Willows Water Update: An agreement to enter the Willows Water Budget Program has been finalized and signed. The HOA faced challenges complying with the current two-day-per-week watering restrictions due to the need to irrigate large common areas throughout the community. The Willows Water Budget Program is a water management tool designed to provide large, non-residential irrigation customers with greater flexibility in how they use water while still achieving overall water-use reduction goals through October 31, 2026.
Under the program, the HOA is required to reduce overall water consumption by 20% across all ten irrigation taps collectively, rather than meeting reduction targets on each individual tap. This approach gives Water Ketch greater flexibility to manage irrigation throughout the community, allowing them to prioritize watering in higher-need areas while reducing irrigation in lower-priority locations.
The program will help the HOA maintain the health and appearance of the landscape while continuing to meet the district’s water conservation objectives.
Terrified of the return of Japanese Beetles??
Here are some suggestions for dealing with them!! Manual labor: “Take a bucket of soapy water and just pick ‘em off.” Plant wild roses instead of domesticated varieties that the beetles love. If you have a small property, be wary of
pheromone traps which can draw hordes of bugs and turn your garden into a feeding ground.
Aaand … don’t expect miracles. Japanese beetles can eat 300 varieties of plants and they
don’t have any predators here.
July Gardening Tips for Flowers, Ground Covers, Perennials, and Ornamental Grasses
Continue to deadhead and weed regularly. Monitor all your plants for early signs of disease or pest infestation. Divide bearded irises.
Keep your turf healthy
Turf areas can become weedy unless you are diligent about good watering, and mowing. If you have a sprinkler system, make sure the heads are properly operating and are providing adequate coverage. Sometimes heads can get out of alignment, become clogged or even possibly be broken. Water deeply and infrequently which will stimulate root growth. Check turf for signs of dryness especially on south or west facing slopes and increase watering in these areas.
Mow the lawn no less than 2-21/2’ in height, never cutting more than one-third of the growth.
Keeping your lawn mower blades regularly sharpened (about once a month) avoids ragged cutting, which also increases moisture loss and stress. Hardware stores, like the Big Tool box, provide this service.
Broadleaf Weed Control
The best control is to maintain healthy turf as mentioned above, but if weeds appear, treat only individual plants or weed infested spots with chemicals. Liquid spot treatments generally are more effective than ‘weed and feed’ type applications.
Use herbicides when temperatures are between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not apply when temperatures are expected to rise above 85 degrees within 48 hours of application. To minimize the danger of herbicide drift, spray weeds during a calm part of the day when there’s little or no wind. Don’t apply when rain is expected within 24 hours of application and avoid watering for 24 hours after application.
Snakes
Depending on where you live, you can expect to see snakes in Colorado. The good news is that out of more than twenty snakes found here, only two are poisonous. (They have rattles.) We do not have rattle snakes in Homestead!! To deter snakes from your garden, try to limit places where they take shelter or rest. Trim tall grass, clear tall weeds and brush get rid of rock piles and stacks of firewood.
Also, limit their food supply, mainly insects and rodents. Keep in mind that bird feeders and pet food attract rodents. If you feed pets outside, pick up pet dishes as soon as the pets have finished eating! Use bird feeders only in the cold weather when they have trouble finding food.