How Much Do I Water?

Horticulture Hotline 04/08/19

By Bill Lamson-Scribner

If you have an irrigation system, check to make sure your heads are turning properly (not straight into the street or bubbling in the ground) and all your zones (valves) are working, or hire a professional to go through your system. The irrigation technician during a drought is like the lawn mower mechanic in March and April. Most likely you are going to have to wait for that house call. Right now they available.

During a drought, I will get these calls about “mysterious brown areas” in the lawn. The “mysterious brown areas” have in all cases turned out to be lack of water. Then I hear, “well I have been running my irrigation.” I then have to inform the person that their irrigation is not covering the whole yard. Money has been spent on fungicides and insecticides when all the area needed is a little water.

“My irrigation system runs for 20 minutes per zone three times per week, is that enough water?”  This is a type of question I get asked frequently, and the answer is not a yes or a no response.  Different irrigation systems have different gallon per minute nozzles so the rate varies according to the type of nozzle installed.  Water pressure also varies depending on where you live and whether you have a well.  Some irrigation heads pop up and mist and others pop up and spray in a rotary fashion.  The difference is enormous to a yard.  The pop ups that are spraying a constant mist can flood an area very quickly. The rotary head can run for an hour without too much water being applied. Rotary heads also can rotate 360 degrees or maybe only 180 degrees. The 180 degree heads would put out twice the water in a given area than the 360 degrees rotor in the same period of time. 

Ideally your soil should be moist down to six inches.  Moist…not saturated. Depending on your soil type, wind exposure, slope of yard, and exposure to sun, you will need differing amounts of water than other people in the Lowcountry. An old recommendation is an inch of water per week including rainfall. Of course this would vary if you lived in a windy, sunny, sandy soil, beach location compared to an inland shady, usually wet, and clay soil area.

A soil probe is an excellent way to determine the moisture levels in the soil.  Soil probes are available at garden centers.  Soil probes will allow you to check the moisture as well as the profile of your soil (see the layers of thatch, sand, clay, loam).  You can also determine how much thatch you have using these probes.  Soil probes also make taking a soil test much easier. 

Measuring the amount of water your sprinkler or irrigation system is putting onto your landscape is very easy.  A few coffee cups that have an equal diameter on top as the bottom is all you need.  If you are not a coffee cup person, you can also use tuna fish cans, soup cans or other containers that have an equal diameter on top and bottom.  If you don’t want to look like a hillbilly, you can invest in several rain gauges. 

Simply place these coffee cups throughout your lawn and run the sprinkler for 15 minutes, then measure the amount of water in the container.  If you have an irrigation system, you will have to measure each zone separately to get an accurate measurement. Place the coffee cups different distances from the head that you are measuring to see how evenly your heads are spraying. If heads from another zone are going to spray back into this area, you should collect that water too.   If you collected an average of a quarter inch of water in 15 minutes and you wanted to put out a half inch of water, simply increase your irrigation time to 30 minutes.

While you are out there, make sure you have good even coverage. Be sure the heads are turning properly and not pointed to the street. Are your trees and shrubs established to the point that you can turn off the zones that water them or are they in need of some pruning so they don’t block the water.

By applying organic products and/or wetting agents you can greatly reduce the amount of water you need to apply.  Cotton Burr compost is a great organic product that will reduce your watering bill, and increase the soil’s nutrient holding capacity making your fertilizers more effective.  Cotton Burr compost will also help reduce runoff of fertilizers and other control products into the environment because the products penetrate the soil. 

Wetting agents allow water to penetrate deeper into the soil resulting in deeper rooting grasses, plants, and trees.   Wetting agents will also help reduce runoff of fertilizers and other control products into the environment because the products penetrate the soil.   Although water is very inexpensive here compared to other parts of the country and world, you still don’t want to waste it.  Wetting agents have been shown to reduce water usage by 30-60%. I have been hugged by people that I sold wetting agents to and they returned to tell me about their savings on the water bill. Fungicide use can be reduced with less watering. 

The most important aspect of watering is keeping the soil moist to a depth of six inches.  Add the appropriate amount of water for your yard with your soil type, wind exposure, slope of yard, and exposure to sun. Adding organic products and wetting agents will help lower your water bill. 

Always read, understand and follow product label. The product label is a Federal Law.

Dogwoods are Blooming - Are You Ready For Spring?

Horticulture Hotline 04/01/19

By Bill Lamson-Scribner

Today’s article is not as much of a “to do list” as a have you done it list.

I have been asked some form of this question a lot recently. “Should I mow down lower than I usually mow (scalp) and or bag my clippings on the first cut of the year?”

Congratulations, you must be using a preemerge product for winter weeds or you would be mowing weeds! A lot of people will mow lower and collect the clippings to get rid of the "brown" in the grass. Not needed for good grass, just appearance. By mowing lower you remove the brown grass (your green grass from last fall), and your lawn will appear greener – basically you are removing the brown leaves from your grass like raking up leaves from your trees. If you did nothing different, the new leaf blades would come through and the brown leaves would decompose.

If you have a whole lot of brown grass that does not look like it is going to decompose in a reasonable amount of time, using a bagging mower may be a good option for the first cut. Get back to your mulching mower as soon as possible, so your grass benefits from the returned organic matter and nutrients.

