Lettuce plant Rain totals have been bad. Farmers in the Central Valley are having trouble. The cost of lettuce is expected to rise significantly. Your grassy lawn in the front yard is going to take a lot of water this summer. And with the third year of a drought, we’re all going to need to cut back on our water use.

Time to change something. Many folks have started what I hope will catch on – the perfect use for the front yard – Front Yard Gardens.

The front yard: not the best place for sunbathing, not enough space for the kids to play soccer, why not plant lettuce? Free food, constructive use of lawn irrigation, some social interaction with your neighbors, and perhaps even a little political commentary – what’s not to like?

Start small – a 3 foot by 5 foot plot with various lettuce plants – it will grow year round, and that small amount should keep even Richard Simmons eating salad. The garden pictured was done as raised beds with a wooden box frame. In my yard, I simply surrounded a tree with stones and added compost.

Unbeknownst to many passers by, I’ve been growing lettuce, basil, spinach and green onions in my front yard for months. Each night, we head out front, pull the largest leaves, and enjoy. And don’t worry about work – keep the bed full of lettuce plants and you won’t need to worry about weeds.

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I’ve spent a lot of timing hiking and photographing in the beautiful countryside in England, Ireland and Scotland.  Besides bad food, there is another major difference between the Bay Area and the UK – IT RAINS over there – a lot.

Here, on the other hand, it doesn’t.  On a good, average year, we’re supposed to get 17 inches of rain; the UK gets more than twice that.  Even the city of Rabat in Morrocco gets more than we do.  So why do we try to create lush English gardens here?  Sure they’re pretty, but our water supply simply cannot support it.  Is it irresponsible to try to force non-native, water-thirsty landscaping in such a dry climate?  

A hundred years ago, the same amount of water rolled off the Eastern slope of the Sierra as it does now; however, nowadays there are a lot more people, lawns, businesses, farms and hydrangeas clamoring for that same water.  

If you want a European garden reference for this climate, instead of England, think Italy, though they even get more water than we do.  We’re more in line with Athens or Madrid for annual rainfall totals.  You don’t see too many lush English gardens in Greece, but you do see beautiful Mediterranean vegetation.  Like the native California Bay-Friendly species, there is a lot to choose from for your garden. 

In the next few weeks of this column, I will bring some examples of landscaping options that are a better fit for our local climate, than the English garden.  Changing out some of those hydrangea and tree ferns baking in the open sun will save you a lot of water and money too.

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Want to save money, save energy, save time and be more comfortable in your home?  It’s a pretty easy sell – install and electronic thermostat.  You can get them at a hardware store for as little as $40, and you can install them in as little as fifteen minutes.  Once you’ve put one in, you’ll be amazed you didn’t replace your old manual thermostat sooner.  

What is it, why would I want it?  It’s a very simple electronic gadget – very simple.  You take your old round manual thermostat off the wall and attach the two wires in your wall to the back of the new electronic thermostat and screw it in place.   Then, you simply program it -

• set the time on the digital clock
• set the temperature you want the house to be at when you wake up, and at what time
• set the time you leave the house in the morning, and at what temperature to leave the house while your gone
• set the time you return in the afternoon or evening, and at what temperature to have the house waiting for you
• set the time you go to bed, and the temperature for the night

Then, the last step is the most important: walk away from your thermostat and never go near it again.  It will take care of turning on and off your furnace – setting the temperature they way you want, and only when you want it – saving you the purchase price very quickly, and saving energy.  Fancier ones will have different programs for different days of the week – program it for a later wake up on the weekends.  

You already have one, good – how about taking a minute to check those numbers:

• Can you lower the temperature a degree during the evening?
• Can you lower it a degree or two at night, or while you’re away during the day?

Even a one degree change will have an impact on your energy savings, and your PG+E bill. 

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The first time you see your electric meter spinning backwards is a very cool moment.  You can read about it, plan for it, fully comprehend it, but seeing your roof generating electricity …

Thought I’d give you a refresher on going solar:

What does it take to install solar panels?  A solar installation company will examine your roof: orientation, shade, composition.  Then they’ll ask for your past year of PGE bills to understand your usage.  From this data, they will calculate how much electricity you could generate and give you options for different sized systems.  

How do you store the electricity?  No, no batteries – just the panels mounted on the roof and a cable running to an inverter, connected to your meter.  During the day, when your panels are producing electricity, your meter will run backwards.  At night, when you turn on your stuff, the meter runs forwards. 

Will my bill be zero?  This depends on the size of the system.  More panels, more electricity, but also, more cost.  The most cost effective solar installation is a small sized system that gets you off the higher tiers on your bill.  You don’t want to over-build your system.  If you produce more power in a year than you use, you’ll just be giving it to the utility for free – they don’t cut you a check.

How much will it cost?  Depends on how big a system you install, but right now the Federal tax credit has increased to 30% of the cost of the system.  If you’re going to stay in your home for ten years, you owe it to yourself to look into this – it will save you money!

http://www.find-solar.org/ – for lists of installers and a great calculator to estimate costs and savings

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