Sprinkler and Drip Systems

The Victor Valley Master Composters are meeting next Tuesday, September 10 from
6:00 – 7:30 p.m. at the Victorville City Hall, Conference Room D.  After the
short Master Composter meeting, Cindy Poore, owner of Perfection Landscape will
be giving a presentation on drought tolerant landscaping.  The public is welcome
to attend, so feel free to invite your friends.  Don Woo, project coordinator has  also invited the Barstow
group in case they were interested in the presentation.

It’s finally getting colder out and we are thinking about hiding indooors for a few months. No one wants to go outside when it is wet, cold and windy. Check out our December newsletter below to get the latest tips on garden prep, winter watering, special gift suggestions and our fabulous cookie recipie!!

Click the link fo our newsletter here:   December 2012 Newsletter 

Red roses on wood fenceThis week’s USA Weekend magazine caught my eye.  Right there on the cover was the lead-in for an article on the 5 things your contractor wishes you knew.  Wow, I want to know what they thought other contractors want their clients to know, so I checked out the article. The article spoke of dealing with a remodeling contractor which would imply that the project would be a longer-term or larger job. I think it would be no different dealing with any contractor such as a painter or a landscaper like we are.

 

Their  5 things are:

1. Be decisive. Know what you want.

My Take:  Nice to have a pretty picture in your head or magazine clippings, but it is not really about the things, plants, color. It is all about the end result and what it will add to your life. That’s the goal, not the “look”. There are many ways to get a “look” and each will have different functionality. It is about how you will use the space and how it fits into the life you already have or want to have. Put the perfect day in your home or garden down on paper and it will soon become clear to you the amenities that are necessary to have a succesful project. If there are two or more decision makers, you should come to agreement on the core features you want. Your contractor should facilitate and refine this process after you come up with the bare bones requirements.

2. Do your research both on project amenities and contractor.

   My Take: This is the part where you educate yourself on the different aspects of your landscape project and the skills and talents needed to complete it.  Do you need concrete, walls, a pool? What plants will work best here and give the effect you are looking for. Lots of people think they can manage several subcontractors for masonry, pool, landscaping and it will all come out ok, but here is where the most important thing you can do comes in. Professional planning.  Most often, even with the best of intentions, projects go awry because important elements were skipped by one contractor in a hurry or trying to cut a few costs, that would save hundreds or thousands for the homeowner later. A landscape design and project manager overseeing the work and keeping things true to the overall vision  will pay off big dividends. Don’t even THINK about going forward with a project without checking out your contractor to see if they are licensed and insured. Check them out here: www.cslb.ca.gov 

3. Know your budget

My Take: This is the hardest for homeowners to do. Rarely, do they have the experience to come up with a realistic budget. Most people rarely  professionaly landscape their home more than once or twice in their lifetimes. They are not familiar with the overhead costs of being in business, like licensing, equipment costs, worker’s compensation insurance, travel to the job, delivery fees, job set up and all those “little” things you don’t see that add up and add to the cost of doing the job. Keep in mind the job is more than just the cost of materials and X dollars an hour for the workers. So keep in mind, the project might  cost more than you think. Set a budget of what you can spend and work back from that to scale your project to your budget. Think about phasing the work if your budget is not adequate. Set a budget in any case.

4. Be realistic with your time frame

   My take: I dont know how many times I have gotten a call from someone who has lived with a non-existent or trashy landscape for YEARS and out of the blue they want to completely transform their yard for their spouse’s 40th birthday. Oh, yeah, its on Saturday (and this is Tuesday). I mean, they knew they were turning 40 for a WHOLE year didnt they?  Come on! This is actually not an exaggeration and has happened to me a couple of times. More often the event  is a couple of weeks later and they need you to run right over and give them a price NOW. (notice no plan) And when one of the guys they call says he can do it in their time frame, they invariably don’t get what they wanted or expected and call me months or even years later to re-do it. Sad but true.  Expect it to take longer than you think. Expect that there might be issues that cause delay such as weather, availability of materials and such. If you expect delays, and you are prepared for that, then it is not so upsetting. If you expect delays, and there are none, you are gonna be a happy camper.

