Three Ways to Save 30% or More on Your Water Usage This Year

Okay, so we are experiencing a drought. We should be doing all that we can to conserve water.   I want to propose that we can easily save 30 to 50% on our water usage and still have a green healthy lawn and landscape.  I know some of you have made up your mind that you are just going to let the lawn go dry which is a big mistake for countless reasons - cost to replace, loss of the benefits of turf such as cooling, filtering, noise abatement, home value, aesthetics.  It should not be all or nothing.  There are a few great solutions I'd like to share.

First I would start with the sprinklers.  Today there are much more efficient heads that will in themselves save 20-30% by providing more uniform coverage and a slower precipitation rate greatly reducing runoff.  Toro and Hunter offer some really good upgrades to your old and inefficient heads.  Along with this we always recommend regularly checking your system for leaks, coverage, plugged nozzles and the like which offers additional water savings.

Secondly, I would replace or enhance the traditional sprinkler control box to make it a “smarter” clock.  There are smart clocks with a weather station or with satellite input that can self-adjust to the weather outside and adjust daily to the needs of the landscape.  A cheaper alternative is adding a device that feeds a normal controller historical data and adjusts daily and seasonally so you are not watering the same day after day throughout the spring, summer, and fall regardless of the demand.  These steps can easily save 30% or more too.

Finally I would strongly consider the use of quality long-term soil surfactants in the landscape.  They will increase the water use efficiency 30% or more by improving water movement into the soil and distribution in the profile.  Runoff will be greatly reduced and the soil’s ability to hold more water will significantly increase as well.  Assuming there is adequate coverage, localized dry spots will disappear and the plants will find more water throughout the root zone.  One treatment can enhance water management up to 4 months.  Some claim the addition of polymers and hydrogels into the soil profile will result in 50% water saving over several years.  Imagine saving 20-50% on your water bill and doing your part in water conservation and still having a great lawn and healthy plants!

Water is indeed very precious and so is your outdoor landscape.  Taking on one, two, or all three of these steps will save water and your investment.  If you have any questions about conserving water please call Weed Man at 266-1624 or visit our website at Fresno.WeedManUSA.com.  Aqua Man Irrigation Solutions can upgrade your sprinklers and controllers. Call them at 475-7777.  

If you want to abandon your lawn and want to explore if artificial turf is right for you, then Grass Creations with 14 years of experience and a proud installer of TigerTurf would be a great place to call at 475-7700.  

Green is always prettier than brown.

Is Having a Green Lawn a Bad Thing?

We hear that if your lawn is brown you are doing things right.  Some people had that down years ago way before it was politically correct.  I called it neglect.  Unsolicited here is where I stand on the water use issue.

If I can find ways to have a green lawn and still save 30-50% on my water usage I should be congratulated not condemned or shunned. 

If the cities want us to not water lawns then they should just say so and we will all enjoy the uglier, warmer, and dustier environment throughout the valley.  We have not been told to cut water usage by 60% from anything that I have read.  If it’s a choice between having drinking water and watering the landscape I’m all for the drinking water.

I maintain that a healthy lawn benefits the community in terms of appearance, home value, significant cooling, erosion control, dust control, air quality, and providing lots of oxygen for us to breathe.  2,500 square feet of turf not only removes large amounts of carbon dioxide, but also provides enough oxygen for a family of four.  Irrigated turf grass is 30 degrees cooler than asphalt and 20 degrees cooler than bare ground.  If we have enough water to wisely irrigate then we should try to keep the lawns.

There are numerous ways to reduce the water required to keep our lawns alive.  There are soil surfactants that increase the soil’s ability to absorb water and keep it available for the grass roots to take up.  I maintain that 95% or more of our current sprinkler systems have both inefficient spray nozzles and archaic time clocks.  Upgrading these can easily save 30 to 50% over traditional irrigation approaches.  Trees and shrubs irrigation could be changed from spray to drip irrigation and easily reduce water usage by 50% and reduce water runoff into streets. 

