EcoLandscape Group's blog

The EcoLandscape Group Program is designed to be implemented in your landscape step by step. We hope they help you to gain real tool you can use in your life and reduce your carbon footprint and landscape maintenance costs.

The system is simple and easy to follow. Most landscape maintenance programs consist of artificial fertilizers, lots of mowing, and lots of watering. It seems like these few steps would make maintenance simple. However, too much fertilizer, water, and mowing causes so many problems that this 'modern method' is less efficient, more work,  and more costly.

The Five Steps are designed to focus on the main aspects of maintaining any landscape.

Soil biology and fertility - Active, live soil microbial life is the cornerstone of plant life and healthy ecosystems. Many soil bacteria and fungi actually create a situation that will self fertilize trees, lawns, and shrubs. By building the proper environment for soil microbes, your soil will come alive and your work load will decrease.

Biomass recycling and regeneration - Better known as composting, biomass recycling keeps natural nutrition sources created by a healthy soils on site and recycles the active biology back into the lawn and landscape. By adding biomass such as kitchen waste to your compost pile, you will boost the levels of nutrients without using petroleum based fertilizers.

Water and irrigation management - Water is the main reason plants grow. It's the main building block of all life on Earth. In most situations the more water that is applied, the more plant growth will occur. This is a problem when the growth is greater than the landscapes ability to recycle the biomass back to the soil. Thatching mowers can't handle too much grass. A compost can only take so much yard waste. Too much water prevents oxygen from penetrating the soil for healthy root growth. Soggy soils drown soil microbes and create a foul, stinky muck like a bog, or swamp.

Proper pruning and mowing - Poor practices with pruning, trimming, and mowing are like having a bad cut on human skin that can get infected. Even if a plant is thriving in a healthy environment, improper pruning can lead to pest and disease infection. Trimming certain plants into shapes or sizes that don't fit their natural growth habit creates a situation that requires regular pruning. Pruning equals work. Power pruners equal carbon emissions.

Pest and weed control - Weeds and pests are result of unbalanced natural systems. They are natures clean up crew. When natural disasters occur in nature like floods, landslides, fire, and drought, pests kill of the weak and sick plants, and 'pioneer species' we call weeds come in to re-colonize the area and establish a new balanced ecosystem. If a landscape has constant pest problems, there is a larger problem that is not being addressed.

Proper design - Most landscapes are not designed with nature in mind. They're laid out according to a human perspective and in relation to architecture rather to what the micro environment needs. Square hedges, topped trees, tightly mowed lawns of only one species, exotic, over bred flowers with huge unnatural blooms all contribute to an unbalanced environment that triggers the 'clean up crew' (pests) to whipe out the sick and weak for the 'pioneer species' (weeds) to come in and start over.

As the system is laid out in easy to follow steps, the simplicity of sustainable landscaping will become apparent.

1. Learning Basic horticulture and establishing your score. Understanding some key horticultural principles is the first part of the system. By learning what plants need to thrive we can better provide those ingredients. Measuring and calculating your current landscape energy use will enable you to see the areas that need to be worked on or reduced.
2. Understanding soil biology and regulating nutrition and irrigation. Water and nutrition are the key ingredient for soil biology and health.  By controlling irrigation and enabling plant communities to live in environments that match their evolutionary requirements, less energy and work will be needed to maintain a healthy landscape or garden. Using natural nutrition reduces emissions and petroleum use in the landscape.
3. Practicing proper maintenance techniques. Proper pruning and mulching helps plants resist attack from weeds, pests and disease. Improper pruning and especially mowing upsets the balanced hormonal and physiological processes that keep plant communities healthy.
4. Controlling weeds and pests. If these first criteria are met, pests and disease are less of a problem or non existent.
5. Re-Design. When all else fails, re-design may be needed. Be sure to match the need of the micro environment when designing a landscape layout and place the plant materials appropriately.

Build Soil Biology and Build Soil Fertility.

          
           Step 1
             Soil PH
          
           Soil PH is very important to plant health as well. PH is a chemical property of the soil that effects how nutrients are available to living organisms. Many people change their soils PH by adding lime or sulfur to raise or lower PH. For more detailed information on PH see Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_ph

STEP 2
             Soil Inoculation
            
           Soils in new landscape that have been imported may be low in natural soil microbes. You can add these organisms with commercially available products. You can also use your own compost pile if you have one. By spreading your aged compost on your lawn the native microbes will take hold and grow. One word on buying soil microbes from a commercial supplier. Like plant communities, soil microbes are different genetically from region to region. Commercial products are fine but any naturally occurring populations will be better. As I stated above, changing your soils is hard if not impossible. Yet a layer of active, healthy soils can be achieved with a little patience and a few afternoons a month. It basically breaks down to two things.
          
           Building a compost bin to grow soil biology.
    Applying the active soil microbes from the compost to the landscape.

                  
            
           A simple compost bin can be made out of strong wire fencing, a pallet, four cinder blocks, and a refrigerator pan. The wire fence allows air to circulate freely. The pallet will elevate the pile above the tray. When running, the water from a hose will soak through the compost pile and wash all the microbes, arthropods, and nematodes down into the tray.
            
             This example was made from recycled metal fence posts, cattle wire, and a cooking tray. The tarp is to hold moisture due to the arid climate where this is located. The wood at the bottom has a hole to funnel water into the catch tray. All recycled materials.
            
           At this point you can take that liquid and add water, and molasses, then ferment it to make larger amounts of compost tea for larger projects. I feel their is an easier way to do this that skips a few steps by allowing the fermentation to occur in the lawn. It involves using what's called a 'hose end applicator'. Water can be run through a commercial compost bin and caught in a barrel or other container.            The excess water is collected in the tray. then it is filtered to remove large debris like leaves, twigs, etc. This water has billions of good soil microbes. Mix it in the hose end applicator with the right amount of molasses. Then turn on the hose and spray on your lawn and landscape.

Comercial Compost Bins can be used to "extract" compost tea like the example above by running water through the compost to capture the live biology in the runoff. If vermacomposting or worm composting is employed then the rich biologcal liquid that collects at the bottom of vermacompost bins can be applied through the Hose End Sprayer.         
          
           Compost            tea can be brewed by placing a portion of compost in water with air bubbles added to grow soil microbs to be sprayed back to the landscape and garden.
          
           A Hose End Applicator is easy to get at any hardware store. It uses the water from your hose to mix small amounts of any material in the applicator to be sprayed out with the hose to wherever it is needed. Mix a full strength portion of tea with about three onces of molasses. Spray on the yard and lawn untill liquid in the sprayer is clear. Repeat.

