got a letter from the landlord, about watering

[Zoe Girl]

Sigh, I am mostly irritated by this. I got a letter in the mail from the landlord (mind you we communicate by text and email all the time) about making sure I water the lawn. We are on drought restrictions so I only have 2 days a week I can water and I have only forgotten the back yard once. Watering takes an hour or 2 with moving around the sprinklers and I usually spray on the organic boost stuff before hand. However this yard and soil is pretty burnt out. Last year I fertilized and watered the back all the time and it showed no improvement, basically a weedy mess, So i am adding more garden spaces with her permission to at least build up the soil and then re-seed when I move. The front is alive but looks dry honestly. I haven't done much with fertilizing this year I realize, always short on time. No worse than any of the parks in the area.

Just irritating ya know, she has wanted this beautiful lawn since I moved in and that is one reason she rented to me with a foreclosure, but there are limits to what you can create in a high desert and with no sprinkler system. I

[Float On]

Who pays the water bill?
That would really bug me if I were a renter in a high desert area. High desert shouldn't have lush green yards. I don't water or fertilize my yard - I know I live on a glade (similar to desert). I really enjoy my rock ledges, rock walls, natural cactus. Everytime another patch goes dry I either play up the rock or add a raised bed. The goal is to eventually just have a lot of paths and nothing to mow. I've been very irritated the last couple weeks because they were working on our well and sent letters around warning of low water pressure and to not water lawns.....and everytime I went to town I'd see all the neighbors with their sprinklers going trying to get those lush green golf club looking lawns. Apparently the letter didn't mean a hill of beans to most of them.

[Miss Cellane]

Zoe, what does your lease say about the grass?

It seems to me that if the landlord wants lush, green grass, she should be paying for it. Certainly she should be paying for any fertilizer, not you.

I'd keep a log of all the watering you do. Just in a Word doc.

"Monday, 6/24. Watered back yard for 2 hours. Used organic boost fertilizer beforehand.

Thursday, 6/27. Watered front yard for 1 hour and back yard for 1 hour. "

If there are set days of the week you are allowed to water, put that in the log as well. "Current water restrictions allow watering lawns on Mondays and Thursdays only. "

Then, whenever the landlord complains, show her the log. Tell her that you are doing all you can. You would be happy to apply fertilizer or other growth products *that she buys*, but right now, the grass is as green as it is going to get, given the previous state of the lawn and current watering restrictions.

Or get pro-active (I really like getting pro-active, instead of re-active, with landlords) and email her the log every week or two.

Odd that she is so focused on the lawn, but won't let you fix the chewed off door in the basement.

[sweetana3]

And was it just a reminder to a tenant? Was there more to the letter? I would not get stressed about it. Send her the notes on what you are doing to CYA but this is not something that should affect your tenancy unless there is a whole lot more to the story than this.

[SteveinMN]

Tell her that you are doing all you can. You would be happy to apply fertilizer or other growth products *that she buys*
The disadvantage to that is that if the landlord is so dead set on a lawn monoculture, she doesn't really care what makes the lawn green. She may very well provide ZG with high-nitrogen fertilizer -- whatever's cheapest at the store -- that boosts the green but doesn't last very long or just plain isn't right for the soil there. ZG mentioned using "organic boost", which tells me she cares about what ends up on the ground.

[creaker]

Zoe, what does your lease say about the grass?

It seems to me that if the landlord wants lush, green grass, she should be paying for it. Certainly she should be paying for any fertilizer, not you.

I'd keep a log of all the watering you do. Just in a Word doc.

"Monday, 6/24. Watered back yard for 2 hours. Used organic boost fertilizer beforehand.

Thursday, 6/27. Watered front yard for 1 hour and back yard for 1 hour. "

If there are set days of the week you are allowed to water, put that in the log as well. "Current water restrictions allow watering lawns on Mondays and Thursdays only. "

Then, whenever the landlord complains, show her the log. Tell her that you are doing all you can. You would be happy to apply fertilizer or other growth products *that she buys*, but right now, the grass is as green as it is going to get, given the previous state of the lawn and current watering restrictions.

Or get pro-active (I really like getting pro-active, instead of re-active, with landlords) and email her the log every week or two.

Odd that she is so focused on the lawn, but won't let you fix the chewed off door in the basement.

Definitely - document.

[Florence]

Can you discuss with your landlord a landscape that is more appropriate to the climate, one that would require little if any watering?

[dmc]

I would be very careful about irritating the landlord. You have a foreclosure and now a bankruptcy on your credit report. If the landlord wanted to boot you at the end of your lease, your options may be limited.

[Zoe Girl]

Thank you all, I am keeping track of what I am dong with the lawn, I think that they all just look crispy here in Denver with the drought. I will keep doing what I am doing, but not get into an issue. My lease is indefinite, so unless something goes wrong I can stay as long as I like. I am now thinking if I can afford it I will stay while my bankruptcy is paid off and then see, by then I will have children gone as well.

I have before sent her photos of the progress on areas of the yard or house so I think I will do that again as needed. I got to buy some drought resistant plants and take that off my rent but they are not doing well. I even dug a very large hole and replaced most of the dirt with good composted soil and have been watering them extra by hand. I want to keep adding to the drought resistant landscaping in one area that does not grow grass but if the plants die that is not helpful.

And the plumber finally came last night!! OMG, 14 days from when I contacted the landlord but I won't say it was her fault (except hiring this guy). I sent her an email and text yesterday because I was on a field trip at a pool and do not answer my phone then, I think she must have listened and put her landlord muscle behind it because even though it was late he called and came over and now I am getting dishes done finally.

[SteveinMN]

now I am getting dishes done finally.
Gotta take your victories where you can find them....