Rainfall comes in short spurts for some of us and some get a two-hour downpour.

Along with most of the scarce rain comes lightning that can knock your power off and also scramble electronic equipment.

Let&8217;s take the automatic irrigation systems for example.

If your power is off for more than a flash, your alarm clocks, microwaves, VCRs and such electronic equipment start to blink.

They have forgotten what time it is. Guess what?

Your automated irrigation system may have done the same.

During this dry spell with an occasional storm almost every day it is imperative that you check your irrigation timers daily.

This is a good time to make sure you aren&8217;t over-watering your grass and shrubs, too.

Most turfgrass only needs one inch of water per week to keep looking lush and green.

Some turfs, like the UltimateFlora Zoysia, only require one-half inch of water per week.

If you are watering your lawn and shrubbery more than twice per week, even though it&8217;s hot and dry outside, you are over-watering and you run the risk of inviting fungal diseases and viruses to your floral wonders that you have spent so much money on.

I just received a statement from the ALNLA which makes sense to me and I want to pass it along to you.

&8220;The Alabama Nursery & Landscape Association urges you to &8216;Conserve to Preserve&8217;. Generally, an inch of water every week to 10 days, by either irrigation or rainfall, is more than enough for established lawns and landscapes.

&8220;Conserving water both indoors and out will help prevent further restrictions and preserve the access of all area gardeners to outdoor water.

&8220;Let&8217;s all work together to keep our community green &8212; Conserve to Preserve.&8221;

For more on these and other gardening tips listen to Home Grown Tomatoes every Saturday morning from 6 till 8 on 101.1 FM, The Source and log on to http://HGTradio.net