The population growth takes place in the soil. These are handy tools to have on hand. It will allow you to apply small amounts of compost teas to the yard quickly and effectively.

          
 
 Step 3
 Adding Sugars
 
           Adding sugars to soil may sound a little strange. But the science is solid. When plants carry out photosynthesis they create sugar. This is the food that animals eat. It's also the food source that soil microbes are after as well. By boosting the sugars present in soils, microbial populations are boosted. This is beneficial by speeding the processes that break down the dead and dying leaves, grass blades, etc. As this occurs organic matter is added to the soil naturally.
 
           One word of caution about applying sugars to your lawn. Of too much sugar is applied then the bacteria population explodes. As this happens the bacteria consume the soils available nitrogen to grow and reproduce. This can rod the grass of nitrogen and cause yellowing of the turf. It is temporary. As the bacteria die off because the sugars are used up, the nitrogen stored in their bodies is released back to the lawn and the green color will com back. A good rule of thumb is this:
 
 3-5 oz. of molasses per 1000 sq.ft. ( 20'x50')

            
             Step 4
             Monitoring Moisture
          
           Moisture levels are very important also. Soil microbial populations need water just like plants do. See my post Save Water in Five Steps for more detailed information on water management.  Hopefully the addition of fossil fuel based artificial fertilizers can be eliminated or at least reduced as your landscape soils grow and become more active, and alive.

There are many web pages that speak to the issue of landscape carbon footprint reduction in very broad terms. More and more people are looking for ways to make changes in their landscape and gardening practices. One of the major problems is knowing how and where to start. The first thing to find out is what you have in your yard so you know what can be left alone and what needs to change. The carbon footprint is effected primarily by three things.

The energy to produce the product. (fertilizers, plants, etc.)
The energy (fuel) used to transport the product.
The energy to maintain the product over it's life span.

Using the Earth's energy to help our efforts instead of changing nature to suit our needs is less work and costs less. Making small changes can reap huge benefits in the future. When choosing your next garden project, remember some tips and facts to help make goodpurchases. Native plants need little care due to their adaptations to their local environment. Locally produced compost needs little transportation energy. Natural nutrients don't rely on fossil fuels for their production. Proper watering can reduce pest problems and require less pesticides. The items in your landscape need different care levels depending on what they are. Large mature trees need little or no care once they are established. Shrubs need some pruning unless they are planted in the wrong place and need to be constantly sheared to stay out of the way. Flowers that need to be replanted each year will be less efficient than perennials that grow back every spring. Finally, large lawns can be one of the most energy intensive elements of a landscape.

EcoLandscape Group has created a rating system of landscape carbon footprint analysis. It involves giving two scores of 1-10 for the type of landscape element, and the quantity (sq.ft.) of each element. The numbers are added together to rate each landscape element and find out which one to target for reduction. The higher the number, the higher the carbon footprint.

Certain elements of a landscape are more fossil fuel dependent than others. Lawns are obviously the highest. They use fossil fuel fertilizers and burn gass and diesel to mow. They also create most of the yard waste that is hauled to the landfill. Artificial fertilizers are another big producer of carbon emissions. They use oil as the main ingredient on some fertilizers. Others are produced with huge mining operations. At the other end of the ratings are elements like naturally growing shrubs that are not trimmed with gas power trimmers. Natural shrubs and bed areas use no fossil fuel and actually help remove carbon from the air. For that reason they get a 0 rating.

Ratings are from 0 to 5 depending on the level of carbon emissions produced by each major landscape element. Each element is then measured to get the square footage. The elements with the largest square footage are given their rating from most to least. The largest element is given a 10 rating down to elements that may not be present in the landscape. They get a zero. The two ratings are multiplied to give the element score. The elements are added together to give the overall rating. Good ratings are down around 50-75. Poor ratings are in the 150-175 range. The example below shows a property that is heavily weighted on the side of lawns, spray irrigation and artificial fertilizers. We'll show in the next section how to lower the score by shifting some landscape elements from the top of the ratings to the bottom.

CARBON FOOTPRINT ANALYSIS

ARTIFICIAL FERTILIZERS - Score 5. Common artificial fertilizers are either made directly from oil or are mined from the Earth and processed in huge energy dependent operations. Nitrogen fertilizers can leech down into the ground water and cause pollution. Phosphorous can run off into streams and lakes to cause algae blooms and other local environmental problems. We give artificial fertilizers a score of 5.

SPRAY IRRIGATION - Score 4. Water is crucial for the success of your landscape. Too much water can wash nutrients away from the plant roots and require more applications to increase carbon footprint. Poor irrigation can cause all sorts of problems that require pesticides to control. And finally clean water is a resource that uses electricity to transport and pump. If your electricity comes from a coal or gas powered power plant, then the use of water increases your carbon footprint. As a precious recourse we give spray irrigation a score of 4

PRUNED SHRUBS Score 4. In many areas of the country pruning shrubs is a major component of any landscape maintenance budget. Shrubs also need to be pruned regularly. The fact is most shrubs are planted in small areas when the species natural growth is many times bigger than the space it's planted in. Due to the hedge shearing equipment used to keep these under control, we measure the shrubs by the square foot. The length, height, and depth of the shrubs surface that needs to be trimmed is measured to give the SQ.FT. Gas power trimmers can be one of the most polluting pieces of equipment in the landscape trailer. In the south shrubs need to be pruned every week. This gives pruned shrubs a score of 4

ANNUAL FLOWERS - Score 3. Since flowers are a smaller part of most landscapes, they get a lower score. For some commercial landscape installations however, flowers and seasonal color are a big part of the budget. Annual and perennial flowers are installed by the square foot. Smaller plants that don't grow very wide, or tall thinner plants are planted closer together to get a solid mat of plants. For this reason and to keep the measurement uniform, we will measure the square footage of the flower beds. Because we need to grow new flowers every year we give annual flowers a score of 3

PERENNIAL FLOWERS Score 2. Perennial flowers will grow back year after year so new plants are not needed. However flowers do sometime need to be treated for pests so we give perennial flowers a score of 2

NATURAL GRASS Score 1. Natural grass is used to create a meadow effect when mixed with wildflowers. Tall un-mowed natural grasses can be used on berms and large properties with lots of space. Because they need little or no water and only seasonal mowing we give natural grass a score of 1.

NATURAL SHRUBS - Score 0. As a rule shrubs are care free if planted right. Their large root systems allow them to get enough water. If they are left to grow naturally, they will not need power trimmers to look good. Live plants remove carbon form the air also. By becoming part of the solution instead of part of the problem we give natural shrubs a score of 0 (zero).