5. Dont micro-manage.

  My take: This is really important. Not because contractors don’t like the homeowner bugging them, but you shouldn’t have to micro- manage. Ya know why? Because everything should be in writing. There should be no surprises. You should know what you are getting, how much it will cost and how long it should take. You should know what kind of plants, rocks, boulders, benches, etc are going in and where. And you will, if you have a PLAN and a CONTRACT. You should be so comfortable with your contractor, that you give them a key to your house if necessary. THAT’S how comfortable you should be with who you hire. No micro-managing needed.

 

 

 

Below is an exerpt from our July 2011 Newsletter. Check it out 

 That’s the most frequent question we get from clients.  Everybody wants a set schedule to water their lawn or plants.

From the type of plants, to the weather, to the kind of soil, to varying micro-climes on the same lot, every landscape is different. There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to watering.

 

There really is just one main rule of watering: Give the proper amount of water for the plant’s needs (keeping it healthy) before the plant uses up all the available water in the soil (and the plant dies).

 

This is a no-brainer really. Think of various plants and lawn as people.  Everyone, whether old or young, big or small needs a certain number of calories to maintain (or grow) their size. Give them too many calories (or water if they are plants) and they will get fat and develop problems, or give them too little calories (or water) and they will not thrive, get sickly and die.

 

Keeping this in mind, is where you can avoid the silly notion that you can save water on your plants. You can’t reduce the amount of water your plants and lawn NEED. Period. You CAN, however be more efficient with the water you apply to give the proper amount of water WHERE and WHEN the plant needs it.   OR you can select plants and lawn that REQUIRE less water to be healthy.

 

When should I water? Observation is the KEY. Take a lawn for instance. Since July is the hottest month, this would be a good time to try this test. Thoroughly water your lawn getting it nice and wet (without runoff ) and then check it every day. Look at the leaf blades first. Are they uniformly green or turning a darker, kinda dusky color? On closer inspection, are they flat and moist looking or are they folded and dry looking? Does the lawn spring back when you step on it or does your shoe leave footprints? Monitor your lawn for these telltale signs of drought stress and note how many days it takes for the stress symptoms to show up. Schedule your watering one day before the stress symptoms show up. Now you know how often to water (for now). 

 

How MUCH should I water?  When you feed a baby, you want most of it to go into the kid, not on the floor. Same with plants. If you apply water faster than the soil can absorb it, water will roll off the top of the soil into puddles or into the gutter and be wasted.

Try this: Note the time. Apply water slowly and evenly until the water starts to run off or puddle. Note how many minutes has elapsed since you started to water. That is the amount of time to water (for now).You could run the sprinklers longer, but it will just be wasted.  Now stick a knife or screwdriver into the soil. How deep does it go in easily? That is how deep the water is getting into the soil and most likely how deep the roots are. It should be 4 to 6 inches minimum.  If your lawn does not look healthy with that amount of water, increase the water  time, but separate into multiple waterings two hours apart so it can soak in and not run off.

OK, once you’ve got your watering schedule for July, (the hottest month) we can adjust the time to run the sprinklers for the other months using the ET(EvapoTransporation rate) for your area .

 Evapotranspiration (ET) is the loss of water to the atmosphere by the combined processes of evaporation (from soil and plant surfaces) and transpiration (from plant tissues). It is an indicator of how much water your crops, lawn, garden, and trees need for healthy growth and productivity.

We can calculate the percent reduction in water for other months, (July being 100%) using the average monthy ET for your area. Adjusting the water budget percentage on your sprinkler timer to the percentage closest to the average calculated.

 

OK folks, your free ride from all the recent rains is over. You will have to start up the sprinkler systems now. The soil moisture is really depleted from the warmer temps we have had lately, and with no rain on the horizion, you better get crackin on tweaking up the sprinkler clock.

 

I would reccommend in our little High Desert Valley to be watering the planters and shrubs once to a couple of times a week for established plants and maybe a couple of times a week for the lawns.

Remember to check your drip emitters on your plants to see that they are working properly. Replace them if they are clogged or broken. Clean the Drip Y-Filter out. Just un-screw it, and wash it out and re-assemble snugly. Oh yeah, make sure you do this when the valve is not operating or you will get quite wet.

 

 

 

We will be really busy this week in preparation for the High Desert Home Show in Victorville at the fairgrounds. Thats this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Stop by and see me.