The idea of watering lawns twice a week at levels 50% below past years to keep the grass on live support is questionable.  Many lawns in our area are tall fescue lawns that will not just bounce back with rains this fall.  They will be clumpy with bare spots that will need overseeding.  Bermuda lawns may take months or years to eventually fill back in depending on the amount of die back.  We may be seeing the loss of many trees in our community as well as we are already seeing the loss of thousands of redwoods prior to mandatory water cut backs.

If you wish to talk about real workable solutions to your lawn and landscape irrigation feel free to call Weed Man at 266-1624 or Aqua Man Irrigation Solutions at 475-7777.  If you want to discuss whether or not synthetic lawns are right for you call Craig at Grass Creations at 475-7700, where we offer creative design as well. We want to conserve our community while being also being great stewards of our precious water resources.

10 Most Common Lawn Problems in the Central Valley

Okay, so here is my top 10 list of common lawn problems. Some of them are damaging pests and some of them are the result of poor cultural practices. I won’t get into solutions today, but obviously you need to properly identify the enemy and know what to look for to take the right actions. Known problem now results in no problem later.

Crabgrass has to top my list.  It is an annual grass that germinates from mid February to Mid September.  Prevention right now is absolutely key.

Spurge is an annual broadleaf weed that pops up in both lawns and flowerbeds in roughly the same time frame as crabgrass.  It too is a heavy seed producer and needs timely applications of pre emergent to prevent its germination.

Sedges are perennial weeds that invade lawns and flowerbeds in the warm summer months.  Proper identification and selection of the right control agent will determine the level of suppression.

Broadleaf weeds like oxalis, dandelions, clovers, and thistles are extremely common to lawns throughout the valley.  Not all broadleaf weed control products are equal and proper identification will help one select the best product.

Diseases can damage lawns throughout the year.  Things like brown patch, snow mold, rust, spring dead spot, and southern blight.  Symptoms are usually circular in shape and the turf becomes discolored and often yellow.

Annual bluegrass or Poa annua is an abundant seed producer that invades dormant Bermuda lawns and flower beds.  This too is preventable with the proper treatments.

Bermuda is fine in a Bermuda lawn, but not so great in a tall fescue lawn as it goes dormant in the winter and leaves patches of brown in an otherwise green lawn.  Suppression is available only at this time.

Dry spots are usually the result of poor sprinkler coverage.  No water means no green grass.  This could be due to the spacing, water pressure, bad nozzles, or lack of proper adjustments.  Let’s fix sprinkler problems as water in a limited resource.  Overwatering is also a very bad and commonly observed practice.

Shade provides a great place to hang out in the summertime, but too much shade results in very thin lawns.  Shade management becomes more important as the landscape matures over time.

Mowing too short or too infrequently will put a stress on your lawn.  Weekly mowing at the proper height will make for a happier lawn. 

Well that’s my list and it is certainly not complete.  For your lawn questions and free lawn evaluation call Weed Man at 559-266-1624 or visit our website at Fresno.WeedManUSA.com.

Landscape Watering 101

California is in its fourth year of drought.  New rulings from Sacramento focus on reducing wasteful runoff and over watering in hope of reducing water usage 20%. Fines could be as high as $500 a day for failure to implement the required conservation steps and the City of Fresno has just gone from 3 days a week to two days a week in summer months. We have all seen the river of water going down the street and this is not good.  Nobody has asked us to let lawns go brown or reduce water by one-third either.  We must be very wise on how we apply the water to strive for peak efficiency as we have limited resources.

Brown is NOT the new green. 

It appears to me that the regulatory focus is on reduced water usage and stopping wasteful over watering and runoff.  I maintain that we can adopt the new guidelines, reduce our water consumption, and still have a green landscape.  It will take some effort, time, and likely some money. Let’s talk about lawns for example. 1) Only water on your watering days otherwise you may be fined.  2) Make sure that your sprinklers are adjusted to only apply water on the lawn and not the driveway, walks, or street as this may result in a fine.  3) Avoid watering midday as significant water will be lost to evaporation.  I would also try to avoid the 7 PM to midnight watering to reduce disease levels on tall fescue and ryegrass lawns.  4) Water application rates should not exceed the soil’s ability to absorb it.  If water starts to puddle it will be prone to runoff and this too could result in a fine.  You have two choices to reduce runoff.  You can upgrade to nozzles that put out less water and run them longer or you could run multiple short cycles spaced an hour or two apart to allow the shorter cycles to soak in before running off.