DRIP IRRIGATION Score 0. The amount of energy to push water through a drip system is a fraction of what's needed to run a pressurized spray system. They are more efficient and have much less of a chance of leeching or running off into the gutter to cause pollution. This gives drip irrigation a score of 0 (zero).

BEDS - Score 0. The mulched areas around trees and shrub plantings are called beds. Planting beds is another name often used. Proper mulching can keep weeds in check with minimal effort. Beds can also be watered with drip systems which are highly efficient. This gives Planting Beds the lowest score of 0 (zero).

Click for larger Image

CARBON FOOTPRINT ANALYSIS CHARTS

Carbon Footprint Reduction Program

The petroleum consumption cycle of the American Landscape

Over the past fifty years Americans have grown accustom to purchasing goods, using them, and trowing them away. We have also become accustom to the flow of goods and services through our homes. Food, detergents, and paper products are all products we use, then throw away. Our landscapes have become that way too. Most of us don't realize it because the work is done by others who come and quietly do the job of making our urban environment beautiful.

Our homes have become little factories that take in goods and materials, process them, then export a product in the form of waste.

Remember this image because we will look at that a little later. Many of us have begun to look closely at how we live and find ways to stop purchasing goods that produce waste and pollution. Your landscape needs attention too. Every aspect of traditional landscape maintenance requires fossil fuels to complete. As chemical fertilizers are applied, new growth is pushed from the plants. Then gas or diesel is burned to cut back the grass and shrubs. The clippings are like the product that is hauled away to the landfill.

Here's the point. Natural, free, abundant nitrogen is available all around you. Nitrogen is the element in artificial fertilizers that gets the most attention. It boosts growth of green shoots and leaves and gives a nice green color. It is applied in the spring to fill in dead spots from winter and give a lush appearance. Phosphorous and Potassium are also key elements in artificial fertilizers. They regulate flowering and promote stress resistance. For more general information about fertilizer visit wikipedia - fertilizers.

We will focus on Nitrogen for this discussion due to it's ability to leech out of the root zone and cause pollution, the amount of energy that is used to produce it, and finally the fact that it can be manufactured right in your soil today from the air.

There are five landscape practices that make up the bulk of activity on any property.

1. Irrigation

2. Fertilization

3. Pest Control

4. Mowing

5. Pruning

The order is very important. Irrigation and fertilization are the two key factors that influence most everything else. By closely regulating the quantity and source of the fertilizers, while properly maintaining irrigation levels, you can reduce pesticides, mowing time, and pruning.

It's a simple fact: the more food and energy you give to the plants, the bigger they will get. The fact is that plants have evolved to survive on very little nutrients. In fact we already know the philosophy of choosing native or adapted plants that don't need much to grow. With the practice of the hybrid landscape, a combination of 20% exotic or imported plants and 80% native or adapted plants, a very nice landscape with a traditional look can be achieved. Yet the grass still has to be mowed. Trees, shrubs, and flowers still have to look nice.

So how do we do this with the minimal amount of materials coming in and going out of our home landscape?

5% of the worlds natural gas is used to produce artificial nitrogen fertilizers.

In an earlier post I discussed at length how to manage your irrigation system to save water and promote healthy, deeper roots. This will help your landscape with nutrient uptake as well. Fertilization and irrigation are linked in another way too. Pollution. Any fertilizer nutrients that are not used by the plant are lost to the environment. These can pollute streams and lakes and cause toxins to build up in well water. Another issue is that 5% of the worlds natural gas goes to the production of artificial fertilizers. Reduce fertilizer use and you reduce the burning of fossil fuels.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertilizers is a good link for more information on fertilizers and their effects. http://www.cleanairgardening.com/ is a great source for natural lawn and garden products including fertilizers, soil microbial additives, and composting products.

Fertilizers do not make soil fertile.

What is soil fertility? Many people get confused about this. Fertilizers do not make soil fertile. Fertilizers are like vitamin supplements. You can't make a sick, diseased, malnourished person healthy with vitamins. Fertility is the soils ability to hold the nutrients in fertilizers when applied. When thinking of irrigation we use the image of a sponge. The bigger the sponge, the more water it can hold. That's obvious. The sponge image is good for fertility too. Think of it this way.

Soil particles are like tiny magnets with a positive charge. Nitrogen atoms have a negative charge. Some soil particles have a strong attraction to nutrient molecules like nitrogen and potassium. Others have weaker attraction so they cannot hold on to the molecule for very long. If the root does not take the molecule in fast enough then water will carry the molecule down through the soil profile into the water supply. The soil particles with the bigger charge + grabs the nitrogen molecule N faster and holds it stronger.

It's like a sponge with tiny little holes will hold more water when you lift it out of the bucket. A sponge that has big holes will let the water flow down into the bucket faster. Finer soil particles like clay will hold water and nutrients longer than courser soils like sand.

In these illustrations water droplets carry nitrogen atoms down through the soil profile. The larger gaps between the soil particles allow the water to flow past the particles and not release the nitrogen atoms N.

The smaller soil particles have smaller spaces between them and together have a stronger magnetic charge. They enable the root to take the nitrogen N up to the plant leaves.

Most of the time the location of the soil in the environment is the main factor to soil fertility. We have all heard the term "fertile bottom land". This refers to the process by which erosion by water transports soil, minerals, and other matter from high mountains to low valleys where it collects and is deposited. These areas are good for farming because the soils are fertile. They can hold molecules for a long time. The particles are smaller and have large amounts of minerals washed down from the rocks of the mountains. These minerals add magnetic charge to the soils. In fact, they can hold natural sources of nutrients that have arrived over time so no additional nutrients are needed. This is true in the middle of the United States. The fertility of that land is legendary. Soils in Florida are almost all sand. Sandy soil particles are bigger and have weak magnetic attractions so water and fertilizers will move quickly through the soil profile.

So how do you find out what kind of soil you have in your landscape?

One way is to take soil samples and send it to your local agricultural extension agent. This is a group of people that work with local universities to provide information and services to the public about agricultural issues. They will produce a detailed report about your soils fertility and nutrient levels.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soils can provide more detailed information about soils.

Soils lacking in fertility can be improved.

For this discussion we will focus on how to improve soils that are lacking in nutrient holding capacity, and organic matter. It's hard to improve the existing soils in your yard without replacement or major tilling and disruption. But once you get the PH balanced and the moisture levels at optimum levels you can encourage the growth and development of your soils natural microbes, fungi, and microscopic worms. These organisms are the building blocks of healthy soils. There are many sources to buy organic fertilizers. The trick is to grow your soils own microbial populations.

