Watering Recommendations

Set your irrigation timer by season

Winter

Summer

Spring

Fall

Tips for your irrigation settings

How to Propagate Cacti

Propagating cacti is as easy as one, two, three. Remove a pad from an existing cactus. Heavy gloves are your friends. For Cholla, use tongs to grab a stalk. 2. Set cuttings out to dry until the fresh ends of the cut callus over, which is usually in a week or two. 3....

Local Desert Friendly Landscapes Reveal

Congrats to the ten winners of our first annual Water Authority Desert Friendly Landscape Contest! Thank you for sharing your beautiful gardens with us. They will be an inspiration for others to make the switch to desert-friendly landscapes. A transformation from an...

Black Dalea, Dalea frutescens

Type: Deciduous shrub Exposure: Full Sun Water Use: Low Mature Size: 2’ x 4’ This low-growing native shrub is an excellent choice for compact spaces in the desert- friendly garden. The texture of its soft fern-like leaves contrasts well against desert accent plants....

Easy Edible Plants for First-Time Growers

One hundred years ago, almost every house with a yard had a vegetable garden. This was before the era of mass-produced, well-traveled foods readily available in the big grocery stores. People grew these gardens out of necessity. The whole family joined in, breathing...

Maintaining and cleaning spray nozzles

It’s irrigation season. If you have a grass lawn with spray heads, it’s time to check out your system to make sure it is running smoothly. Run a one-minute test program on the controller and visually examine each zone. Look for broken, leaning, or clogged sprinkler...

DIY a Hose Watering System

The most efficient way to water your yard is by using an automatic system. Hand watering can be problematic because it can lead to inconsistent watering, causing you to overwater, underwater, or forget to water altogether. If you are ready to invest in a more...

Knowing Your Watering Depth is Key to Growing Healthy Plants

The most important part of watering is figuring out how deep you need to water your plants. Once you figure that out, you can easily follow our chart that tells you how often to water. Here are six simple steps to figuring out your watering depth: Step...

8 Steps to Planting a Healthy Plant

With spring fast approaching and many homeowners heading out to local plant nurseries, we want to remind you how to plant for a healthy plant. Choosing the right plant for the right place is the most important consideration. Once you’ve selected the perfect...

Pro tips for designing your spray system

Since the Albuquerque area receives about 9” of rain on average per year and grass lawns can use up to 50” of water per year, the proper design of an irrigation system for a grass lawn is of utmost importance when it comes to water efficiency. Irrigation efficiency...

Climate Ready Landscapes!

We are living in a time when our climate is going through rapid changes. Winter days have gotten warmer, and very cold nights are decreasing in number. The decrease in snowpack and early snowmelt that volatilizes before it soaks into the soil are creating drier...

How to convert your existing spray irrigation system to drip!

Typical Spray Irrigation system One of the biggest obstacles holding homeowners back from removing their high-water turfgrass and installing xeriscape is believing that setting up the irrigation system is difficult. Luckily, it is not as hard as you may think. If you...

As our drought continues, here is how to care for your landscape this winter season.

So far this winter season precipitation has been 30% below normal for New Mexico. According to the National Weather Service statewide average day temperatures are 56.6 degrees, which is 2.1 degrees above the normal of 54.5. With that said, we are starting out the...

Make getting a Xeriscape rebate your New Year’s resolution!

The desert friendly xeriscape conversion incentive rebate has been around since the early ’90s and is still going strong. Millions of square feet of thirsty lawns have been converted to healthy xeriscapes that save billions of gallons of water. Although the xeriscape...

Watering in winter

Baby, it’s cold outside. Or is it? How do you water during the cold and dry winter season? The weather predictions are in, and we are headed into a very dry La Niña winter season. This means we need to water our plants this winter in order to keep them healthy. Due to...

The water conservation gift that keeps on giving

What is a smart irrigation controller and why would you want one as a gift? The Water Authority’s irrigation efficiency specialist Richard Perce says, “While an irrigation controller is a must for your landscape, a smart controller adjusts your watering based on...

