Gardening and Maintenance

Your Concrete Just Won’t Grow

No matter how much water you put on the concrete or pavers in your outdoor living spaces, it  just won’t grow.  So the alternative to wasting water on these hardscape surfaces is to make adjustments so that there is as little water as possible being wasted on these surfaces.

There are a  few things to consider like not to water the lawn areas by the house with sprinklers in the park strip (a business and park favorite, and also frequently used by lazy landscape installers). 

Border all spray areas (lawn and annuals) with areas of mulch or plantings so any overspray is used to decrease temperature or water plants.  This of course would include watering perennials, shrubs, trees and ground cover with drip systems as opposed to spray.

Keep the smallest dimension of any planting space at least four-and-a-half  feet.  This is because the smallest efficient spray nozzle is a five foot radius and limiting the dimension to four-and-a-half feet limits overspray.  This of course also means don’t plant grass in the park strip.

There are also a few things you do not want to do to prevent overspray.  Do not tighten down the screw on the top of the nozzles to decrease the radius.  Yes they did put a screw there, but tightening the screw decreases efficiency.  Change the nozzle to a smaller nozzle with a matched precipitation rate instead.

Do not switch out a spray head for a rotor or vice-versa.  Again, a matched precipitation rate is key to efficient watering and when you do this, you mess up the very balance of nature itself!  Okay, maybe not that extreme, but it does cause watering problems.

On the same note of the previous two do not’s, do not switch out one nozzle in a rotor without switching the nozzles in all of the rotors for that zone.  Again, this is a matched precipitation rate thing and if you don’t understand the how-to, then you can contact me and I can explain.

As always, it is better to come up with a design first so you can implement all of the mentioned ideas, but do not be too hard on yourself if you are working with an existing lawn.  Understand that the water delivery systems that we have come up with thus far are complicated to work with and you will have some overspray. 

Implementing correct watering principles as mentioned earlier in the posts on how to set your clock is still the most responsible way to conserve water in your outdoor living spaces!

How Do I Set My Sprinkler Clock?

The overall goal in watering the plants in your Outdoor Living Spaces should be to promote deep root growth.  As the roots grow deeper, you can water less frequently and therefore, conserve water.

I have three post on water scheduling that address the different mistakes made by people when watering the lawn.  I recommend starting by reading these three posts and implementing the strategies mentioned in those articles.

Three Things You Are Doing to Kill Your Lawn Part 1
Three Things You Are Doing to Kill Your Lawn Part 2
Three Things You Are Doing to Kill Your Lawn Part 3

After implementing these strategies for one growing season, start next year again by eliminating the syringing, but by reevaluating how often you need to water. 

You may even get to the point where you only have to water your lawn once every ten days in the hottest months of the summer depending on your soil type and the microclimate of your lawn areas.

Good luck and save money and water!

Introduction to Conservation in the Landscape Podcast

Artisan Landscape Outdoor Living Podcast Episode 4.
Introduction to Conservation in the Landscape
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Conservation in the Landscape

Conservation in the landscape does not have to mean desertscaping or ‘zero-scaping’ as it is frequently and improperly called.  You can have a lush, green Outdoor Living Space and still have the space be very sustainable.

The original term ‘Xeriscape’ was coined in Denver in 1978 after the drought in 1977.  Broadly defined, ‘xeriscaping’ means to group plants of like water needs and use more plants with low water needs and fewer plants with high water needs.  This is the simplest form of conservation.

uyuni_road_cactiUnfortunately, conservation in the landscape has soured many people towards responsible landscaping because the term ‘Xeriscape’ has been ignorantly interpreted as ‘Zeroscape.’

‘Zeroscaping’ or ‘Desertscaping’ which is the more correct term for an all rocks, hardscape and cactus landscape, is unappealing to many people, and therefore, people tend to think that you can not conserve in the landscape unless you use all rocks and cactus.

Ironically, though an all rocks, hardscape and cactus landscape uses less water, it also increases the heating and cooling requirements of the structure it surrounds because the micro-climate around the structure is drastically changed.

There are many factors, like heating and cooling, other than water conservation that play a major role in conservation in the landscape.  I have come up with a list of seven categories that I will cover in this series of posts and podcasts that will help to give ideas to conserve in the landscape.

These seven categories are: Water, Electricity, Time, Function, Recycling/Pollution, Organice Applications and Energy.

I will include the links to all the posts in this series here at the bottom of this post, but I would recommend starting with the three part watering series called “Three Things You Are Doing to Kill Your Lawn” on the Gardening and Maintenance page.  You can also access these posts from the link below “How Do I Set My Sprinkler Clock?”.