These organisms fall into two basic categories,

Bacteria - Processing, or fixation, is necessary to convert gaseous nitrogen into forms usable by living organisms. Some fixation occurs in lightning strikes, but most fixation is done by free-living or symbiotic bacteria. (From Wikipedia.)

Fungi. - A mycorrhiza (Greek for fungus roots coined by Frank, 1885[1]; typically seen in the plural forms mycorrhizae or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic (occasionally weakly pathogenic) association between a fungus and the roots of a plant.[2] In a mycorrhizal association the fungus may colonize the roots of a host plant either intracellularly or extracellularly. It is an important part of soil life. (From Wikipedia)

These two organisms are what will help you apply less artificial fertilizers because they will produce natural nutrients from the air. As stated above it's called nitrogen fixation (wikipedia link). Certain bacteria can take nitrogen from the air that is not available to plants, and change its from so it can be taken up from the soil in plant roots. Certain fungi attach to plant roots and create a symbiotic relationship where the fungi help in the uptake of nutrients from the soil and receive a little food from the plant to survive. And as another bonus, these same microbial colonies help break down the old dead and dying grass leaves called thatch. This is significant because faster decomposition of thatch also increases the ability to leave clippings on the ground naturally. The process of getting nitrogen from the air down to plant roots in an available form is complex and fascinating.

Your landscape is a scary place.

Large herds of grazers feed on grass as the predators roam in search of prey. Sounds a lot like the African plains, only much smaller. Yet, the life inside your yard is just as savage.

Bacteria feed on dying grass blades absorbing the nutrients into their bodies. Some bacteria convert nitrogen from the air into their bodies, Microscopic organisms called protozoa eat the bacteria. As they feed on bacteria they release Nitrogen to plant roots. Microscopic worms called nematodes feed on the protozoa and release more nitrogen to the plant roots in the surrounding soil.

Each predator in the food chain needs less nitrogen than is contained in the prey item.

Thus the predator releases the excess nitrogen as waste. So by increasing the numbers of soil organisms and letting them feed on each other in a sort of huge gladiator arena, natural nitrogen will be released into the soil for plant up-take. The greatest thing is that once this environment is created it will continue for as long as the soils are not contaminated or applied with pesticides that kill key parts of this food chain. With artificial fertilizers the process is repeated every year. These natural processes act on their own and need little or no additional support once they are established. We know nitrogen is critical for plant growth and a deep green color. It's also the nutrient that is most likely to be lost to the ground water if it is over applied. These natural processes will boost nitrogen levels naturally for free.

Arthropods are the largest of the predators in the food chain.

They include insects familiar to us like beetles, millipedes, and sow bugs. They are also very small, almost microscopic. These organisms help by shredding dead leaves as they feed. This process breaks down dead leaves so the bacteria can feed more easily. Let us look at the 'shredder' arthropods a bit more closely. The act of shredding organic matter is crucial to start the process of nutrient release we spoke of earlier. If you spray your lawn regularly with insecticides these organisms are killed and the dead leaves build up and take much longer to break down. As a result, the dead organic matter builds up and needs to be dealt with. If it's your lawn, then power thatching and core aeration is performed. This burns gas and can cost a lot of money.

Earthworms - The ultimate shredder.

Earthworms are the most famous of the soil organisms. Worm castings have been used for fertilizers for a long time. As they feed earthworms take dead organic matter underground to feed and leave nutrient rich waste as they move about. These organisms can be killed by pesticides as well. Further reducing the soils ability to produce it's own nutrients. So go to a bait shop and buy a few carton of earthworms and the smaller red worms and release them into you lawn and landscape. They also are very beneficial to houseplants too.

Artificial fertilizers...The flaw is that it's a linear system.

Artificial fertilizers are applied because it a simple easy way to get a lawn green and growing. There is nothing wrong with that. The flaw is that it's a linear system. Meaning that materials (fertilizers, water) go in, are processed (mowed and clipped) into finish products, (clippings) then hauled off site (to the landfill). A system of feeding and growing the natural colonies of microorganisms in the soil to provide nutrients to plants will reduce or eliminate the need for artificial fertilizers. Thus making the system more circular. Determining if your soils are high in microbes is difficult for the average homeowner. knowing where the soils in your yard came from is difficult, if not impossible. Yet their are a few thing you can do to determine the best course of action to make your soils healthier.

Growing active, healthy soils involves four things:

1. Inoculating soils with new bacteria and fungi

2. Monitoring PH levels to maintain them at 7.0

3. Adding carbohydrates (sugar or molasses) to encourage faster growth of bacteria.

4. Monitor moisture levels (see post - Save Water in Five Steps

STEP 1 Soil Innoculation

Soils in new landscapes that have been imported may be low in natural soil microbes. You can add these organisms with commercially available products. (cleanairgardening.com) You can also use your own compost pile if you have one. By spreading your aged compost on your lawn the native microbes will take hold and grow. Let me say one thing about buying soil microbes from a commercial supplier. Like plant communities, soil microbes are different genetically from region to region. Commercial products are fine but any naturally occurring populations will be better. As I stated above, changing your soils is hard if not impossible. Yet a layer of active, healthy soils can be achieved with a little patience and a few afternoons a month. It basically breaks down to two things. * Building a compost bin to catch drainage. * Applying the drain water to the lawn. A simple compost bin can be made out of strong wire fencing, a pallet, four cinder blocks, and a refridgerator pan. The wire fence alows air to circulate freely. The pallet will elevate the pile above the tray. Next, running, the water from a hose will soak through the compost pile and wash all the microbes, arthropods, and nematodes down into the tray. This example was made from recycled metal fence posts, cattle wire, and a cooking tray. The tarp is to hold moisture due to the arid climate where this is located. The wood at the bottom has a hole to funnel water into the catch tray. All made from recycled materials At this point you can take that liquid and add water, and molassis, then ferment it to make larger amounts of compost tea for larger projects. I feel their is an easier way to do this that skips a few steps by alowing the fermentation to occur in the lawn. It involves using whats called a 'hose end applicator'. The excess water is collected in the tray. then it is filtered to remove large debris like leaves, twigs, etc. This water has billions of good soil microbes. Mix it in the hose end applicator with the right amount of molassis. Then turn on the hose and spray on your lawn and landscape. A Hose End Applicator is easy to get at any hardware store. It uses the water from your hose to mix small amounts of any material in the applicator, then sprays out the mixture with the hose water to wherever it is needed. Instead of fermenting the 'Tea' in a barrel or large bucket, the concentrate from the compost pile is applied directly to the yard with the molases. The population growth takes place in the soil. Remember to run your irrigation for about 15 minutes after applying the compost tea. These are handy tools to have on hand. It will allow you to apply small amounts of compost teas to the yard quickly and effectively.

