Where is the carrot?

Rob Davis wrote an interesting article in the Voice...."With Water Cuts Near, Freeways Still Get Showered"

In the article he discusses CalTrans use of water on freeways to keep plants green on our roadsides. Here are a few interesting take aways from the article:

• 635 Million Gallons are used to keep freeway shoulders green
• 75% of roadside sprinklers do NOT have smart irrigation systems
• Commercial customers pay $0.003 (less than half of a cent) per gallon of water
• There is no financial incentive for commercial customers to conserve
• Residential customers pay more for water as they use more (incentive to conserve)

Here is a link to article: LINK

Native Plant Benefits

Below is a link to an article discussing a few of the benefits to using native plants. As you read this article think about how these benefits affect the amount of required fertilizer and pesticides...

LINK

Canyon Watch Dogs

Check out this article I saw in the UT today. LINK

This group, an outgrowth of Sierra Club, has been planting native scrubs in local canyons....

From I Love A Clean San Diego...Native Plants!!!

4. CALIFORNIA'S NATIVE PLANTS HELP SAVE WATER AND REDUCE POLLUTION!
By Lana Findlay, ILACSD's Education Assistant

October's Santa Ana winds were a blaring reminder that San Diego is located in an arid environment. Combine this with the current drought conditions we are facing and that means we have little water to waste! A typical San Diego household uses 70 percent of its daily water use in outdoor landscaping, as lawns generally use four times more water than water-wise plantings. A great solution is to get rid of that water hogging lawn and landscape with California friendly low water plants. San Diego's native plants are drought tolerant and require less fertilizers and pesticides because they are already adapted to our lack of rainfall, our soils and our pests! Using less fertilizers and pesticides means less pollution down our storm drain systems, leading to less pollution in our streams and ocean.
Ugh, native plants! I can hear you groaning, but when planting a native plant garden you don't have to give up on color. Many of our native plants have brilliant flowers in spring, eye catching red berries in the winter and some have colorful blooms year round.
The flagship of the Chaparral is the beautiful Ceanothus or the California Lilac. Available in many varieties, this low maintenance plant provides deep blue, fragrant flower clusters, is evergreen and very drought tolerant.
Looking to attract hummingbirds to your garden? The bright red flower of the California Fuschia or the light blue flower whorls of the Black Sage will bring the nectar loving hummers to your backyard. The California Fuschia provides color to your garden in late summer and fall during our toughest drought conditions. Black Sage blooms in Spring but its fragrant, evergreen leaves carry a beautiful scent all year long.
For flowers that bloom in winter, try the white to pink beauties on the Howard McMinn Manzanita. This plant attracts butterflies, hummingbirds and native insects to your garden. Another interesting plant with large white papier-mache flowers and a yellow center is the Matilija poppy. This flower looks like a sunny-side up egg! It likes sandy soils and survives on less than 30 inches of rain a year!
The City of San Diego Water Department and The Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College host classes (some at no charge!) to help San Diego gardeners be water wise while designing colorful and healthy looking landscapes. Visit http://www.sandiego.gov/water/conservation/waterwiseclasses.shtml and http://www.thegarden.org/calendar/index.php for more information!
Be water wise and re-think the traditional landscape!

Dave Yapo comes to Surfrider to talk about Composting

STEP IT UP - Living Green
Change is new, challenging and tough to do when current habits are lifelong, comfortable and easy.
What’s your deal!
...Take it personal!
Make permanent behavior change!
~YAPO
Reconnect the Food Cycle by Food Recycling
1. Put all food scraps except meats and oils into a holding bin
2. Divvy up scraps into worm bins, compost bin
a. I put my "premium scraps" into worm bins, no capsaicin or acidic stuff
3. Put equal parts Greens to Browns when adding to the compost bin
4. Put equal parts Greens to Browns/newspaper when feeding worm bin
5. Turn compost bin as needed
6. Keep compost bin and worm bins moist
7. Save $$ not buying Bags O’Dirt, Fertilizer...
8. Reduce Methane Gas production & Save our Top Soil – Plants - Life
What YAPO does...
1. Turn compost bin every 2, 3 months
2. Going out of town, feed worms extra. (Fine for 2, 3 weeks max.)
3. Harvest a couple 40 lb bags of "alive top soil" a few times a year
4. Harvest enough worm tea, castings to feed my plants all year
5. Self monitor, no one is looking over your shoulder but yourself
6. Gracefully remind the forgetful and accept reminders with gratitude
a. We’re all on the same team, even those not yet aware.
7. Advocate/Ask/Answer Food Recycling questions with Pride/Passion.
Life is more fragile today than ever before.
The journey of life IS the destination.
Take ACTION on your living green words.
Do your part ...For LIFE!
~YAPO
Reconnect the Food Cycle by Food Recycling