric
nitrogen into a nitrogen-fertilizer solution. If you are interested in
learning about how you can capture more rainwater to use on your landscape
check out an informative article on rainwater harvesting at
http://www.cityofmesa.org/utilities/conservation/pdf/Harvesting_Rainwater05.pdf