Step 2 Soil Acidity

Soil PH is very important to plant health as well. PH is a chemical property of the soil that effects how nutrients are available to living organisms. Many people change their soils PH by adding lime or sulfur to raise or lower PH. This is an area that will be easier with the help of your local agricultural extension office I spoke about earlier. For more detailed information on PH see Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_ph

Step 3 Adding Sugars

Adding sugars to soil may sound a little strange. But the science is solid. When plants carry out photosynthesis they create sugar. This is the food that animals eat. It's also the food source that soil microbes are after as well. By boosting the sugars present in soils, microbial populations are boosted. This is beneficial by speeding the processes that break down the dead and dying leaves, grass blades, etc. As this occurs organic matter is added to the soil naturally. Let me say one word of caution about applying sugars to your lawn. Of too much sugar is applied, then the bacteria population explodes. As this happens the bacteria consume the soils available nitrogen to grow and reproduce. This can rob the grass of nitrogen, and cause yellowing of the turf. It is temporary. As the bacteria die off because the sugars are used up, the nitrogen stored in their bodies is released back to the lawn and the green color will com back. A good rule of thumb is this:

* 3-5 oz. of molassis per 1000 sq.ft. ( 20'x50')

Step 4 Monitoring Moisture

Moisture levels are very important also. Soil microbial populations need water just like plants do. See my post Save Water in Five Steps for more detailed information on water management.

Throughout our history we have tried to replace nature with machines, chemistry, and man made biology. Then it seems each time we find out that Nature has the same thing that works on it's own, with little support needed other than to be left alone to carry out it's natural processes. Now with climate change becoming more than a theory, we need to look to ways to use the natural processes all around us to live simpler, better lives. Hopefully the use of fossil fuel based artificial fertilizers can be eliminated or at least reduced as your landscape soils grow and become more active, healthy and alive.

Save Water in Five Steps

1. Proper clock / controller management.
2. Improve system performance.
3. Spray to drip irrigation conversions.
4. Redesign your landscape and install drought tolerant plants.

Step 1 - Understanding plant / water / soil relationships.

Understanding the way water moves through, and is stored in soils is essential to understanding how a plants can access and pull that moisture up into the leaves for hydration and growth. Soil is just like a sponge. The larger the sponge, the more water is stored.

For soils in your yard this example is best described as; “the deeper the soil profile the larger the sponge, the more moister is available for the plant roots to pull up into the leaves”.

SOIL PROFILE - The different layers of various soils from the surface down.?? For this discussion we will concentrating on the layers that concern plant growth. Those are the thatch layer (this is technically not a soil layer but it is important for our discussion), the surface of the soil, and the root zone.

An irrigation system is an imitation of natural rain.

We all know that rain is a uniform application of water. It’s the same amount in the front yard is it is in the back yard. A spray irrigation system, or one that uses pop-up spray heads to apply water is the most accurate way to imitate rain. We know this because when we were kids it was fun to play in the sprinklers because we could get wet with the sun shining to keep us warm. Playing in the rain was sometimes too cold because the sun was gone behind the clouds. This point is important due to the fact that the sun can act against us when we water by evaporating the moisture before it has a chance to enter the soil profile. We’ll get into this more in step two.??A spray irrigation system is the best type of system to have for plant growth because we know it imitates rain most accurately. However, it can be the most inefficient system due to the fact that the water is launched into the air as tiny droplets that can evaporate due to wind, heat, and soil conditions.

IRRIGATION EFFICIENCY - The application of water to your landscape with minimal losses to evaporation.

Plant roots are opportunistic.

They will grow wherever they find good conditions. The basic needs of plant roots are moisture and oxygen. Plant need oxygen to grow. Oxygen from the atmosphere can penetrate soils at the upper layers of the soil profile. How deep depends on the types of soils, textures, and other factors that are not as important as just knowing that the roots need that oxygen to grow and survive. So if your lawn is muddy or makes a squishy sound when you walk on it, it may have so much moisture that there is reduced oxygen and poor root health. Avoid over saturated soils at all times.??

Most of the time we will be talking about lawns. Trees and shrubs are a little different because they usually have larger, deeper roots due to the fact that they are larger plants. Plant root size is in direct relation to the size of the plant. Duh! An oak tree or spruce have huge roots that go much deeper than your lawn. The point that I’m trying to make is that we don’t need to give extra water to trees due to their deep tap roots that can access ground water. However, new trees need some help because their roots are still inside the container or root ball, and will not be able to provide enough water to make up for the water losses of the leaves or needles. An extra drip system is a good addition to the new trees for a few years until they can get established in the landscape. Extra irrigation for larger trees that have been in the ground for years is not needed and wasteful. Most mature trees have roots that extend twice the width of the branches of the tree. Your mature trees are probably getting moisture from the irrigation you provide to the lawn anyway. Yet, trees can benefit from a mulched area at their base. This gives them a place for moisture and nutrient up-take without having to complete with lawn grasses. This may not be the look that is pleasing to you but it’s a great way to help trees to thrive. We will look at different drip systems later and how to use them for different applications and plant types later in step four.??

Different soil types will absorb and hold water differently. As a rule course soils will hold less water than fine soils. We have many different soils type here in our area. You could have fine silt washed down from the mountains or pure cobble rock. Maybe you have both! New homes can have all kinds of soils types usually with a thin cap of screened topsoil applied by the landscaper during installation. I don’t want to imply that you need to spend a lot of time worrying about your soil type. You just need to keep this in mind as your irrigation system runs during the season.??

The courser your soil (the larger the soil particles) is, the shorter the duration between watering times. If you have very fine, deep, silty soils you may be able to go days between watering. But only if your lawn has deep roots. If you have one of those situations with poor cobble soils with a thin cap of topsoil then you will have to work a little harder to train the lawn to grow those deep roots. The trick is to run your irrigation system for a long time (maybe 30-40 mins. per zone) and then stop watering for as long as possible so the soil can dry out. That’s right. I said 30-40 min per zone. Most people run a zone for about 10-15 min. and loose much of that water to evaporation. Plus they only end up watering the top few inches of soil. Where do you think the plant roots will grow if only the top few inches of soils are moist? You got it, at the surface. And that’s the opposite of what we want to happen!??

Plant roots need dry cycles.

