Maintenance Tips
Low-maintenance landscapes are great, but there’s no such thing as a “no-maintenance” irrigation system. A single broken sprinkler head flowing at 15 gallons per minute will waste 900 gallons in one hour of use. So service your system regularly, and check it often for leaks and malfunctions.
Irrigation Maintenance Checklist for the Greater Albuquerque Area
With drought conditions predicted to continue for the foreseeable future, we’re likely to water more often this spring and summer. Make every drop count – and keep us on track to meet our conservation goals – by performing routine maintenance to maximize your...
November is for Sheltering
Just as we take shelter when the weather turns colder, so do your plants. This time of year, plants store most of their nutrients in the roots and find shelter in the ground. We can support this transition to help plants thrive during the entire winter season. Also,...
Don’t Jump to Conclusions when Diagnosing Tree Problems
We love our trees. Trees have a cooling effect in our yards by providing shade and they increase property value. When our trees do not “look good,” we try to help them, but when that one “magic” application does not solve the issue, we are often discouraged. A proper...
Reduce your watering this autumn
September days can have widely varying temperatures, with some days getting into the 90s, but we can count on nights being longer and cooler. This means that plants do not need to be watered as often. Ramping down how often you water your yard is a great way to save...
How should I adjust my irrigation as my woody plants get larger?
The amount of water needed and where that water should be applied changes as woody plants (such as trees, shrubs and vines) get larger. Woody plant material has two types of roots, stabilizing roots and feeder roots. Both types of roots do just what their...
Three Ways to Water Established Trees
Trees are incredibly valuable and provide a wide array of benefits, from increasing home values to improving mental health. Unfortunately, Albuquerque has suffered large losses of trees in the past decade. It’s more important now than ever to take care of your...
Spring Lawn Best Practices
Do you want to walk barefoot across cool, soft grass? Especially on those hot summer days? We’d love for you to do that! We also want you to take care of your lawn in a healthy way that saves the most water. One might assume that proper lawn care begins in the spring...
Soil Searching: To Amend or Not to Amend?
Shredded woodchip mulch helps soil hold moisture and insulates plant roots on a frosty November morning. Photo credit M. Thompson. One of the most frequent questions we get at NMSU Extension is, “Should I add fertilizer or amendments to the soil when planting?” The...
Help, my trees need pruning!
The winter is best time of year to prune trees. The Water Authority recommends hiring an arborist to prune them because arborists specialize in the care of individual trees. They are knowledgeable about the needs of trees and are trained and equipped to provide...
Leave those leaves.
Some of our best landscaping practices can be learned from Mother Nature. Every autumn, leaves fall to the ground, sheltering the soil and beneficial organisms, returning organic matter back to the ground, and perpetuating the nutrient cycling essential for good plant...
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Contact Information
Water Conservation Program
P.O. Box 568
Albuquerque, NM 87103-0568
505-842-WATR Option 4
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P.O. Box 568
Albuquerque, NM 87103-0568
505-842-WATR