Improve your landscape, lower your water bills at the same time

Originally posted at tulsaworld.com
by World Special Publications
Published: 7/25/2011 9:42 AM
You turn the faucet off when brushing your teeth and installed low-flow toilets and shower heads — but your outdated irrigation system could be undermining your efforts to save water.

The average American household uses 30 percent or more of its water outdoors in landscaping. Bigger users might be closer to 70 percent in some cases, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Some experts estimate that up to half of the water used to irrigate landscapes is wasted due to evaporation, wind or runoff caused by poorly adjusted sprinklers, improper design or over watering.

Summer is the time when water use spikes the most and is the reason why the Irrigation Association dubbed July “Smart Irrigation Month.” Saving water doesn’t have to be complicated; you can find water efficient choices to accommodate any budget.

Smart products: water less, save more

Like cell phones, video games and cars, irrigation technology has advanced dramatically in the past 10 years. You can do more with the irrigation technologies of today.

Consider adding these water-saving devices to your irrigation system:

• High-efficiency nozzles: Replace conventional spray heads with high-efficiency nozzles to apply water more evenly and reduce your landscape water use by 30 percent.

• Rain/moisture sensors: Sensors will override an irrigation controller to turn off the system at the first detection of rainfall or the presence of moisture in the soil.

• Low-volume drip irrigation: Drip irrigation systems reduce water use by applying only the required amount of water directly to the plant, minimizing evaporation and water waste.

• Smart controllers: These controllers take into account weather conditions, soil type, plant material and other factors to automatically adjust irrigation system run times to deliver only what is necessary, conserving thousands of gallons of water annually.

• Rainwater harvesting: The collection of just 1 inch of rainfall on an average roof is enough to provide more than 500 gallons of reusable water. Capturing and storing water for reuse in the landscape is easy using below-ground catchments or above-ground cisterns or barrels.

• Pressure regulated valves or sprinkler heads: A five-point reduction in psi (a standard measure of water pressure in your irrigation system) can reduce water use by 6 to 8 percent. Proper system pressure also improves performance and life expectancy. Don’t overlook the simple solutions that can help save water, such as watering in the early mornings when winds are calm and temperatures are cool and properly adjusting your sprinklers to prevent sidewalk watering.

Getting started

It is important to ensure your choices are the right choices for your landscape. The right products, combined with proper management techniques, will help your landscape look its best while saving water and money.

Before you run out and buy a new smart controller, you should consider a few things to help you get started:

• Check for leaks. The EPA reports that an irrigation system leak about the thickness of a dime can waste about 6,300 gallons of water per month. Fixing leaks can reduce water use by more than 10 percent.

• Consult a professional. Hire a certified landscape irrigation auditor to visit your home and conduct a site inspection and water audit to determine water-wasting inefficiencies. An auditor will provide a results report that lists opportunities for irrigation system upgrades or repairs. Or hire a certified irrigation contractor or designer to talk with you about the best water-saving technologies for your landscape.

• Plant choices. Know the water needs of the different plants in your landscape, and give each plant just the right amount. This is the key to a healthy landscape that uses less water. When possible, choose plants with low water use requirements. Check with your local water agency to obtain a recommended plant list for your region or spend a few minutes on the Internet. You may be surprised by how many beautiful native plant choices are available.

For more tips on how you can use less water in your landscape all year long, visit the Irrigation Association’s Smart Irrigation Month website at www.irrigation.org/SIM.

Toro is all charged up

Originally posted at startribune.com
by: Susan Feyder, Star Tribune
After four years in development, Toro came up with an electric mower, gentle enough for golf courses' defining greens.

It's been 90 years since the Toro Co. pioneered motorized grass cutting for golf courses by simply hitching five mowers to a tractor. It was a crude stab at innovation that eliminated an even cruder problem -- cleaning up after the horses that until then had pulled mowers over fairways.

Since then, gasoline -- not hay -- has been the primary power source for golf course maintenance. Now the Bloomington-based company has taken a step to change that, with a new lithium ion-powered, all-electric mower that's a first in the turf care industry. The mower is specifically targeted for greens, whose tender grass is demanding enough to dictate precise care.

It's the latest of several eco-friendly products Toro has launched in recent years, including hybrid mowers and water-saving sprinklers and irrigation systems. Many are aimed at the golf course market, which last year accounted for more than one quarter of Toro's $1.69 billion in sales, but others are geared for landscape contractors, farmers and homeowners.

Toro began exploring battery-powered mowers several years ago because it knew the golf industry was interested in machines that would not consume gas or emit carbon dioxide, said Helmut Ullrich, senior marketing manager for greens mowers. Another benefit is that they are quieter, so they can be operated for more hours during the day without disturbing neighbors, he said.

The company initially considered developing a mower powered by lead acid batteries. Jacobsen, a Charlotte, N.C.-based unit of Textron Inc., already has a lead acid battery model on the market.

"We couldn't come up with a mower with a lead acid battery that met customers' expectations," Ullrich said. The main problem was that the battery would only last for mowing two or three greens and then had to be recharged, a process that takes about eight hours. Golf course superintendents had told Toro they wanted a machine whose power would last for at least six greens. 

 

read more at startribune.com

Top 5 Essential Gardening Tools

Originally posted at foxnews.com

From gas-powered tillers to electric hedge trimmers, there’s no shortage of power tools to help you maintain your garden. But while these tools can be helpful, you don’t need a shed bursting with high-end gear to grow a vibrant garden. Instead, focus on the basics — these essential tools that every gardener should master before moving on to the more expensive gardening toys.

Trowel and hand rake

Before you can plant a garden, you first need to do a little digging. A trowel and hand rake are two essential tools for planting small seedlings, breaking up clumps of dirt and weeding between your plants.

For bigger tasks, you’re going to want to turn to a shovel and garden fork, the bigger siblings of the trowel and hand rake. Use these to loosen large patches of packed soil or dig holes for saplings.

While you can certainly get cheap trowels, shovels and garden forks, spring for something made from stainless steel or cast aluminum. These are garden tools after all, and you don’t want them rusting away. You also want to make sure that they are sturdy. you won’t save any money in the long run by buying something that will bend in half at the first tough patch of dirt.

Pruning shears
Once your garden is growing, shears will become your top tool to ensure your green space doesn’t become a sprawling mess. You’ll also turn to your shears to prune back flowering and fruit-bearing plants to ensure you get a healthy yield. While a pair of shears doesn’t have to be expensive, you’ll want to find something that feels right in your hand — the last thing you want is to start suffering hand cramps halfway through pruning your rose bushes. Make sure that your shears can be taken apart, so that they can be sharpened easily.

Gloves
While gardening can be a joy, nature can be the enemy. A good set of gloves will protect you from thorns and thistles that can make garden work an otherwise painful hobby. Get a pair that isn’t too bulky — the better the fit, the more nimble you’ll be when you work your way around the rose bush or pluck prickly weeds growing between your herbs.

Wheelbarrow
If you have a large backyard and need to shift around topsoil or haul away the waste from an old tree stump, you’re going to need a wheelbarrow. A traditional hand-powered model will run you around $80, but these days you can even get a motorized wheelbarrow capable of hauling 500 pounds or more.

Garden rake
Not to be confused with the rake you use to clean up a leaf-strewn backyard in the fall, a garden rake features a forged steel rake head that’s designed to bite into the dirt, loosening it so that your plants’ roots can grow freely. Once you’ve tilled the soil, flip the rake around and use the backside to smooth the soil.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com