Desert Gardening (Cont'd), April 19, 2008 Raccasi said. Drip watering The Hulers noticed a big change when they moved to Utah from the Midwest. "We never had to worry about droughts out there," said Betsi Huler. Now they're redesigning their landscape and working to rid themselves of high water bills. There are ways to reduce the amount of water used and wasted without a major makeover. The obvious one is to stop overwatering. Most water districts recommend never watering between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., to avoid evaporation as well as stopping your watering cycles during rainstorms. "Pay attention to your sprinkler systems. Your heads are they spraying the right direction and are they working properly?" Barnett said. There's no need to water in April, Barnett said. And adjust the sprinkler times through the entire season. May doesn't need nearly as much as August. It's about conditioning the plants to the water. "Let's say I'm watering from the very beginning of the season so many times a week and so much amount of water," Barnett said. "Then, once I get to July or August, they're wanting that much water and maybe more. "But if I start out with less and give plants water on an as-needed basis, they adapt to that and will actually use less water in the middle of summer." Drip systems instead of traditional sprinklers will lower your usage and put the water straight into the soil. And add mulch around plants to help retain moisture in the soil. To fertilize or not Should you fertilize? There's been a debate within the environmental community about whether fertilizers are bad. "But you do need them," Matsukawa said. "A lot of fertilizers are not necessarily a bad thing to use. "What happens a lot of times, though, homeowners and very often our municipals overuse them." Excess fertilizer washes off the lawn and into the storm drain. Matsukawa said there's also the mentality that if some is good, more is better. "It can damage your plants," Matsukawa said. "More often though, it leaches out in the water and isn't used." You can reduce the amount of fertilizer needed by mulching your grass clippings, she said. The clippings will put beneficial nitrogen back into the soil. Plants can also be layered with organic compost. It's all part of that process of lowering your carbon footprint on the world. Trees can help reduce your carbon footprint Trees. They're great for I birds, tire swings and reducing your energy costs and your carbon footprint. Shading Having a home that has adequate shading from the sun reduces the burden on that energy-sucking air conditioner. But it's not as simple as sticking a tree by the house. It must be properly placed. "Trees that are fairly close to the southwest side of the house help the most for shading," said Michael Kuhns, Extension Forestry Specialist at Utah State University in Logan. "Because those (trees) are casting a big shadow over the house at the time of day when the air temperatures are the hottest. "It can't be 40 feet away, unless it's really tall, if it's going to cast a shadow." Evaporative cooling The large canopy of a tree creates cooling by transpiration and evaporation of water in the leaves. "Just like we perspire and the perspiration cools us off, same thing happens with any plant," Kuhns said. So, the air temperature is naturally cooler under a tree. "It's not just the fact that you're in the shade that makes you feel cooler when you're under a tree," said Kuhns. Wind protection Cold winds penetrate a house through a variety of cracks and holes, but trees and shrubs can provide a defense. You just need to know where the winds come from. "So if you live near a canyon mouth and the canyon is east of you, the winds are going to drain out of that canyon and blow to the west," Kuhns said. "Well, if you have your trees and shrubs on west side of your house you're protecting your neighbor and not you." Pollutants Trees serve as a filter for the air. "They have pores on their leaves that take in gases and give out gases and some fine particulates can be taken out of the air," Kuhns said. Brad Gillman 42