A 2001 graduate of the Los Angeles County Master Gardener program, Roxanne Sotelo catches rainwater to irrigate her yard, recycles much of her gray water and has five compost bins, according to a blog post by LA Times writer Jeff Spurrier. Spurrier is in the process of becoming a UC Master Gardener himself and regularly shares what he's learning with L.A. at Home readers.
Sotelo has three raised vegetable beds in the front yard of her suburban Whittier home, Spurrier reported. They are overflowing with fennel, peppers, melons, eggplants, beans, chard and tomatoes. In a side yard Sotelo planted corn, squash and beans. In the back yard are garlic, parsley and grapevines.
Even though she also works outside the home, Sotelo finds time to transfer buckets of used water from the sinks and showers around the house into her garden. Sotelo told Spurrier that she never fertilizes and rarely waters the lawn, instead she uses a push mower set high in order to leave clippings behind as mulch.
Despite the bountiful garden, Sotelo said her water bill is lower than her neighbors'.
“It’s because I mulch and water far less,” she was quoted in the blog.