WATERING THIS WEEK and ALTERNATIVE WATER SOURCES.

Humm, the William Morris golf course registered 2.38" in the past week.  I don't think we has as much rain in our hood as they received out at the golf course. My gauge registered 1/2" which is just about what we needed this week to sustain the lawn and plants. I've seen some lawns shoot up new growth around town so some places definitely had some good rainfall.  Based on your rain gauge reading and the 20-50% chance of rain this weekend, you may choose to SKIP watering this week.  Skipping irrigation when unnecessary, not only saves potable water, it also allows the natural bacteria, fungi, and biological processes to take over after a good "feeding" from natural RAINFALL. Wonder why the grass responds so well to RAINFALL and just limps along on CHLORINATED CITY WATER? RAINFALL contains Nitric acid ( aka fixed nitrogen ) and some dissolved oxygen which can "aerate" the soil and feed bacteria. CITY WATER contains, chlorine which can kill bacteria and fluoride. Now you know why grass never gets cavities. The best water for plants and lawn in order of BEST to WORST. RAINFALL LAKEWATER ( untreated, lots of dissolved nitorgen great for plants ) RECLAIMED WATER ( limited access in Austin, typically commercial sites and golf courses.) RAIN WATER ( harvested in barrels, use within 1 week or it will become oxygen deprived.) WELL WATER ( may contain high mineral content, sulfur,etc. )  POTABLE CITY WATER ( chlorine, fluoride, etc ) I dumped all my rain barrels in anticipation of a good rain this weekend. Best place to store your excess water is in the soil profile. Free up that barrel space for the next rain and "pre-charge" the soil before the next rain and don't let that water go anaerobic.

Watering recommendation for "CougarCare Central Austin" for the past 7 days:0.48 inches* Date ETo Max Temperature Min Temperature Min Humidity Total Rainfall 09-03-2014 0.22 95 76 32 0 09-04-2014 0.16 92 76 43 0.75 09-05-2014 0.19 94 75 38 0.22 09-06-2014 0.2 94 74 39 1.25 09-07-2014 0.15 86 73 59 0.15 09-08-2014 0.19 92 72 42 0 09-09-2014 0.22 93 75 40 0 NOTE: These reported values are hourly averages, not absolute highs and lows. *Recommendations based on the following parameters (assuming no rainfall): Adjust this watering recommendation for any rainfall that you have received during this time period. TexasET Weather Station : Austin (Morris Williams) Plant Coefficient : Warm Season Adjustment factor : Normal

This information is provided by the "Irrigation Technology Program" under the direction of Dr. Guy Fipps. If you would like to discontinue service please click on the link above to log into your TexasET profile. To discontinue service for only this station select "modify" from your site list and delete the site. To discontinue all TexasET emails select "Modify your user profile" and uncheck "Receive watering recommendations by email".

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