Irrigating for Water Conservation

There are many methods used to irrigate landscapes and turfgrass. Typically most homeowners utilize hose end irrigation tools to accomplish the task. Most importantly,watering early in the morning between the hours of 4:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. reduces water loss and decreases the incidence of fungal problems. With that said, there are three important factors to consider when selecting which sprinkler to use for your landscape.

First of all, a very important consideration is evaporation. A large percentage of water applied to a landscape is lost in regards to time of application and drift due to windy conditions. Selecting a sprinkler that emits large drops or a steady stream of water is more efficient and will reduce the drift of smaller particles of water. Also, sprinklers that hurl water high into the air will drift away from the targeted area during windy conditions.

Secondly, the shape and size of your lawn and landscape dictates which sprinklers are most effective for your situation. For example, a large lawn that is rectangular can be watered effectively with fan type sprayers. (see image above) Most of the sprinklers sold today will have a label on the box that will show the available spray patterns or specify the distance or area that can be achieved. Smaller areas may utilize different spray patterns to achieve full coverage. If the area has curves or narrow areas, certain sprinklers have multiple spray pattern that can be selected for a particular situation.

The water pressure that is applied through a sprinkler head can have both positive and negative results. The higher the pressure, the more likely issues with off target water application occur. Small droplet sizes, from high pressure, will result in more evaporation and greater chance of movement due to wind. If the water pressure is too low, the water may not reach the targeted area or too much water may be applied in a smaller location. It is important to adjust the sprinkler at the faucet to achieve the desired droplet size and coverage.

I cannot express how important water conservation is for our area. Doing a little hands on irrigation audit is a great way to limit water misuse. An irrigation audit can be conducted on just about any type of sprinkler and even a in-ground irrigation system. Simply gather some rain gauges or empty tuna or cat food cans and place them in the area that will be watered. Turn on the water and let the cans or rain gauges capture the water. Take into account the different water requirements for turf and landscape areas. Turf for example generally requires 1inch of water per week. Landscape plants generally have larger root systems and do not require as much water as a turgrass needs. With this in mind, let the sprinkler run for 15 minutes and measure the water captured in the cans or rain gauge (built in measuring scale) with a ruler or other measuring device of your choice. If you have captured 0.25 inches of water, then it can be assumed that you will have to water 4 times within a week to capture the 1 inch of water required for turfgrass.

Landscape Renovation

This is a great time of year to do your landscape renovations. This may include pruning, relocating or even replanting your landscape. Here are several suggestions to help your landscape flourish.

• Trim dead, unsightly or unwanted growth. Train your plants to grow where and how you want them to grow. Of course, this must be within reason, it depends on the growth pattern of the plant. If a plant has outgrown its welcome, consider replanting with a plant that will reach full growth and will not exceed the selected location.
• When transplanting, take into consideration the amount of root system that will be lost during removal. Damaging a large amount of root system will result in die-back or total loss. It is also recommended, when relocating plants, that proper locations are identified. It would not be wise to relocate a plant that requires full sun to a location that has full or part shade. Also, make sure that the plants are grouped by watering needs. Planting a cactus in an area with tropical plants would be a challenge to water. It will leave plants over or under watered, especially if an irrigation system is used.
  
• Replacing plants in the landscape can offer many benefits. Primarily, this allows for better plant selection. Selecting plants that require less fertilization and less water is a must for our area. In addition, selecting plants for the landscape can be a daunting task. Just visit any nursery and your mind will overload with the possibilities. With a little research and some forethought, plant selection can be a breeze. Select the right plant for the right place. Take into consideration the amount of sun and water a plant will require given a certain location. Select plants that are adapted to your area and your lifestyle. If you are not one to have the gumption to do regular yard work, consider plants that are easy to maintain or require little or no maintenance. It is equally important to select plants that are healthy and full of life. Selecting plant that have been neglected will only cost more money in the future. Once a plant has been abused either temporarily or routinely, it is likely the plants will struggle to maintain healthy growth throughout its life. Replacing plants can also lead into the addition of herbs or plants that attract birds and butterflies.
• Lastly, mulching is a great procedure that will save water and decrease weed problems. Mulch applied at 3 to 4 inches will readily reduce weed growth. In addition, utilizing weed mats will also reduce weed and keep maintenance down to a minimum. The moisture benefit is the biggest saver. Less is more!.. Less water saves more for the future.
  

