Although grass lawns can add charm and character to your home, grass can also be water-intensive to grow and maintain. Drought-tolerant alternatives to grass lawns provide the aesthetic benefits of vegetation, without comprising on water efficiency.  

Start out with the right seed or sod 

• For species that need less water than traditional turf varieties: 

• Do some research before you decide what grass species to plant. See the list inside, and this helpful publication from the University of California on Turfgrass Species. Choose a mixture of grasses suited to your climate and the conditions in your yard. 
• When installing sod, be sure to choose sod that has been propagated in conditions similar to your own. 
• Consider having your soil professionally tested so you can choose grass that matches your soil’s texture, pH, and salt and nutrient levels. 

Prepare the soil before you plant 

• Don’t work the soil when it is very wet. You can damage its structure. 

• Break up all dirt clods into fine particles and remove pebbles and stones. 
• Thoroughly mix soil layers of different textures, down to at least six to eight inches, before planting. Poor soil preparation can cause poor drainage and weaken the turf. 
• Check for low spots by irrigating. Smooth out or fill in areas where you see puddles (very important if you are seeding a lawn). 

Water a new lawn with care 

• Until grass becomes established, keep the soil in your newly planted lawn thoroughly moist, but not too moist. Too much water can wash away seeds or drown young plants. 

Restoring a Lawn to Health 

A healthy lawn needs air, water, and nutrients reaching the roots. An old or neglected lawn, or one that gets heavy use, may have a thick layer of thatch, or the soil may be compacted so that roots cannot grow well. 

Give it Air! 

A lawn’s root system needs air to grow and grow deep into the soil. If you can’t push a screwdriver five or six inches into the soil, or if water pools on the surface, you should aerate your lawn. Areas where there is heavy foot traffic or where grass looks thin are good places to check. 

• Use a hollow-tined aerator that removes plugs of soil. Aerators can be foot-operated or motorized and rented from hardware stores or borrowed from tool libraries. 

• For best results, aerate during your lawn’s strong growing season. 
• The day before you aerate, water the lawn until the soil is moist five to six inches deep. This will help you push the aerator deeper. 
• Leave the plugs on the lawn. When they have dried out, break them up with a rake. 

Removing thatch 

Thatch is a matted layer of living and dead grass stems and roots that can build up between the green blades and the soil surface. A half-inch of thatch can help your lawn retain moisture and block weeds, but a thicker layer can keep air and water from reaching the roots. If your lawn has a bouncy feel when you walk on it, thatch is probably building up. Aeration can help with thatch. 

• Thatch is less likely to build up in a healthy lawn on biologically active soil. This is another good reason not to use lawn chemicals that can destroy soil organisms! 
• The best time to remove thatch is during the active growing season, when grass will recover more easily. 
• Before you de-thatch, mow the lawn a little closer than usual. If the lawn is very dry, water thoroughly the day before. 
• If your lawn has a thicker thatch layer than aeration can handle, you may need to de-thatch with a special thatching rake or a “vertical mower” (which you can rent). 
• Water well after de-thatching; aerate if necessary; and throw away thatch in your green waste bin. 

Find more information on planting a healthy, drought-tolerant lawn in our OWOW brochures in English and Spanish.  

The City of Goleta along with the Cities of Buellton, Carpinteria, Solvang, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, and the County of Santa Barbara have partnered with the OWOW organization to promote the use of less-toxic products in an effort to reduce pesticide pollution in our communities. By reducing pesticide use and the use of less-toxic products around the home, you can help reduce pesticides and other pollutants such as herbicides and fertilizers from being picked up while watering or when it rains and transported to the nearest storm drain inlet and into our waterways. The OWOW website is a great resource for finding less-toxic products to use around your home or garden. 

The growing popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) has resulted in new tools, new research, and incentives to help you make the switch to an EV. The last quarter of 2022 saw record-breaking market growth for EVs, and in California EV sales were up 52% over the previous year’s Q4 sales. According to the non-profit Veloz, consumers are adopting EVs more often as additional makes and models are released and charging infrastructure and incentive programs are expanding. EVs provide a lower total cost of ownership and have environmental benefits such as reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Unfortunately, the high initial purchase cost can create a barrier for many looking to switch to EVs.

With affordability in mind, there are a number of incentives available to help lower the purchase price of an EV. Buyers can also personalize incentives based on where they live. Some of these incentives include:

• Federal Alternative Fuel Infrastructure tax credit – up to $1,000 for the purchase of qualifying residential fueling equipment.
• Federal tax credit – up to $7,500 for the purchase or lease of a new, qualifying plug-in EV.
• Federal Used Clean Vehicle Credit – up to $4,000 if you buy a qualified used EV or fuel cell vehicle.
• California Clean Vehicle Rebate – $1,000-$7,500 for the purchase or lease of qualifying vehicles.

To learn more about these opportunities, and other incentives offered by Southern California Edison (SCE) visit SCE’s Website.

SCE isn’t the only organization ramping up EV incentives and resources. Community Environmental Council (CEC) recently launched  Electric Vehicles (EVs) for Everyone/EVs Para Todos, a free service offered in Spanish and English that helps low-to-moderate income households switch to driving electric.

EVs For Everyone enables individuals to select an EV that aligns with their needs and to take advantage of the many benefits that come with driving electric.

This program provides bilingual guidance and resources to support informed decisions about purchasing an EV. CEC offers personalized advice to help you find the right vehicle for your needs and budget and can connect you with financing options and incentives to help make your purchase more affordable.

To learn more and to sign up for the program, visit the EVs For Everyone website at https://evsforeveryone.org/.

See the list below for even more cost saving tools to help make an EV the right choice for you:

• Community Choice Energy’s Electrify Your Ride program
• Choose EV EV Savings Calculator
• California Vehicle Savings Calculator
• Department of Energy Vehicle Cost Calculator
• Electric Car Savings Calculator
• Charge VC Electric Vehicle Savings Calculator
• California Air Resources Board Cost and mileage calculators