Introduction to Conservation in the Landscape Podcast

Water

How Do I Set My Sprinkler Clock?

Your Concrete Just Won’t Grow

Watering with a Firehose

How to Hire a Gardener (or just a lawn mower)

I am asked all the time if I know someone that mows lawns, pulls weeds, or does other small yard maintenance and enhancement projects.  Now I do–me. 

lawn-mowingMy decision to provide lawn mowing and other gardening services comes as a result of weathering the current economy, but is very good news for all of you out there that have begged me in the past to take care of your yards.

I have avoided this in the past because I knew that if I wasn’t the one to come and actually mow your lawn, I would have to charge way too much for the price to be competitive…so now I am going to come and personally mow your lawn, so you get the eyes of a real expert on your yard each week.

With my eyes on your yard each week, we can start to freshen up the small details that have annoyed you for years and work towards a healthier yard that will look better and better each year. 

I will be offering a monthly sprinkler check as an upgrade to your mowing service.  With this service, I will be checking for breaks and poor coverage and then implementing the watering strategies I cover in my posts on how to water.  Your lawn will be healthier and you will be able to save some money on your water bill in the future.

As well as the sprinkler check, I will be offering pruning, dead heading, and general clean-up services.  Proper pruning and dead heading will help your trees, shrubs and perennials to be healthier and produce more and larger flowers and fruit. 

Of course I am available for enhancement projects and for other small projects like weeding.  I am considering even offering holiday lighting this year, depending on the demand.  If I do go forward with the holiday lighting, we will be offering lit, stand-in trees for both the Halloween and the Christmas holidays.  Stand-in trees are a secret that Temple Square uses to make their grounds look so beautiful during Christmas.

So, leave a comment below with your contact information and I will get in touch with you.  As a note, if you do leave a comment, I will not post your personal information on my website.

Thanks all and happy gardening!

live, play, enJOY…Life OUTSIDE!

Jeremy

Answers to Gardening Questions

I have started to participate  in the Better Homes and Gardens Gardening Forum.  I really like forums because they provide a great resource for information on outdoor living spaces, finding out what others are doing, how they have solved the same problems you may have,  and for posting pictures of your projects for bragging and critique!

better-homes-and-gardensI recommend you go to the website, register to participate, and start sharing as soon as possible.

Why Your Tree Is Dying

I love trees!  They are the foundation of any landscape.  Sadly, according to the International Society of Arboriculture, the average life of a tree in the landscape is seven years, and according to Michael Kuhns, arborist, author, and University Professor at Utah State University, this problem is caused by improper planting and/or selecting the wrong tree for your landscape. 

BYU Tree TourThe Brigham Young University horticulture program, along with the tree crew members of the grounds staff have put together a tree tour for all interested to see mature specimens of 114 species of common and uncommon trees for your Outdoor Living Spaces in Utah.  Click here to see the digital information on the tree tour and make plans to go and see the wonderful trees–and the spectacular grounds–of BYU.

Seeing the trees and browsing the information available online will help you to select the proper trees for your Outdoor Living Space.  Also, there is a video available showing how to properly plant a tree.  This tree tour and the website can help you to have trees that will last for generations instead of only for seven years.

Why Trees Require a 25 Year Commitment

Trees are frequently used as both walls and ceilings for outdoor living spaces.  Establishing trees correctly is a long process that will yield great benefits years down the road.  I like to say that we can enjoy our lawn, annuals and perennials, our children can enjoy our shrubs, and our grandchildren can enjoy our trees.

Shade TreesAccording to Dr. Edward F. Gilman of the University of Florida, the foremost authority on arboriculture in the country currently, the proper pruning and shaping of your trees takes 25 years to accomplish.  His website provides step-by-step procedures for pruning your trees and shrubs.Proper Pruning Cut  I recommend starting with the link ‘Design a Plan’ located at the bottom of the page.  His website also has several other useful links for designing your landscape in Utah or anywhere else in the country.  So browse the website and utilize the tools there to help you design your own outdoor living space.

Three Things You Are Doing To Kill Your Lawn Part 3

The last problem to address in your outdoor living space is heat-stress.  Heat-stress is not a problem with a deep root system, but can be difficult to deal with for a shallow root system.  Heat-stress commonly causes you to fall behind and never catch back up in the battle to keep your lawn healthy and green. 

 

The problem is that the shallow roots can dry out so easily in the hot sun.  Also, bluegrass is a cool season turf, which means that it begins growing when the temperature coming out of the winter reaches the high 30’s or low 40’s and goes dormant when the temperature reaches the mid 80’s.  Dormant is not dead, but it is frequently brown. 

