On 5/18/2015 11:32 AM, Norminn wrote [in part]:
My sympathy for drought hardships, but changing the day you work in your
garden? I hope that is the worst that befalls you ) Watering
restrictions (hours, days, no run-off) have been in force in Florida for
years. Clearwater installed an extensive reclaimed water system for
watering lawns years ago. Some areas around Tamps bay also ban sale of
fertilizer during certain months due to run-off polluting Tampa Bay.
There are too many folks who follow the "if a little is good, then a lot
is great" in fertilizer, herbicide, insecticide use; very sad.

The problem is not what day I work in my garden. It is the
micromanaging of my use of water.

Originally, they decreed that I could irrigate only Mondays, Wednesdays,
and Fridays. In a three-week period, that was nine days. Until that
decree, I chose to irrigate every third day. In three weeks, that would
be Monday, Thursday, Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday, Tuesday, Friday, and
(in the fourth week) Monday again. That would be only seven days. That
is correct, their decree meant I could actually irrigate two extra days
in a three-week period. I applied for a waiver to continue using less
water. They rejected my request because it would make monitoring
irrigation across the community too complicated.

We are already irrigating parks, school playfields, golf courses,
landscaped street medians, and other large scale areas with reclaimed
water. Individual gardens are not included because amateurs such as me
might accidentally cross-connect reclaimed water lines with potable
water lines.

I generally feed my garden only once a year, in the spring. Fertilizer
promotes plant growth that requires additional water. With water bills
exceeding the sum of all other utility costs -- electricity, natural
gas, and phone -- before restrictions went into force, I could not
afford to have my garden develop excess foliage. Even with a 19%
reduction in water use compared with two years ago, my water bills are
still close to the sum of the other utilities.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary