Your Water is Our Promise: The CVWD Blog

What to plant

This is your last chance to plant smaller cool-season vegetable seeds -- root crops, leaf crops and peas. Choose slow-bolt varieties to keep them from going to seed as spring moves toward summer. 

You might have better luck for a crop if you plant winter vegetable seedlings -- leafy lettuce, beets, broccoli, cabbage, chard, peas, green onions and spinach. 

You can plant trees in February. Citrus that have high heat requirements such as grapefruit and Valencia oranges, Eureka and Lisbon lemons, Fairchild and Daisy mandarins and tangelos are a few of the well-suited citrus for this area. 

You can set out warm-season transplants after mid-February, but watch for a frost weather report and protect from late season frost with a frost blanket.

It is an excellent time to plant shallow-rooted ground covers, native plants and other low-water use plants. 

Hold off planting frost tender plants such as bougainvillea until March to avoid possible late frost.

Tasks

• Finish pruning roses and deciduous fruit trees.
• Prune citrus lightly and keep the canopy skirt 1 foot above the ground, but remove dead wood, crossovers and any suckers growing from below the bud union.
• Fertilize deciduous and citrus fruit trees with a complete slow-release fertilizer.
• Look for aphids. Control with insecticidal soap.
• Begin deep watering trees and shrubs at their drip line in anticipation of a spring growth surge.

Have no idea what to plant?

The 160-page book, “Lush and Efficient: Desert-Friendly Landscaping in the Coachella Valley,” lists more than 300 plants with over 800 photos. You can search by several dozen categories.  

You can pick up a free copy at CVWD’s Coachella office at 50-501 Tyler St., or CVWD’s Palm Desert office at 75-525 Hovley Lane East (same building where you pay your bill). You can also find the book at CVWD.org/conservation for PDF download.  

 More help

This simple site can get you going: The California Native Plant Society’s Calscape Garden Planner at gardenplanner.calscape.org. You start by answering four easy questions:

1. In what city is your garden located?
2. Which garden style best reflects your garden goals (choose from 4)?
3. How sunny is your designated planting area?
4. What is your biggest priority in creating a native garden (chose from 4)?

The site cogitates your answers and pops up a suggested plant list of annual herbs, perennial herbs, shrubs, trees, and suggested design ideas.

The Board:

• Noted retiring employees Theresa Salazar, Accounts Receivable Technician, 22 years, and Roni Ramos, Source Control Coordinator, 14 years.
• Approved a two-year defined benefit and compensation plan for confidential, at-will and unrepresented CVWD employees.
• Approved an ordinance that describes employment, classifications and salaries for CVWD employees effective Jan. 24, 2023.
• Nominated Vice President Cástulo Estrada to run for a seat on Riverside LAFCO representing Eastern Coachella Valley.

CVWD board Jan. 10 approved $7.5 million to fund increased conservation rebate applications and encourage participation in conservation programs. 

That brings the total investment for fiscal year 2022-2023 to $13.35 million. That could add 4 million acre square feet of converted turf to the 1.5 million square feet customers have converted to desert-friendly landscaping since July 2022. 

Annual water savings are estimated at 55.8 gallons per square foot of turf removed.

Drought penalties fund conservation programs. 

CVWD’s federal affairs and advocacy team reviewed federal funding successes in 2022 and listed priorities for 2023-2024. 

Among successes: $12.2 million for the WRP 10 project, $6.2 million for Eastern Valley infrastructure and more than $67.5 million for canal lining and laterals.

Among priorities: Colorado River conservation,  exempting water conservation rebates from federal income tax   and support for the Sites Reservoir, Delta Conveyance Project and restoration and management of the Salton Sea. Other priorities include state compliance periods for regulations.

The Directors also: 

• Learned Director Peter Nelson, longtime chairman of the Colorado River Board of California, will not run for that office this year.
• Recognized retirement of Purchasing Technician I Tina Merrill, 25 years. 
• Awarded a contract not to exceed $258,000 annually with B-81 Paving for on-call roadway and hardscape repair services.
• Awarded a contract of $545,000 to Chaffee Construction to replace two hydropneumatic tanks in Rancho Mirage and Bombay Beach. 
• Approved a nonpotable water agreement with Southwest Community Church. Southwest will be connected to the nonpotable water distribution system from WRP 10 that is being installed on Hovley Lane East.