ET Irrigation Controllers and Managers

We all have a shared responsibility to use our potable water intelligently when it comes to irrigation.  The need to conserve water has never been greater and more of us are looking at ways to maximize our irrigation systems and conserve water.  The only way to combat ET is with accurate, up to date weather information that is communicated to your irrigation controller.  ET, evapotranspiration, is water lost to the atmosphere as a combined result of plant transpiration and evaporation from the soil.  ET is affected by solar radiation, wind speed, air temperature and relative humidity.

Imbalance of moisture occurs when there is a disparity between water lost (ET) and water gained (rainfall / irrigation) and since the majority of irrigation controllers are time based, this leads to over-watering and wasteful use of our precious resource, water.  “Smart” controllers rely on the data you provide for each watering zone, including geographical positioning (North, East, South, and West), the type of vegetation (trees, shrubs, groundcovers, annuals) along maturation of vegetation, and soil type.  Once this data has been downloaded, the ET controller manages when and how much / often water needs to be applied.  This formula promotes healthy plants and eliminating over-watering; no more watering when it is raining, below freezing, and forgetting to seasonally adjust your timed controller.

There are a wide variety of smart controllers including ET Manager Series, a powerful management solution that works with virtually any existing controller, converting a conventional irrigation system into a weather-smart, accurate, real-time weather, water conserving system.

ET Manager Systems operate differently than the ET Smart Controller as it receives weather updates hourly from a weather signal provider. As the weather changes, your ET Manager driven controller will apply water only when needed, maintaining the optimum moisture balance in your soil, deeper root systems and a healthier landscape.

There are many regions that contain by-laws and tax credits that all new landscape irrigation must by ET controller based, making this the new standard in weather-smart irrigation.  ET controllers and ET Managers are smart and responsible in water conservation and provide peace of mind in knowing you can irrigate correctly as the water scarcity continues to deepen. 

Now is the time to water intelligently.

The Soil Food Web- Mulch, Compost Tea &, Mycorrhizal Relationships

As we understand that the soil food web is the foundation that creates the soils needed to support healthy, sustainable plant life, we will explore the importance of fungal compost, compost tea and mycorrhizal fungi and their relationships with the soil food web and maintaining trees, shrubs and perennials.

Just a reminder, trees, shrubs perennials prefer their nitrogen in forms of ammonium, not nitrate.  If you have ever wondered why your picea pungens (blue spruce) did not survive in the middle of your turf grass, the major contributor probably was your turf grass lawn as it is nitrate-fertilized.  By early detection or knowledge, you might have been able to protect your spruce by creating negative lawn area, in this instance, a planting island.

Mulches, fungal compost and tea work best on maintaining the health of your shrubs, trees and perennials.  When applying amidst your trees, you’ll want to make sure there is negative space between the compost and the trunk so the microbes aren’t in contact with the trunk, so the microbes don’t attack the bark.  It also makes perfect sense, both now and for future maintenance, to create planting or greenspace under the trees in place of turfgrass.

If you look at nature, leaves fall and cover the roots, naturally recycling the nitrogen and carbon with some making it back to the plant.  By applying a form of mulched leaves within a layer of brown mulch, preferably a couple inches thick, it will provide slow release nutrients and protect the roots though the winter months.  By applying a compost tea in the fall and once again in the spring (about 2-3 weeks before your shrubs and trees leaf out) is a sustainable way to insure the health and integrity of your plants and trees.

Mycorrhizal fungi products have been around for nearly a century but have mainly become main-stream within the last 5 years.  It is a natural form of nitrogen, one that envelopes and takes hold on the roots of your plants and is created by plants.  Hardwood trees form mycorrhizae known as ectomycorrhizal where most shrubs, perennials and softwood trees form mycorrhizae with endomycorrhizal fungi.  The heath family, which includes rhododendrons, sub-specie azaleas and blueberries, thrive on mycorrhizal fungus. 

If your garden is mature and you have compacted soils without noticing mycorrhizal activity (mushrooms growing under the drip line of your trees) you may wish to use a deep root feeder to inject your mycorrhizal drench to inoculate the roots.  With shrubs and perennials, it is simply excavating around their drip lines into their root zones with a spade or trowel and applying Endomycorrhizal spores.  If you have mushroom growth in and around your trees drip lines, then your soil has not been degraded to the point where natural mycorrhizal has been effected and you don’t necessarily have to add to create one.  Mycorrhizal fungi spores must be in contact with roots within 24 hours after exposure to moisture to grow and this is why mycorrhizal fungi is applied as a drench to assist in their delivery.

By applying mulches, teas, composts and mycorrhizal, your trees, shrubs and perennials will be less stressed and keep them from becoming attacked by insects.  They create extra pitch; their leaves are coated with beneficial bacteria and fungi to outcompete disease.  By having a soil food web –based system in place, you will continue to build a sustainable foundation for a healthy garden and greenspaces. If your plants do become stressed or diseased, at the first sign, don’t hesitate to put your soil food web knowledge to use and re-apply, especially compost teas.