They harden off and get more durable when subjected to dry periods. Does it rain every day a dawn for 10-15 minets? If your a farmer that would be great. The reality is that it rains for hours and then no rain for days or even weeks. Plants have evolved over time to cope with this by growing when soil moisture is high and hardening off during dry periods to wait for the next rain cycle. Remember we want to imitate mature.??

There is another benefit to dry cycles. Remember that roots are opportunistic. As the soil dries it dries at the surface first and then dries down deep. The roots at the surface stop growing as that soil dries. The roots that are deeper continue to grow because the moisture in the deeper soil layers allows that growth. Roots will also continue to grow deeper over multiple dry cycles. The result is a deeper root system. Plants don’t have minds. They don’t think about these things. They react to their environment in predetermined ways. It’s our job to manipulate that environment to encourage those plant habits. As you can see we can encourage bad habits as well if we don’t take the right steps.

In step 2 we will look at your irrigation system and how to use it to perform these procedures and best imitate natural rain with minimal losses to evaporation. The trick is to realize that we under irrigate most of the time and that you can have the confidence to apply water for over a half an hour rather than 10 minutes.

For years I worked in the interior plantscape industry installing and maintaining large indoor gardens in malls, hospitals, and restaurants. When people would ask me to look at their plants and tell them what was wrong it would usually be a simple fix of watering with more water, less often. This fear of over watering is well founded. Yet, we need to overcome that fear and let plants grow the way nature intended.

CONCLUSION - Your soils should be totally saturated without being muddy and then allowed to dry out as much as possible without wilting the plants to encourage deep root growth.

STEP 2 - Proper Clock / Controller Management.

Now that we know what the roots require to grow, we need to find out how to run our irrigation systems to provide the proper moisture levels. The most important piece of your irrigation system is the clock or controller. If you have an old system it is very important to think about replacing your controller. If your system is very old then you may want to replace the heads and valve too. Or you may want to simply replace the whole thing. Ask a few different landscape or irrigation contractors for an assessment of your system to see if you need upgrades or replacement. Most systems have a life of about fifteen years.

Many people set the time on their controller in the spring and then walk away for the rest of the season. I call this the RONCO effect. 'Set It and Forget It!' This is wrong for irrigation. Nature changes during the seasons. So should we! I tell people to change their irrigation cycles a minimum of three times a season. Here and in most parts of the country there is a spring wet period followed by a hot summer period that may have thunderstorms or may be very dry as with our region. Then there is a fall period that is cooler and in some ares wetter too. Can you see a trend? In our area the spring can be very wet. In fact you may be able to start your system and then not run it for weeks. Most of the time you will want to maintain moisture levels to allow the grass and larger plants to come out of dormancy before the hot dry summer cycle begins. A system should also be checked once a month to ensure it is working properly. We will look at this more in step three.

Irrigation controllers have reached a level of computer sophistication that allows user to design many different management programs for maintaining soil moisture. For our discussion we will focus on only a few.

Cycle and Soak method of watering - This is when you run a zone for two or more short periods instead of a long continuous cycle.

Seasonal Adjust feature on you controller - This is a feature on most computer irrigation controllers that allows you to keep the same schedule and reduce the overall amount of water being applied by a percentage. The Rainbird company has developed a wonderful set of on-line tutorials to help you learn how to use your Rainbird controller. http:/www.rainbird.com

IRRIGATION ZONE - Any section or portion of a irrigation system that runs at any one time.

Irrigation times equal water penetration.

Why cycle and soak? The decision to use a cycle and soak method is determined by the type soil you have in your yard and how dry the soil is a the start of a watering cycle. Runoff of water from the surface of the soil should be avoided. If your soil can only absorb a curtain amount of water at a time then you may have water running off onto sidewalks or down the drain if your system is applying water faster than the soil can absorb it. Then switch to cycle and soak. Run your zone for ten minutes. the run it again for fifteen more in the same evening. This allows the soil to get charged with a little water so it will be able to absorb more later. This method is crucial for those zones where 30 or even 45 minutes of watering time are needed.?

Seasonal adjust is a good feature because it allows you to change the amount of water without having to change all the times and possibly make a mistake with the controller. Use this feature sparingly. It would be better to keep the amount of water per cycle the same and lengthen the time between watering cycles.

The soil will not change so the amount of water applied should not change. Change the duration between watering to react to the climate.

Remember, your soils profile and its texture (whether it's course or fine) will not change so the amount of water that can be applied at any one time will also not change. How will you know how much water your soil can handle? That question can only be answered by setting watering times, running the system, and than physically checking the moisture levels at different soil depths. This can be done by digging a hole and feeling the soil, or using a soil probe. Using a shovel at first will help determine how deep your root zone is. There is no use in watering down a foot and a half if your root zone is only eight inches deep.

The point is that regular investigation is required to know how your soils and roots are reacting to the watering times and schedules. Don't 'Set It and Forget It!'

University research shows that up to seventy five percent of irrigation water can be lost to evaporation when running the system during hot, windy, daytime cycles. That's right 75%! ALWAYS WATER AT NIGHT. If your system is too large to run all the zones in one evening then split it into different nights and keep trying to get those roots to grow deeper.

Researchers use complex charts like the Irrigation Monograph below to determine evaporation rates for irrigation systems. We will avoid long academic discussions of how to use these graphs. We will look at how they show the water losses by watering in the day time as apposed to the night time. Using the Nomograph below we can determine that with our low humidity levels, and high winds that are common in the summer the amount of water losses during the day are close to 20%. However, running the irrigation at night with a reduction of wind speeds and temperatures, those losses are reduced to UNDER 5%.

That becomes more significant when we look at the amount of water in gallons that are used when running a system for one day or cycle.

CONCLUSION - The irrigation controller is a tool to manipulate soil moisture levels in soil to grow deep roots.

Step 3 - Improving System Performance

Improving system performance is a process of ensuring that your irrigation water is distributed evenly throughout your landscape. The technical term is Distribution Uniformity. The factors that can lead to poor performance are:

MAINTENANCE ISSUES
- Clogged nozzles
- Old, or damaged nozzles
- Different types of heads on the same zone

DESIGN ISSUES
- Underpowered system
- Leaking pipes and valves.
- Incorrect spacing of heads.

How do we usually fix those nasty dry spots that occur in our lawns every summer?

Add more time to the zone!

That’s like trying to improve gas millage by installing a larger engine in your car. As we learned earlier the depth of the roots have a lot to do with keeping our lawns healthy. The uniform application of water is another big issue. Remember, were imitating natural rain. Before the roots have a chance to grow deeper we need to be sure that all the roots are getting the same amount of moisture per irrigation cycle.

