RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — La Vergne is under severe drought conditions, and city officials are asking residents to voluntarily reduce peak water demand by 10%.
"We went into this fall and it's the largest drought that we've pretty much had in a while," said Morgan Edmonds of Martin's Home and Garden in Murfreesboro.
With no substantial rainfall in recent months, Edmonds says the nursery has been forced to water almost everything by hand. Customers have also been calling in with concerns about plants that aren't surviving.
“People are calling and saying their plants are dead. Like, ‘I planted them in April, and they’ve been doing well up until this past month.’ Well, that means probably not watering enough,” Edmonds said.
Despite the dry conditions, Edmonds says conserving water doesn't have to mean sacrificing your plants. The key, she says, is watering smarter.
"If the soil is dry, water. If it's wet, don't water. Don't water on your normal schedule that you've been watering all spring, just because that's what you've been doing," Edmonds said.
Edmonds also recommends taking advantage of rainfall when it does come by collecting it for later use.
"Rainwater is great. A lot of people will do a rainwater collection area under their gutters, and that's a wonderful thing to do if you have the means and resources to do that," Edmonds said.
Until conditions improve, Edmonds says residents should focus on being smarter with the water they use.
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