 

This means that when you are behind in keeping your lawn looking nice and green, and the temperatures are in the mid 80’s or higher (end of May on), you will not be able to catch up because the grass is dormant. 

 

The only way to beat this problem that I know of is to cool down the ambient temperature at the crown of the grass.  This is commonly done by over-watering and shallow watering and results in a lot of waste water. 

 

Without understanding everything explained previously, it is very difficult to convince a person with a green lawn that is over-watering and shallow watering that they can cut back drastically on their watering.  Hopefully this process makes sense to you if you are guilty. 

 

The solution to heat-stress is called syringing and was introduced to me by Dr. Frank Williams of Brigham Young University.  Syringing is done by using one or two programs on the clock and setting the water to come on several times during the hottest part of the day, but just for very short times (2-3 minutes for rotors and 1 minute for pop-ups). 

 

This will have the same effect of cooling down the ambient soil temperature and bringing the turf out of dormancy without over-watering or shallow watering.  I have probably had more success in helping out lawns with this strategy than any other strategy previously mentioned.  Keep in mind that this is only a technique required for a shallow root system, because a deep root system will not suffer from heat-stress. 

 

One might argue that you should conserve water and let the turf go dormant in the hottest months, but that poses several problems, the first of which is simply the loss of function of a dormant lawn. 

 

Another problem with that argument is that you stand to lose two to three months worth of good healthy root growth without the healthy and active blades above ground doing their job.  In my experience, water invested in syringing now will result in an even healthier and more drought tolerant lawn in the future which will need less water in the long run.

 

Try out these strategies and enjoy your results.  Remember to be patient because it can take a full, healthy growing season to establish a good root system.  Don’t become too confused by anything mentioned previously and know that sprinkler clocks are really not that complicated. 

 

All clocks have three big elements in common and hopefully a fourth.  The three big elements are Days to Water, Run Time, and Start Times. 

 

Hopefully your clock has the fourth element, which is separate Programs.  The Run Time and Start Time were addressed by the discussion of shallow watering, the Days to Water was discussed by the over-watering discussion, and Programs was mentioned in talking about heat-stress—but can also be beneficial in separating zones for different watering needs. 

 

When buying a clock, I really don’t think brand matters too much, but I would definitely look for a clock with these four components and, preferably one that allowed you to set the days on a 14 day or 28 day cycle as opposed to just weekly, but that is the least of the priorities.

Three Things You Are Doing To Kill Your Lawn Part 2

Over-watering your outdoor living space is equally as destructive as shallow watering and ends up with similar problems—shallow roots.  Again, surface roots are temperamental and result in an unhealthy lawn.  Additionally, over-watering can cause yellowing in the lawn, which is sometimes confused for a lack of water and results in increased over-watering. 

 

Another problem caused by over-watering is the deprivation of the soil profile of oxygen, resulting in the death of beneficial organisms.  Commonly this will be marked by several uneven bumps developing in the lawn caused by the exit holes of worms trying to make it to the surface to breathe. 

 

Fixing the bumps is a timely process, but is possible and involves a regiment of aeration, mulching instead of bagging your grass clippings, and applying a thin layer of fine-grade mulch.  The solution to the problem is to spread out the frequency of your watering.  Never should you need to water every day, even with new sod or seed.  I will address this more later. 

 

During the hottest months of the year—July and August—I have been able to water some lawns as infrequently as every 7-10 days.  You need to have the right type of soil and a deep root system to do this, but it is very possible. 

 

The best way to gauge how often you need to water is by testing your soil frequently, once again using a screwdriver or soil probe.  You need to water when the soil is dry down about 25-30% of the root depth.  Let it dry out even more if you are brave, but keep an eye on the color and turgidity of the grass. 

 

If your grass starts to go darker or lay down, it is on the verge of drought-stress and you need to water.  A good way to test is to walk across your lawn, if you can look back and see deep footprint impressions, you need to water again.  Even with a very shallow root system, do not water more than every other day or you will over-water and suffocate your lawn.

 

One more note on the frequency of watering.  You may find, from testing, that in order to fill your root system you need about 2” of water for a deep, heavy clay.  Be careful about turning off your clock when it is rainy.  Check the soil and watch the lawns color and turgidity because rainwater is never enough in Utah to fill the soil profile. 

 

According to www.maps.com, most of the inhabited areas of Utah only receive 8-16” of water a year.  Yes, that’s right, a year!  If you are applying about 2” of water per application, that is somewhere between one and two full months worth of rainwater—in other words, rain is not enough to keep your lawn healthy.