Why Trees Die
Have you ever heard of forensic arboriculture? Probably not … but it is a thing! Figuring out why trees die can be a challenge as there are often multiple causes, and the clues may be obscured by time or a deep layer of rock mulch. If you look at enough dead and dying…
5 in 5: Our 5 most read articles in our 5 years!
In celebration of five years of bringing you 505Outside, we’d like to share our most popular articles from the website. 505Outside is your resource for beautiful, desert friendly landscapes. Desert friendly landscapes are resilient, sustainable, enjoyable and…
How to Research and Hire the Right Landscape Contractor for Your Project
Sometimes you need help to create your perfect desert friendly landscape. Many times, this involves hiring a landscape contractor. The Water Utility Authority is committed to helping its customers. Below we share some tips to help you choose a landscape contractor….
Albuquerque Soils
Albuquerque has a variety of soil types. Learning what type of soil is in your yard is a critical step to understanding how water will infiltrate the soil and how long specific plants need to be watered to get the water to the correct depth. VALLEY SOILS Valley soils…
Rain Garden Landscape Type
The Albuquerque metro area has a wide variety of landscape types, which include desert-friendly landscapes, lush pollinator-friendly xeriscapes and wildscapes or prairie plantings where native grasses and wildflowers bring the feel of a prairie to a yard. Rain gardens…
Drip System in Raised Beds or Veggie Rows
Edible garden landscapes need to have dedicated valves so they can be watered more frequently than our average desert-friendly landscapes. These landscapes should not be watered at the same time as the rest of the drip zones. The key to growing the best quality…
Backyard Composting Basics
Why is it important to compost? Between 30 and 50 percent of residential waste could be composted instead of put in a landfill, which would reduce the volume of trash and the production of greenhouse gas. Compost is nature’s way of recycling nutrients by using…
How to Make a More Efficient Turfgrass Landscape in Albuquerque
Typically, a conventional turfgrass yard includes a few large trees and some planting beds for flowers and shrubs around the foundation of the home. This type of yard often has a couple of existing irrigation valves for sprinkler irrigation. A conventional turfgrass…
Steps for Improving Your Irrigation Efficiency
Most irrigation work can be done by the homeowner, except for one component. Tapping into your home’s main water line needs to be done by a licensed contractor to ensure it is completed safely. To help homeowners know how to select and work with a contractor, we have…
Improving Irrigation Efficiency Can Be Affordable!
Does the thought of making changes to your yard seem costly? Can you still get reasonable benefits from just changing a few things instead of your whole yard? Do you feel overwhelmed because you don’t know where to start? Do you feel like you don’t know enough about…