These are just a few things I have contemplated while renovating some of my landscape.
Happy Landscaping!

Springing Into Green

Plants and grasses have started to grow and bud throughout the county. This is always a great indicator that plants are ready to pampered by the owner. There are some beneficial landscape maintenance chores that can be done to improve the quality of life of our plants.
First of all, turf can now be fertilized to assist in a healthy growing pattern. Nitrogen is the key nutrient that promotes leaf growth. A general recommendation of 1 to 2 pounds of nitrogen per year is used for most lawns. However, a soil test is still recommended to get an idea of the nutrient levels that are stored in the soil. A soil test will give the recommended fertilization for any given part of your landscape (ex. Lawn, Garden, Landscape).
In order to accomplish a 1-2 pounds of nitrogen, it is important to get the square footage of your lawn area and also understand the numbers on a fertilizer bag. The first number on a fertilizer bag is the % Nitrogen in the total weight of the bag. The second number is % Phosphorus, and the third number is % Potassium. This is typically referred to as N-P-K.
Typical recommendations for Nueces County, from the Texas AgriLife Extension Service Soil, Water and Forage Testing Laboratory, indicated that Ammonium Sulfate (21-0-0) should be applied. If you need to have your soil tested, you can get the forms and information online at http://soiltesting.tamu.edu/. Also, a good site to help figure out how much of a particular fertilizer needs to be applied can be found at http://aggieturf.tamu.edu/aggieturf2/calculators/fertsheet.html. You can also find information to help you calibrate spreader equipment at http://aggieturf.tamu.edu/aggieturf2/calibration/calibration.html. In addition, information on how to take soil samples. http://aggieturf.tamu.edu/aggieturf2/soilsample/soilsample1.html These are great tools to help you save some money on fertilization and deter over application of fertilizers which negatively impacts our bays and estuaries.
In addition, this a great time to trim dead or damaged foliage and branches from trees and shrubs. The new growth and developing buds can assist with shaping and retraining plants to grow in the form that we choose. There is also a great publication that will assist and inform homeowners of best practices and techniques used for trimming at http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/publications/landscape/pruning/pruning.html.

Coastal Bend Landscape Conference

If you need a little help caring for you landscape, you need to come to the 1st Annual Coastal Bend Landscape Conference. The conference will feature Lawn Maintenance, Trees for the Coastal Bend and other excellent topics. This a great opportunity to increase your awareness and knowledge regarding landscape maintenance for our area.

8:00– 8:30 a.m. Registration Fee $30/person (includes lunch and snacks during breaks.)

8:30-9:15 a.m. Drainage for Corpus Christi

9:15-10:00 a.m. Environmental Impacts on Bays Estuaries and the Gulf of Mexico

10:15-10:30 a.m. Break

10:30-11:15 a.m. Trees Please!!!

11:15-12:00 p.m. Turf Management

12:00-1:00 p.m. Catered Lunch

1:00-1:45 p.m. Earthkind

1:45-2:15 p.m. Drift Minimization

2:30-3:30 p.m. Pesticide Laws & Regulations Update

3:30 p.m. Adjourn

Sponsored By:

Nueces County Extension LAB , Nueces Horticulture Advisory Committee

and Texas AgriLife Extension, City of Corpus Christi Storm Water Dept. & Del Mar College

Please call and register today! 361-767-5217

Spring.. or not!

The question that arises during this time of year is "When do we trim landscape plant?" Recent weather predictions in our area say there will be another cold blast head our way in the upcoming weeks. I am by no means a meteorologist. My advise is to wait until plants start to show new growth. We all tend to get the urge to start trimming once temperatures warm up. I like to call this time of year... TEASE season. I remember some years back when a frost occurred around the first of April. A lot of new growth was damaged and plants took longer to recuperate. Unfortunately, the urge to trim our plants comes much earlier than the April 1st date. Mid March tends to be the general recommendation for trimming plants, however, we still have to be aware of potential frosts that might sneak up on us.