This is one aspect of this discussion that I recommend paying for good help. Researching the kind of heads you have, selecting and buying nozzles, and installing them can be tedious and time consuming. There are many technical issues and special tools that will be needed to do the job.

CONCLUSION - Most irrigation repairs can be done easily. But don’t be afraid to invest in good professional help.

Step 4 - Spray to Drip Conversions

Most of this discussion has focused on lawns. Lawns grow best from overhead spray irrigation which can be the most inefficient. Trees and shrubs will grow very well with drip tube or single emitter devices. Most systems use spray heads around the foundation of the home to apply water to shrubs and flowers. Those spray zones can be converted to drip and save thousands of gallons of water. A product offered by the Rainbird company will allow you to use the existing spray heads to provide water to a drip system. We will discuss how to convert a spray zone to drips for a planting bed that has 20-30 trees and shrubs planted throughout.

First

Locate all the spray heads in the zone to be converted. Simply turn on the zone and mark with an irrigation flag provided at the store you buy the drip parts from. They are usually free.

A small portion of the heads per zone will be converted to supply the new drip heads with water.

try to keep the heads to be converted about 50 feet apart. this approach will use the existing pipes under ground in place and keep the conversion costs down.

Second

Purchase and install special nozzle caps that cap a spray head so no water can come out.

this will divert the water to the heads selected in step one.

Then we will install another device that will join the new drip parts with the old spray heads (pa-80).

at this point the capped spray heads become no more than a part of the piping.

Be sure to flush the system before you insert the new adapter to remove any dirt in the system.

Obstructions can cause many problems since the holes in drip systems are so small.

The pa-80 is a rainbird product that will allow a direct attachment of the 1/2 inch drip tube to the old head.

in the next step we will attach the new distribution tube (xbs - 100) to the old head. in effect we are replacing the underground piping system with a smaller piping system on top of the ground.

this will make the process much easier than digging new trenches. at the end of the convertion we can lay a new layer of mulch and cover the new piping.

Third

before installing the PA-80 to the top of the spray heads to be used for the new drip zone, Be sure to remove the original nozzle first. Once this devise is installed all other drip devices can be attached to 1/2 inch distribution tube that is attached to this device. This is the basis for the conversion. Most importantly it can be done above ground with ease.

The rainbirtd mdcf50fpt 1/2 inch adapters will allow the attachment of the new distribution tubing.

the xbs - 100 is the new piping to deliver water to the individual drip devices.

Fourth

after using the 1/2 inch adapters to install the 1/2 inch XBS-100 distribution tube, build a loop of the tubing to further deliver water to all trees and shrubs in the planting bed.

Fifth

attach the ‘Pressure Compensating Modules’ to change from the 1/2 inch XBS tube that delivers the water throughout the bed to the 1/4 inch tube that delivers the water to the specific plant(s).

Most spray systems have pressures too high for drip systems requiring large, expensive pressure reducing valves.

an ‘in-line’ pressure reducing valve is also recommended.

Sixth

From the 1/4 inch tubing you can attach all of the different emitters.

with this method the system can be expanded as new plant materials are added. of course their will be a maximum number of emitters that can be added until the zone is under - powered and all the emitters malfunction.

Filtration is very important. Because of the small holes used to deliver the water even small amounts of dirt or debris will clog the emitters. When converting a spray zone to drips always install a filter at the valve. your irrigation parts store can recommend a model that works for your system and application.

You may also want to bury the spray heads that supply your new drip zone deeper into the ground. Remember these are ‘pop-up’ spray heads so they will lift the 1/2 inch tubing up out of the ground when the pressure ‘pops’ them up.

CONCLUSION - you can save thousands of gallons per month by converting spray zones to drip zones for trees and shrubs.

Step 5 - Re-design Your Landscape to Install Drought Tolerant Plants.

The fifth step requires more commitment than most but the rewards will be spectacular. Many people believe the myth that drought tolerant or zeriscape gardens have to be sagebrush and wildflowers. Biome Design Services has pioneered the concept of ‘Hybrid landscapes’. This is the combination of native, regional, and exotic plant materials in balance to reduce overall water requirements without sacrificing a traditional look.

Native plants - Plants and trees that grow naturally in our area such as Southern and central Idaho. Example - lodgepole pine, quaking aspen.
Regional plants - plants and trees that grow in the overall region or habitat like the rocky mountains. Example - Colorado Blue spruce.

Exotic plants - plants and trees that do not grow in our area or region, or are dependant on man for their cultivation and survival. Example - Kentucky blue grass, annual flowers.

For most people ripping out all of their plants and replanting their yard is not possible.

But as we have seen our lawns are the largest source of water losses from our aquifer to the atmosphere. So if we change over to drip in our planting beds and convert our lawns to native and regional grasses the savings can be tremendous.

For this discussion we will learn how an average homeowner can switch from standard sod lawns to native lawn grasses with minimal cost of disruption to their lives. It’s important to look at how a grass seed germinates and what it needs to survive and become established. The three basic needs are listed below.

Sunlight - As the seed germinates the first grass blade need to reach the sun to start photosynthesis to give the energy to grow those deep roots we have been speaking about in the previous steps.

Moisture - For obvious reasons. In the early stages of growth the seedlings first root is very small so the watering frequency needs to be very short.

Loose Soils - The new seedlings need soft soils to penetrate fast and establish quickly.

Later we’ll learn how to provide these parameters to a newly seeded lawn for fast growth and establishment.

what to plant in place of sod? Our area is a good region to use grasses from the fescue family.

Their are many types of fescues used in landscaping and golf courses. Because of our high altitude we will focus on three types of fescue. We’ll also look at Buffalo Grass too but it has limited use here because of our cold winters.

Idaho Fescue - Festuca idahoensis

A native to western United states up into Canada. It has short fine textured blades and a blue green color. This grass can handle extreme drought. I have planted this grass in native designs that I’ve done in the past. I watched this species go a month without water in the early summer without loosing it’s color. In fact when the irrigation was turn on it greened up even more in a few days and looked great.

It also grows slowly too. So you will need much less mowing. In fact, one of my clients mows his yard once a season. For most people a frequency of once a month would be nice. Many people think that this grass feels lumpy under foot and are hesitant to plant it as a lawn. This seed needs to be planted a double the rate for a bluegrass lawn. As the individual plants grow the bunches are so close together that the lumpiness goes away. In fact the grasses are so tight that few weeds can grow.

One drawback is that this variety is not widely grown so large quantities may be hard to find. It would be good to mix this grass with others if sufficient quantities cannot be found.