There are a few other options available to consider that result in using less water. Invest in a “smart” clock that will regularly adjust the water requirements based on the temperature, soil type, plant type, terrain slope, etc.  If not this then at least get a clock that will allow multiple daily watering to avoid water runoff and deeper watering.  The use of a good soil surfactant will help the soil more easily accept more water instead of repelling which will decrease dry spots and enhance the soil water reservoir.  Sub irrigation (underground drip) is another approach that will get more notice in the future as significantly less water is used and runoff is nearly eliminated.  In flowerbeds, drip irrigation products like Netafim offer significant water savings over traditional sprinklers.

For more information on water usage compliance and conservation while preserving your landscape call Aqua Man at 559-475-7777 or Weed Man at 559-266-1624.  We would be very happy to talk to you! The City of Fresno at 621-5480 is also willing to help answer questions for those homes in their city limits.

Water Friendly Solutions

The folks at Weed Man lawn care love the beauty of a well kept lawn. Jeff Kollenkark has been in the lawn care business providing healthy green lawns since 1984. Weed Man serves over 3,500 residential and commercial customers by applying timely fertilization, weed, insect, and disease control for lawns and flower beds.  Another essential part of this service is educating the customer on the proper watering and mowing to ensure optimum results.

Knowing that water is a limited and precious resource Jeff launched Aqua Man in 2012 and added James Neufeld who brought nearly 30 years experience in irrigation and water management along.  The emphasis initially was to work with existing Weed Man customers to help them overcome poor sprinkler coverage and reduce water usage.  The focus included system evaluation and needed repairs and secondly to suggest relevant upgrades in heads or controllers to significantly reduce water usage and water plants no more or no less than needed for optimum growth.  James thinks a saving of 30-50% or more is easily achieved with the average homeowner.  It will become increasingly important as water supplies tighten up, the number of watering days decrease, and the cost of water increase.

The drought situation is getting increasingly more worrisome.  Weed Man has seen 1-2 customers a week decide to install artificial grass as they are concerned about the water restrictions and the inability to water enough. Many of them could keep their lawn with help from Weed Man and Aqua Man addressing alternative watering and irrigation upgrades, but their mind is made up to eliminate the lawn.  In an effort to provide the valley with viable solutions the addition of a third company was added in January.  Grass Creations offers the most realistic looking artificial turf available from lawns to putting greens. Concrete bed curbing is offered as well to show off the turf and flowerbed boarders.  Craig Bettencourt was brought on to oversee the 13 year old business with 5 experienced installers.  Craig has been in landscape construction for over 15 years and loves to create beautiful landscapes.  He is happy to talk about landscape lighting and proper plant selection as well.

Weed Man, Aqua Man, and Grass Creations are excited to be able to create raving fans while at the same time support roughly 27 full time employees and numerous part time personnel.  We love to provide great results.  We love our employees and our customers.  Together the companies can offer reasonable solutions to individual homeowners to meet their desires.  The common thread to all three is to provide a great product the customer wants while reducing the need for water.

Jeff Kollenkark and his family have lived in Clovis since 1984.  His family includes Melissa, his wife of 40 years this summer, 5 children and soon to be 16 grandchildren. Jeff also loves to regularly volunteer up at Hume Lake Christian Camps and work in a few rounds of golf as time allows.

Are Green Lawns a Thing of the Past with the New Rules?

Governor Brown has asked for an across the board mandatory 25% reduction in water use.  Talk on the street includes “brown is the new green” and people say days of having a nice green lawn are over with.  Until someone says we can’t water our lawns at all, I maintain that it is still possible to have a nice lawn and save 35% or more over what we have used in the past.

The average lawn has water waste issues more than water use issues.  There are leaky valves and heads, poor water coverage; primitive spray nozzles that apply water faster than the soil can absorb it, and old school time clocks that never adjust to the ups and downs in the weather thus over watering much of the year to meet the demands of the hottest months. 

