Our semi-annual Neighborhood Garage Sale is this Saturday at 7am.  Are you ready for it?

Thanks to the San Tan Ranch Social Committee for holding this event twice per year.  They always do such a great job!

Residents often inquire about reserving the ramandas in our San Tan Ranch parks.  The ramadas are all on a first-come, first-served basis.  Get there early, and enjoy our lovely parks with your family and friends!

If you have any questions about the guidelines and regulations of our parks, please contact Vision Community Management.

The Social Committee hosted an adult dinner party called Rockin’ The Night Away last Saturday evening.  The event was held in the San Tan Elementary’s Multipurpose Room.  Baci’s Italian Restaurant provided the catering, and guests enjoyed a live band and onsite free child care.

Thank you to everyone in who joined us during this fun event, and especially to the Social Committee members for arranging it!  If you have any photos from the event that we might post, please send them to santanranch@santanranch.com.

It’s that time of year again!  Our semi-annual Neighborhood Garage Sale will be held on Saturday, March 3rd.  Now is the time to start looking through your home for items that you no longer need.

Here are some links to Tips on how to have a successful garage sale:

MommySavers Tips

YardSaleQueen Tips

This Saturday, February 10th, the San Tan Ranch Social Committee would like to invite resident to an adult dinner with a live band and free onsite childcare, called “Rockin’ The Night Away”.  Please email social@santanranch.org for more details.  Hope to see you there!

Don’t forget to come out to the Board of Directors Monthly Meeting! All members of San Tan Ranch are welcome. We encourage all of you to join us and provide feedback on the issues in our community.

Where: Higley High School Library
Date: Thursday, February 8th
Time: Homeowner comment session begin at 6:30pm; regular meeting begins at 7:00pm

We hope to see you there!

The following information is courtesy of the City of Mesa Water Conservation Department. 

As predicted, a mild El Nino has finally provided some rainfall. If you got at least one-half inch of rain use the ‘off’, ’stop’, or ‘rain’ setting on your controller to stop the watering cycle without disturbing your programs. While winter rains tend to be more uniform than our summer rains, amounts can still vary from one area to another. Find out how much rain fell in your neighborhood by visiting a new rainfall monitoring network at http://rainlog.org.

Recommendations below are for plants that are established in the landscape (in the ground about 2 years).

Lawn watering:
       Summer grass (Bermuda) - once every 21 days
       Overseeded cool season grass (rye) – once every 9 days
If trees and shrubs are on the same valve:
       Desert Adapted - once every 28 days
       High Water Use - once every 12 days
Tree watering:
       Desert Adapted - once every 36 days
       High Water Use - once every 14 days
Shrub watering:
       Desert Adapted - once every 21 days
       High Water Use - once every 10 days
Groundcover and vine watering:
       Desert Adapted - once every 21 days
       High Water Use - once every 10 days
Cacti and succulent watering – once every 28 days
Annuals watering - once every 6-9 days
Wildflower watering – once every 9-12 days

**Reduce your landscape watering 30 to 50 percent by adjusting your irrigation each season.** “Landscape Watering by the Numbers: A Guide for the Arizona Desert” will help you determine how much water to apply and how long to run your system. Visit the interactive Web site or request a free copy of the booklet at http://www.wateruseitwisely.com

Bonus tip: The January cold snap damaged many plants. Wait until danger of frost has passed (late Feb. early Mar.) and/or new growth has emerged before pruning off the damaged areas. Visit http://cals.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/html/t-tips/jan.htm for an informational video. Do not overwater frost-stressed plants since it can cause roots to rot.

Note: These recommendations are a general guideline only and may need to be modified for your specific site conditions.

Happy Groundhog Day…

This is an archive article from the Town of Gilbert, originally sent out in February, 2005.

Our recent rains have been a welcome change.  Many people ask us “Is the drought over?”  Our answer is “Not necessarily”.  Within any drought cycle there can be periods of precipitation.  The rain we receive here in the valley may help water our lawns and landscapes, but it doesn’t help replenish the reservoirs on the Salt and Verde watersheds.  We’ll have to wait and see what the future holds.

What the rains have done is create a great crop of weeds in our landscapes.  The attached article should give you tips on control and prevention of these pesky intruders that can steal water and nutrients from other landscape plants.

Winter Weed Control Tips Article