Sheep Fescue - Festuca ovina

A native of Europe and central Asia. This grass is very similar to Idaho Fescue in growth habit and requirements. It is also extremely drought tolerant with very slow growth. It also needs to be planted at heavier rates than normal. Yet, once it is established it will reseed if the seed heads are left on until the end of the season.

I have looked into if this grass has become invasive in any other areas. It is very critical to make sure that this species will do no harm to native plants. So far I have found no evidence of this being the case.

This seed is produced in much larger quantities so it would be easier to purchase. It’s benefits of water conservation and reduced mowing would make it a great addition to a hybrid landscape.

Creeping Red Fescue - Festuca rubra

There are many different varieties of red fescue on the market. It has been used in traditional seed mixes for its ability to grow in shade. It is not quite as drought tolerant as the previous grasses it can be a good choice for shaded areas and its creeping habit will help the other fescues to form a thick sod.

This grass is used in many low maintenance seed mixes on berms in our area.

Buffalograss - Buchloe dactyloides

As the name suggests this grass was discovered in the plains states and has evolved with the bison here in the United States. It has excellent drought tolerance and a growth habit that creates a thick sod.

Its big drawback is that it will go brown in the fall and stay brown until Spring. Most of our area is pretty cold so this grass would be hard to get established. I would recommend using south of Hailey. However, there is a lawn of Buffalograss in the Heatherlands north of Ketchum. It can be done but with some extra effort.

Most of the native lawns in my portfolio use mostly Sheep Fescue due to the availability and cost. I have found that it fills in quickly and forms a good sod when established properly. In the next sections we’ll go over how you can convert your lawn with a weekend of work, a rental tiller, seed, and fertilizer.

Converting your lawn is easier than you think. It doesn’t require removal of large trucks of old sod or importing of new soil.

This method will give the new seed the three requirements we discussed earlier in the step. Killing the old lawn, tilling the soil, and planting and establishing the new seed are the basic steps to this process.

The goal is to do this without hauling materials to the dump and adding to our waste burden.

In our area hydroseeding is the preferred method of applying seed to lawn and natural grass areas. Lets look at hydroseeding and how it works. We will find that we can recreate those aspects of hydrodeed with the existing lawn in our yards.

Hydroseed is the process of spraying a mixture of seed, fertilizer, and a paper product called hydromulch that has been processed to look and feel like a loose fiber. Those ingredients are mixed in a special machine that shoots them out of a hose on to the ground. What this does is give the seedlings when they germinate an environment that has enough moisture to enable the seedlings roots to penetrate the soil.

As we learned earlier seedling need three things: sunlight, moisture, and loose soils. Hydroseeding provides these needs with the hydromulch. It holds water for the new roots. It is very loose and will allow the new grass blades and roots to reach the sun and soil under the hydroseed mixture.

It is still crucial to loosen the soil under the new hydroseed so the grass can send roots deep into the soil. Remember step two?

We can imitate these aspects of hydroseed with the materials on hand if we want to do the whole job ourselves. Yet, if you want to apply hydroseed you can. Just be sure to till the old dead grass into the soil completely. Applying hydroseed on top of old lawn will create an air layer that will cause the new seedling to die and will not produce the lawn we want. We’ll look more into this later.

STEP ONE - Apply a herbicide to the existing lawn to kill the grass and make way for the new lawn. Killing the old grass is crucial because the old grass blades will shade the ground and keep the new grass blades from reaching the sun. You can do this yourself or hire a professional service to perform this step.

STEP TWO - after the old grass is dead use a rototiller to till the dead grasses into the top 4” of soil so the new seedlings can reach the soil quickly.

CAUTION! BE SURE NOT TO TILL TOO DEEP. YOU WILL CUT YOUR IRRIGATION LINES. ALL WE NEED IS TO MAKE SURE THE OLD GRASS IS MIXED WITH THE EXISTING SOIL.

In step two you can proceed two directions. If you would like to have your new lawn hydroseeded then the rototiller is required. If you want to do the entire job yourself then leave the dead grass in place. The dead grass blades will provide similar benefits as the hydromulch. Spread the new grass seed by hand or with a fertilizer spreader. I recommend using a spreader for a more uniform look.

Seed to soil contact is the most important thing to achieve when applying seed. When the seed is layed down their must be some kind of action to get the individual seeds down into the old dead grass and in contact with the soil. This can be done with a leaf rake or by dragging a 4’ by 4’ section of chain link fence. I recommend the rototiller and the hydroseed but this method will work with good results.

Seeding rates are important when using these bunch grasses. At lower rates the bunches can create a bumpy feel when walking on the lawn. Traditional seed is applied at a rate of 4 lbs per 1000 square feet. These grasses should be applied at 8 lbs per 1000 square feet.

Once the seed is applied the irrigation becomes very important. For most situations it is necessary to run the irrigation lawn zones up to three to five time a day. The reason is that in our climate the top half inch of soil will dry out in a matter of hours. If the seedling’s first root is only a quarter of an inch long we need to keep that half inch of soil or hydromulch wet at all times. Below is a typical irrigation schedule for newly applied seed.

5:00 am 15 minutes - This gets the area moist for the upcoming day.

10:00 am 15 minutes - this cycle can be eliminated first as the grass grows.

2:00 pm 20 minutes - the longer run time is due to the higher temps and higher wind. This cycle should be kept the longest due to the extreme stress at this time of day.

7:00 pm 15 minutes - This is to charge the soils with moisture for the evening. It can be second cycle to be eliminated as the grass becomes established.

The trick is to closely monitor the grasses as the grow to see how deep the roots are penetrating. Then changes to the irrigation can be made. The deeper the roots the less water we need to apply. This process may take a month or more. We want to slowly wean the lawn off the constant watering to encourage deep root growth that we learned in earlier steps.

Fertilization is also important. In the first growing season a heavy fertilization program will cause the grasses to grow in quickly and reduce weed infestation. It will also help the grasses grow roots faster and enable you to reduce the irrigation faster. When choosing a fertilizer look for one with a balanced ratio of nutrients. You can find the ratio as three numbers located on the bag.

Use one application when the seed is applied, and one about two months later. After the first growing season additional fertilizer will be less important. Once the grass is established and had formed a thick sod, it will naturally keep out most weeds.

CONCLUSION - It’s important to keep in mind that water conservation and reducing green house gasses is a commitment that requires us to think outside the box. It also requires us to look at the big picture. For instance we will use a grass species from another region in order to save water. As our area becomes more developed and we have to share dwindling resources, it is important to change our mindsets and seek out ways to save our resources.