Irrigation should all start with great uniform coverage with 100% overlap of spray patterns. We all know if we have a dry spot where the coverage is weak that you can hide it by just increasing the watering time to eventually get the area moist enough.  This is “watering to the drier area”.  This is water wastage.

I would like to explore the beauty of using high efficiency spray nozzles like the MP Rotator. The MP Rotator is the standard for uniformity with varying distance streams of water. A typical spray nozzle is 50-60% efficient whereas the MP's are 80-90% efficient on coverage.  The other advantage is their low precipitation rate that allows the soil absorption to keep up with the water application and eliminating runoff.  This is especially beneficial for clay or compacted soils that are slower to take water and more likely to have runoff issues.  If you apply water faster than the soil can absorb it you will have runoff or at the very least some puddling.   Even though run times are significantly longer the water savings is up to 30% and with little or no runoff.

MP Rotators are a rotary nozzle which means they deliver multiple, individually distinct fingers of water as it revolves around a central axis. Most have adjustable radii and arcs to adjust to the shape of the area being irrigated.  Plus, they look cool. They can easily replace the traditional spray nozzle in the same sprinkler body, but new longer cycle times must be set to be sure they provide enough water.  Do not mix these heads with other types on the same station as the precipitation rates will not match and you will end up having wet and dry spots. 

Next time we will talk about the benefits of the new Smart Clocks and how they too can save a ton of water and meet or surpass the governor’s mandates.

For more information on water management with today’s technologies contact Aqua Man at 559-475-5555 or email at aquamanfresno@gmail.com.

Weed Control 101

Weeds come in all shapes and sizes and they are here to stay. They detract from your lawn and landscape areas and some weeds like crabgrass and bermuda even have the potential to take over. Knowing that weeds are found everywhere and move by wind, birds and mowers plus your next door neighbors’ lawn is a disaster is there really any hope of keeping the weeds at bay? The simple answer is yes. The reality is that one must approach weed control from numerous angles.

First of all, I like to evaluate the current condition of the landscape that I am trying to keep looking nice. Are the desirable grasses and plants healthy and are they receiving appropriate water and fertilizer? Do they receive the right amount of sunlight and are the soils suitable for growing healthy plants? Are lawns mowed at the proper height with sharp blades and trees and shrubs pruned properly? Poor cultural practices can foil good intentions. Secondly, I inventory the existing weeds and properly identify them. Proper identification is crucial as well as knowing their life cycle. Not all weeds are created equal and unfortunately there is not one weed control product that controls all weeds in all situations.

Once I know my site and potential threats I develop a plan. Culturally, I want to be sure the lawn is being mowed regularly at the proper height. Low mowing heights favor weeds as more light can penetrate the canopy favoring weed germination. Sprinklers and timersshould be checked for coverage and adequate timing. Fertilization should be done regularly to supply good nutrition. Good sanitation means that new soils or plants brought in should be from a reputable source and free of visible weeds. You could easily add new weed problems unintentionally. Finally, weeds should not be allowed to go to seed as one plant can reproduce rapidly left unchecked.

Prevention is the preferred approach to weed control as compared to eradication. I would include a pre emergent herbicide program to prevent weed invasion of annual weeds such as crabgrass and spurge. Proper rates and timing are critical to the success when using a pre emergent. They do not stop seeds from germinating, but do keep seeds from becoming a new plant through root or shoot inhibition. They do not control existing weeds so timing must be prior to the seeds germinating. Other weeds may already be established or are perennials. Proper identification of the unwanted weed will be essential and help determine which selective post emergent herbicide to choose. Generally speaking there are broadleaf weed, grassy weed, and sedge control products. The products vary in their effectiveness on specific weeds within each grouping. Like weeds, not all herbicides are equal.

Landscapes using good cultural methods plus an effective herbicide program can really keep lawn and flowerbed weeds reasonably in check. If you have more questions about managing weeds check out our website at Fresno.WeedManUSA.com or call 559-266-1624 or check us on Facebook.