Waterwise Gardening

Whether home gardeners want to conserve water for ecological or purely monetary reasons, each is becoming more acutely aware that water is an increasingly scarce and expensive resource. This volume will be the first to actually give scientific guidance on how much to water, with what methods, and when.

The EPA estimates that home gardeners waste 50% of the water they use, without a good understanding of how much water their plants need. Richard Restuccia will fix that, showing readers how to achieve truly lush, beautiful, and bountiful gardens using less water than they would have ever imagined. By knowing the land, using simple technology like smart controllers that automatically adjust irrigation daily based on current weather and soil moisture (meaning the water savings pays for the controller within just a few months), understanding the provided charts of scientific water requirements for species as well as a guide of how to determine if a plant is suffering from overwatering, readers will benefit as Restuccia brings together all the information home gardeners usually have to go hunting for across various sources and websites. With specific plant recommendations to cover both temperate regions of the US and drier regions, including the Southwest and Southern California, this hardworking manual will become a valuable reference for home gardeners, saving them time performing menial tasks in the yard, money on replacing plants, and, of course, 30 to 50% off their water bills.

About the Author

La Jolla, California-based Richard Restuccia has been associated with the green industry for over 22 years, currently as Vice President of Water Management Solutions at Jain Irrigation. He has served on the Irrigation Association's Board of Directors and has consulted with many private companies and public agencies concerning water management. Before Jain, Richard held the Director of Water Management Solutions position at ValleyCrest Companies, the most prominent landscape contractor in the United States. Before ValleyCrest, Richard worked for ten years for Rain Bird Corporation. He is a regular presenter at conferences like the California Green Technology, WaterSmart Innovations, Irrigation Association, the National Facility Management and Technology, ASLA, and Urban Sustainability Conferences on subjects concerning how contractors can help their customers save water and money, as well as how to use social media to influence water conservation.

Richard has published articles in Common Ground, and Landscape Management magazines concerning efficient irrigation. In 2014 Richard was recognized with a Leadership in Landscape Award. and in 2013 earned an award of merit from the Turf and Ornamental Communicator's Association. He also started the Jain Irrigation Training Series, which has educated over 200,000 people on sustainable irrigation practices. Richard is also a Master Gardener himself.