Leyland Cypress issues, roaches and rodents that like air
conditioning, flies by the grill, how an application of SeaHume and 15-00-15
made the grass so green, mosquitoes and these mysterious brown areas in my yard
seem to dominate my conversations this week.
The “mysterious brown areas” have in all cases turned out to
be lack of water. Money has been spent on fungicides and insecticides when all
the area needed is a little water. If you have an irrigation system, check to
make sure your heads are turning properly and all your zones (valves) are
working, or hire a professional to go through your system.
“My irrigation system runs for 20 minutes per zone three
times per week, is that enough water?”
This is a 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.
Ideally your soil should be moist down to six inches. Moist…not saturated. 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. 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 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 accurate
measures. If you collected 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.
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%. 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 or yard, and exposure to sun.