If you have been waiting for the weather to warm up, here is a brief checklist of things that should have been completed around the yard:

• Test soil. You might be wasting your money. Over fertilizing or under fertilizing could affect your landscape. Soil test provide valuable information for accurate fertilizing!
• Have you applied SeaHume G to lawn and beds for a healthy start?
• Have you applied a preemergent to lawn and beds (this late use Dimension if it is your first application)? Remember it is never too late to start a preemerge program. It is never too late to preemerge, with our mild climate weeds germinate almost every day of the year.
• Have you drench Dominion around plants with a history of insect problems?
• Have you applied a preventive fungicide to turf if you have a history of fungus (T-Methyl, Fame)?
• Mole Crickets overwinter as adults and do their mating flights right now. Have you killed them now before they can make babies? Be sure your lawn and beds are free of fire ants, and if you have pets, fleas and ticks should be controlled. If you live near the woods, chiggers may be an issue. (Granular Sevin will work on these pests. If you prefer organic, check with a Possum’s near you to find a product or products that will work in your situation.)
• Have you gone through your irrigation system to be sure everything is operating correctly? In my travels through the Lowcountry, I have noticed many broken heads and heads that are spraying into the street. Although they have been calling for rain, where I live we have had very little. These low humidity days will dry out your grass and plants quickly. Plants and grass are putting out new leaves and need water! Wetting Agents will help get the water into the soil.
• The little fury terrorist of the yard is having babies now. Have you killed a mole recently or at least repelled one out of your yard?
• Is your lawn mower ready for another season? New Blade? New Air Filter? New Spark Plug?
• Have you measured your turf and bed areas so you know how much product you need to buy and apply to your yard? Getting the right amount of product on your lawn will determine the success of your efforts.

Always read, understand and follow product label. The product label is a Federal Law.

Bill Lamson-Scribner can be reached during the week at Possum’s Landscape and Pest Control Supply. Possum’s has three locations 481 Long Point Rd in Mt. Pleasant (971-9601), 3325 Business Circle in North Charleston (760-2600), or 606 Dupont Rd, in Charleston (766-1511). Bring your questions to a Possum’s location, or visit us at http://www.possumsupply.com. You can also call in your questions to “ The Garden Clinic”, Saturdays from noon to 1:00, on 1250 WTMA  (The Big Talker). The Horticulture Hotline is available 24 / 7 at possumsupply.com. 

Dry or Wet - I Know What to Do

Horticulture Hotline 03/25/19

By Bill Lamson-Scribner

Over the past few weeks during this dry spell, I have talked to two different customers with different situations that have had great success with one of my money saving products that I wrote about a while ago. The product is Possum’s Wetting Agent with Biostimulants.

My well needs a little attention, so I have been watering with city water. Having the reputation of being cheap, or as I prefer to think of it as being thrifty, saving money for the future, conserving water, managing runoff, or being more agronomically correct, I have been using Possum’s Wetting Agent with Biostimulants in my yard. The product has been working great! Too much rain, Possum’s Wetting Agent with Biostimulants helps dry the lawn. Too little rain, it helps keep the lawn wet. Just like a thermos knows whether to keep something hot or cold.

Possum’s Wetting Agent with Biostimulants is a water management product. Imagine a bunch of tiny microscopic little balloons that penetrate into your soil through the tiny cracks, absorb water, expand, relieve compaction , and then release the water slowly back to the plant. After about a month, these balloons begin to break down in the soil, like a helium balloon does in the atmosphere, then you reapply.

The first customer that thanked me for introducing her to Possum’s Wetting Agent with Biostimulants lived in a clay type soil. The first benefit she noticed was areas that stayed wet in the past seemed to dry out quicker. Possum’s Wetting Agent with Biostimulants (PWAB) let the water go into the ground instead of sitting on the surface. She also noticed that the water that flowed over the curb after a rain now stayed on her lawn. For hours or even days after a rain, her neighbors curb was wet while hers was dry. Strong evidence that her lawn was absorbing the water instead of it running down the storm drain.

Once the rains began to slow down, she began to notice the big savings in her pocket book. She went from watering Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for thirty minutes a zone down to Monday and Friday for 20 minutes a zone. In other words she went from watering a total of 90 minutes down to 40 minutes. She cut her watering in more than half!

Because of the clay soil she didn’t like to plant into the ground, so she had lots of containers and hanging baskets for color plants and a small herb garden. These plants also needed far less water. In our brutal heat some of her hanging baskets needed watering twice a day. Not anymore!

The other customer lives in a sandy soil area of the Lowcountry. He suffered from a large dry area on a hill and an annual bed that always dried out; however, the annuals were on a zone with turf so the turf was getting over watered to keep the annuals alive.

Through the monthly use of Possum’s Wetting Agent with Biostimulants, he was able to solve both problems without having to rework his irrigation system. He had been watering everyday for 30 minutes and has cut his watering to 3 times a week. On last report he was going to try to lower the minutes per watering. Another lowered water bill of over 50% and another better looking yard!

Less watering also means less disease and less expensive fungicides. This slow release watering can save you money on your water bill, help fertilizer work better, lessen compaction, prevent runoff into storm water drains that go to our marshes, grow deeper roots, develop healthier plants that can withstand stress better, and let me mention again save you money!

In parts of the country wetting agents are common knowledge because water is so expensive. Around here golf course superintendents use this product on greens for hotspots or on steep bunkers (especially if made of sand) that dry out quickly.

Give Possum’s Wetting Agent with Biostimulants a try. We have been told the water bill savings more than pays for the product and the other benefits are a bonus!

Always read, understand and follow product label. The product label is a Federal Law.