Keep in mind that trimming plants after winter is a great time to reshape the way your plants grow. I am referring to plants that may have out grown the landscape or may be growing in the wrong direction. When buds start to form, pruning your plants for future growth is beneficial to the aesthetics of your landscape. Here is a link to a great publication that explains pruning in detail. Happy Gardening.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/publications/landscape/pruning/pruning.html

Potential Freeze

Cold fronts seem to hit us by surprise some years. Keep in mind that covering plants will protect and promote better growth in early spring. Protection by covering and even putting a strand of Christmas lights around the plant will help protect from frosts. Using old bed sheets and blankets are easy fix.

The majority of damage will probably occur with tropical plants. Plants with large leaves and fleshy stems like banana plants, elephant ears, spider lilies, gingers, cannas, and split-leaf philodendrons will have the most damage. Many of the above plants will have not only brown leaves, but a stinky water soaked greenery. It is extremely important to address these plants quickly.

As water freezes, it actually causes the cell membranes to sever and releases the liquid inside, giving the plant the water-soaked appearance. The damage is accelerated in light, so those tropicals in full sun often have more damage than those in shade than those that left covered for a couple of extra days.

For those plants that have obvious damage, the question then becomes whether to cut them back or not. In most cases, less is better. Plants that have bare stems or a few small leaves that appear to have turned black due to the freeze should be left. Excessive pruning could expose the rest of the plant to additional damage if another major freeze occurs in the near future.

An easy way to remember if you should prune or not after a freeze is to use the phrase “Remove the mush.” If the freeze damage to plants shows up as watersoaked leaves that are beginning to rot, it is important to get rid of those quickly. If left unchecked, bacterial and fungal disease can attack these areas and work its way down to the undamaged part of the plants.

Since you are dealing with plants that might have bacterial rots, I’d also suggest taking a bucket with 10% bleach water (1 part bleach to 9 parts water) with you during your cleanup pruning. Dip your clippers in the solution after you cut each branch, and especially before moving onto another plant. This simply sanitary practice will help to kill bacteria and fungi could be passed from one plant to another on your clippers.

For the most part, your landscape probably will fare better than you expect. St. Augustine grass that was still holding on to green blades, will probably look a little browner. That’s ok, our warm season grasses will often turn brown in the winter. That is why they are called warm season grasses. Just wait until spring when turf starts growing again and your lawn will green up nicely. Also, don’t try to force a greener lawn with fertilizer now. Wait until March to fertilize.

Summer Woes

This summer has been challenging! Copious amounts of rain started us off with tremendous growth both in lawns and landscaping. Let us not forget that cold temperatures during this past winter affected many plants around the landscape. I am still seeing palm trees around the county that have not fully recovered from the freezing temperatures experienced this past winter. Now we are challenged with higher than usual heat and humidity, which creates many challenges for homeowners. The key to surviving a hot humid summer in the coastal bend is to water. However, that being said, high humidity can increase the incidence of fungus in our lawns and on landscape plants. Also, I am noticing high populations of insects. Several things should be considered when combating common problems in our landscapes:

• Water early in the morning - (4:00 a.m. - 7:00 a.m.) This decreases the amount of water left on the leaf surfaces. This moisture evaporates during the morning and does not allow for fungus growth. As moisture sits on top of leaves for a period of time, fungus has a better chance for survival and spread. The most important environmental reason for watering early in the morning is the fact that water is saved rather than lost due to evaporation.
• Think EarthKind!--If you are battling insects or other plant problems, choose the least toxic. This, for instance, may be using a soap and water solution to spray mealy bugs on hibiscus plants. Also, using products that contain natural products that deter or disrupt insect feeding habits. (ex. fire ants- use products that contain the active ingredient spinosad.)
• Lawn Fertilization - Is your lawn not staying green? This is a typical scenario with the amount of rain that has occurred this summer. Even though rain is very beneficial for lawn growth, major nutrients can leach out of the root zone and leave grass starving for food. Late August and early September can be a good time to give your turf a little boost of nitrogen and keep the lawn healthy. Just a simple 1/2 to 1 pound of nitrogen per 1000 square feet can perk up your lawn. Keep in mind to calculate your square footage of turf. If you need further help, you can go to the following site for a turf fertilization calculator.(http://aggieturf.tamu.edu/aggieturf2/calculators/fertsheet.html)

At Texas Agrilife Extension Service, our job is to improve the lives of the citizens of Texas. If you have any questions or would like additional information, please visit our website for contact information, publication and upcoming events.

Happy Gardening!