Turf farms cutting back on watering

The water crisis in California continues to reap downfalls, now causing turf-growing companies to cut back on their water usage.

West Coast Turf, a Palm Desert company that implements grass in stadiums throughout California from Dodger Stadium to the Rose Bowl, reduced how much and how frequently water is used on the turf at their Indian Wells farm.

Danielle Scardino, director of marketing and communications at West Coast Turf, informs that it is imperative to water during the early hours of the morning, which is what they carry out on their farms.

Along with West Coast Turf doing their share to preserve water, nearby, “The stadiums are using recycled water. They’re watering at the right times in the morning probably between 5 and 7, so they’re doing their part. Stadiums are no longer power washing their seats and they’re not watering their grass when there is not an event, so the stadiums are taking an active role in saving water.”

New substitutes for lawns are now available as well. Kurapia, imported from Japan, uses anywhere from 50-60% less water.

Scardino also explains, “[Kurapia]has been known to go without irrigation for 56 days. It’s brand new on the market, we’re selling that. We’re also selling a couple new native varieties to save water as well. It’s a ground cover, but it looks a lot like grass, so that’s going on the market.”

Additionally, all-organic turf colorant is available to spray over lawns to increase aesthetic appeal while cutting back on water.

Overall, water preservation still needs improvement.

“In fact, grass doesn’t waste water, people waste water,” Scardino begins. “Last week it was raining and people are watering their lawns still. That’s wasting water. You go down the streets and people are watering their sidewalks.”

Apart from entirely converting lawns from grass, there are still other ways people can budget their water usage, as long as they know how to water responsibly.