Plan for fire.
By Cindy Poore
This was a crazy summer! So, so hot. I may be getting old, but I don’t remember so may days of 100 plus heat from past years. Isn’t it usually just a few (3-4) weeks? This heat is just going on and on. And the fires are not making things better.
The fire. Now THAT was scary. And it didn’t even come close to us. The Blue Cut Fire burned so fast, so hot, so unpredictably, that we were under mandatory evacuation orders. After seeing the devastation, I can understand why. They couldn’t take any risks.
We were safe and pretty far from the actual fire. I wish I could say the same for everyone. A dear, dear friend’s property was right in its path. Fires were popping up everywhere on his property. He and his son stayed behind to defend his home and buildings. They fought with tractors and shovels and were on the point of exhaustion around midnight when a group of firefighters came over the ridge and helped them fight the monster off. All his buildings were saved. Tragically, his very near neighbors and many others in his valley were not so fortunate and lost their homes.
So planning for fire in your landscaping and maintenance is essential for nearly any home. Here are some tips from the University of California Cooperative Extension:
DEFENSIBLE SPACE GUIDELINES
Below are general guidelines adapted from CAL FIRE:
1. Create and maintain a defensible space of at least 100 feet or greater from each building or structure.
2. From the home to a distance of 30 feet, keep plants low, and make sure to have irrigation available when needed. Check with your local fire department about the exact distances required in your area.
3. Preserve single specimens or groupings of well-spaced and well-pruned trees or other vegetation.
4. Eliminate ladder fuels within the defensible space zone by disrupting the vertical and/or horizontal continuity of plants.
Woops!
By Cindy Poore
We’ve been busy! It seems to happen every year at this time. April hits and there are just not enough hours in the day to get it all done. Everyone has kept us busy with their gardens and their dreamed-of gardens so I have been remiss in getting our newsletter out in a timely fashion.
Part of the reason I’ve been so behind is because I have stepped up my game and have gone back to school at my advanced age! Yup, bucket list beckons and I went back to school to work on finishing my degree after eons had passed. I did it even though I was afraid I couldn’t do it after all this time. But this past semester was great and I learned a lot. Don’t let fear get in the way of doing what you have always wanted to do.
Let’s talk about the weather…
The weather has been crazy hot for weeks! Ugh! I’m so done with it. This heat and the drought restrictions have been putting a real strain on your landscapes.
One easy trick with watering grass this time of year is to cut your grass higher. As I have mentioned before, longer blades shade the soil around the grass roots and store moisture in the blades for the main grass plant to draw on in tough conditions. The longer the blade, the bigger the reserve tank your grass has.
Also, please consider grasscycling. Grasscycling is merely allowing the grass clippings to be returned to the grass as you mow instead of collecting them to
be disposed of at the landfill. Thrice lovely because not only are you helping your lawn by giving it a mini water-saving mulching every mowing, but as the clippings dry up and decompose they are adding organics to the soil to build it up with needed nutrients AND reducing the waste to the landfill resulting in fewer CO2 emissions to perpetuate global warming.
Be very diligent on monitoring your water use. We are our checking and fixing sprinkler systems and drip systems every week lately. Don’t let those leaks and drips continue. Call us for an irrigation tune up to make sure you are not wasting a bit.
Summer is for…
Sprinklers! The calls have been coming in like crazy with sprinkler problems. There have been several with issues where they “thought” they had vetted a particular business as professional and they came out to do sprinkler repairs and refused to tell the customer how much they charge. The repair man told her “ Don’t worry, I will make you a deal.” Literally he refused and got upset when she wanted to know before-hand how much. “You don’t trust me!” he said.
Another charged the customer for installation of check valves to stop the flow of water downhill from coming out of the anti-syphon valves. What a waste of time and money.
Yes, it is not good to put valves downhill from the highest sprinkler. Sometimes that is what you inherit when you buy the place. But it is against the laws of physics to try to stop that. The water will just back up and flow out the next opening in line.
Anti-syphon valves are designed to allow upstream water to flow out the valve when turned off to protect the potable (drinking) water from contamination.
We will give you price per hour for sprinkler repairs and “guesstimate” how long it might take. When pipes and equipment is underground and digging is required, we cannot see what the issue is so that is why we charge by the hour. Digging conditions are sometimes problematic and it can take time to find the issue. We will work with you to minimize the costs, and offer you other options to make repairs when possible. Some things have to be repaired immediately, some things can be postponed. Give us a call with your sprinkler issues and we will take care of them for you..
Manage your sprinkler clock. With temps over 100 degrees, you watering schedule is very important. Sometimes you just need some advice on how best to set your sprinkler controller. And sometimes, you have no idea on how to work your sprinkler clock at all. We do both for our clients.
Most problems are simple. Like the time a gentleman was having issues getting his sprinkler clock to come on automatically. He felt it was a simple issue but he just couldn’t figure it out, and he was right. After much fiddling with the system his frustration just got the better of him and he was done. That one was a quick one. He had no time set on the stations. This actually is one of the most common issues with a seemingly ok system not coming on. A missed step in programming. So if you are having issues, get the manual and go through it step by step first.
By Cindy Poore
Spring is a time for new beginnings. It gets us all warmed up for a summer of fun and activities. Seeds are popping up all over. They are mostly weeds, but if you play it right, you can choose. Decide what you want your world to look like this year and get out there and sow some seeds of your own!
“It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you’ve got it, you want—oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!”
― Mark Twain
Spring is big for…
- Composting. If you are planning on planting, especially a veggie garden or fruit trees, now is the time to get your compost pile going if you didn’t do it in the fall. To speed up the process in your compost pile, shred your greenwaste clippings or straw in smaller pieces and keep the pile wet and turn frequently. Add some nice amendments for your soil like oyster shell (calcium) and some store-bought organic compost to inoculate your pile to get is going faster. You could have a pile in as little as 6 weeks.
- Pruning. Time to cut back the driedleaves, grasses and branches on those perennials. Russian Sage will still look like it’s dead. Don’t believe it! It will be budding out and blooming very soon.
- Planting. Now is the second best time to plant. While we can plant literally anytime here in Southern California, some times are better than others. Fall being best and spring is a close second.
- Weed Control. Still doing weed preventative spraying Call now to get on our schedule.
Embrace the lawn replacement!
The big push is on to get rid of our lawns. 🙁 It does not, however have to be rock! AND it can be green and soothing while requiring much less water so we can still enjoy our yard and be responsible to the earth and the future of our granchildren.
There are lots of ground covers that work really well as lower water use and allow us to be responsible and earth-friendly. The plants on the list below all work in different situations but all are beautiful and require a lot less water than a lawn.
Ajuga
Moneywort
Creeping Thyme
Sedums
And my favorite,……Carpet Junipers
Hi All, If any of you were considering applying for the Cash for Grass program, you should do so right away. The Mojave Water Agency sponsors the program through grants from the State. Their funds are running out for real this time. You have until March 31st to apply for the program. Just one MONTH!
Contact your local water company and they will give you the info on how to apply.
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- Weeds are Back! March 10, 2018Is your yard Exploding with weeds ? You may think a few weeds here or there aren’t much to worry about, but did you know most weeds are capable of producing over a thousand seeds each? Rain and the warmer weather that will follow will make conditions just right for hose little land mines […]