Larsen Landscape | Blog

GENERAL TIPS

There is a system available to inject earth friendly fertilizer directly into the sprinkler system.  This means that you fill the tank up about once a month and all your plants and lawns get fed every time you water.  This makes the plant material very healthy and sends the root zones deeper.  It also avoids the chemical runoff that is normally associated with fertilizer pellets.  Many cities are beginning to require this type of system for commercial projects as part of the effort to eliminate chemical buildup and algae growth in lakes and ponds. The system also allows the use of organic critter control.  This is a flower extract that tends to drive away gophers, deer, rats and rabbits.

Sometimes, recycled material can be used directly in the landscape design.  This could be using broken concrete pieces for building garden walls, using soil for contouring instead of hauling it away or rocks that are unearthed for ornamental features in the gardens.

Composting is a green approach for getting rid of yard waste.

Cutting your grass with a mulching type of mower keeps a lot of grass clipping waste out of the landfills and is actually good for the lawn.

Water Friendly Landscape, Simi Valley

Adding a layer of mulch cover over the soil in your garden beds will help hold in moisture and this means that you will not have to water as much.  This could be bark chips or wood shavings.  It is important to fertilize adequately if you use

redwood chips as these use up nitrogen when they decompose and your plants will need more than normal.

LANDSCAPING ELECTRICITY TIPS

For ponds and waterfalls, there are some pumps that are much more energy efficient than others.  The way to determine this is to compare the number of gallons per minute against the amperage required to run the pump.  Installing a timer is another option so you don’t forget to turn it off when you are not there to enjoy it.

Waterfall Design By Larsen Landscape

Waterfalls should be designed with the stonework so the sound is maximized without the need to have Niagara Falls pouring over the rocks.

Swimming pools are much more efficient with a variable speed pump system.  The idea here is to avoid having to run the pump at full speed for normal circulation needs.

Of course, the ultimate green approach to electricity is to install a solar collection system for all your electrical needs.  This goes way beyond just heating a swimming pool or a water heater and the technology is already available to turn sunlight into electricity.  You can even sell your unused power back to the utility company. Hopefully the ongoing research will get the cost of these systems into everyone’s price range soon.

ELECTRICITY USE

The main use of electrical power for an average landscape would be in any outdoor lighting or for ornamental water features or swimming pools.

Outdoor Path Lighting, Los Angeles

Low voltage landscape lighting has always been much more efficient than the type traditionally used inside the house.  You can use one 20 watt bulb to light a small tree, for instance (what you pay for on your electric bill is the number of watts used).

There is an even more efficient system that has just been perfected that uses LED technology.  This has two main advantages.  The first is that you would only use 3 watts for the same amount of light that you would get from the 20 watt light used in the traditional system.  The second advantage is that the LED bulbs last typically for about 50,000 hours (15 years in normal use).  For all practical purposes, this means that you don’t have to replace bulbs.  While a traditional outdoor lighting system for a front and back yard, with 30 lighting fixtures, might cost about $300 per year to run at today’s prices, the LED system with the same amount of fixtures would be about $45 per year.

The light fixtures do cost more than traditional fixtures, but there are some

Landscape Lighting, Thousand Oaks

cost savings in things like the transformer and the cable requirements since it is a more efficient system.  There is also the fact that you don’t have to buy replacement bulbs.  Considering that it also puts about 85% less drain on the electrical supply, it is very green and definitely worth looking into.

There are solar landscape lights, but the technology is not yet up to the point where this type of system really lights a landscape.  For dim lighting of pathways for a few hours after dark, these can be used and effective.

Next week more on electricity use with water features.

Watering Conservation Tips continued

There is a type of irrigation control box, which has a miniature weather station as well as a rain override system. This efficient technology is know as a Smart controller. The sensors detect weather conditions and adjust watering based on needs. The technology has been around for almost twenty years but the cost of these has come down for residential use. The return on your investment will probably be seen in the first year if not the first few months. Remember driving past houses during a rainstorm when the sprinklers were going full blast?

There are a many companies offering smart irrigation control products. Some are: AccuWater, Green Leaf Mapping & Control Systems, HydroEarth, Irritrol, Rain Bird, Rain Master, Toro, and Weathermatic.

If you don’t have a Smart controller system, the next best option is to adjust your settings regularly. Turn off the system when it rains, use it less when it is cool or cloudy, and regularly check which areas need water the most and adjust those valves. Wherever possible, design the sprinkler system to water the shady and sunny areas separately.  This might mean investing in a few more sprinkler control valves, but it makes a difference in the long run.

Simi Valley Lawn

It is amazing how many lawns I walk across when visiting properties where I hear a squishing sound as I walk and my shoes are soaked when I get to the other side.  This is the most obvious overuse of water and is more common than you might think.  This is not only expensive and a waste of water, it is not good for the lawn either.