Compost del Rio Grande

In 1988, the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority’s started a composting facility for biosolids produced. 505Outside recently visited the Soil Amendment Facility to check out the “Compost Del Rio Grande.” Water Authority compost is unlike any other in...

November is for protecting your irrigation system

During this time of year, plants store most of their nutrients in the roots and find shelter in the ground. Also, this is the time of year to winterize your irrigation system. To avoid damage to your irrigation system we recommend setting it to the OFF position. Since...

Types of Mulches

Mulch is any material laid on the surface of the soil to improve growing conditions. Mulch insulates plant roots from both heat and cold, reducing moisture loss from the soil by evaporation, feeding beneficial soil microorganisms that enhance plant growth, and...

Frontier Elm, Ulmus ‘frontier’

Exposure: Full Sun Water: Medium Height and Spread: H 40' X W 30' Fall Color: Reddish Purple The Siberian elm tree, the quintessential tree in Albuquerque, was originally introduced by Mayor Clyde Tingley. It is a beautiful tree that’s almost...

The Life Expectancy of an Irrigation System

While a subsurface drip irrigation system can last from twelve to fifteen years, especially if it is maintained well, some of the system’s components may need to be replaced or repaired through the years. A controller, for example, is subject to UV degradation if it...

How to make a Tree Watering System for your established and mature trees

Albuquerque ranks third, after New Orleans and Houston, among cities with tree loss. Our trees are dying because they aren’t being watered properly or at all. How should we water established and mature trees? To address this problem a landscape architect and a...

Learn How to Harvest Rainwater in Your Yard

Do you want to learn how to harvest rainwater to support a beautiful, regionally adapted, low -water-use landscape in your yard? A new video series launched in June provides instruction on how to design, install, and maintain residential-scale, passive rainwater...

Plant these this Fall

Fall can be a great time to plant, especially if you are planting higher elevation and temperate climate plants that are adapted to cooler, more humid growing conditions. In the fall, the soil is still warm enough to encourage roots to develop so watering properly...

Yes, you can afford an irrigation system

Did you know that half of Albuquerque homeowners do not have an irrigation system? We’ve been talking to hundreds of homeowners, and it turns out that the reason they haven’t installed one in their yard is they think an irrigation system for a typical lot (1/8 acre or...

Xeriscape not Zeroscape: Water-conscious landscaping can be luscious and beautiful.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — By and large, New Mexican homeowners are getting the all-important message of the arid Southwest: Water is precious, and not to be wasted. But local experts say an important piece of the story is still often lost when it comes to landscaping:...

Vegetable and Herb Gardening in Small Spaces

Growing vegetables and herbs at home in small spaces can be easy, fun, rewarding and not expensive. Here are some tips for anyone from first timer to a pro. Start small with a raised bed, good-sized pots or containers or a small plot of ground. Good soil is the key in...

Best Practices For Watering Your Plants with a Hose and with a Drip Irrigation System

June, July and August are the hottest months for Albuquerque. Our current drought intensifies the heat stress of plants even more because there is lower soil moisture content and higher than normal ET from plants (plants losing more water due to EvapoTranspiration)....

Watering to Establish New Plantings.

Irrigation is essential to give plants a healthy start, so they become well-rooted in the landscape. A great way to find out the water needs of individual plants is by checking out the ABCWUA Xeriscape Guide and then follow the seasonal watering recommendations. When...

Backyard Refuges for People and Wildlife

Building a refuge for wildlife in our yards is a way to nurture habitat on a personal scale and actively care for our wild neighbors. By intentionally creating spaces we can share with other urban species, Albuquerque can be a refuge for both people and wildlife....

Use Drip Irrigation for your Trees and Shrubs!

Drip irrigation systems play an important role in desert-friendly xeriscapes. When properly designed, installed and managed, drip irrigation efficiently maintains the optimal range of moisture in the soil. It applies water in precise quantities, to the right depth and...