When brown in good and green is bad.

Water Feature and Pond Maintenance

Recently, RainMaker began working with an HOA where we again have opportunity to maintain ornamental ponds as part of landscape maintenance.  This gives me an opportunity to discuss RainMaker's approach to maintenance of the ponds and water features found there.

There are two primary pond types: (1) ponds that are purely decorative (meaning no fish or plant-life) and (2) living ponds that contain fish, plant and bacterial elements within an ecosystem.  

Decorative ponds are easily maintained using synthetic chemicals and routine testing of the potential Hydrogen (pH) level.  Decorative ponds actually require more ongoing maintenance than living ecosystem ponds because there are no competing forces to correct imbalances.  This type of pond is much easier to correct when things get out of whack because you can just "nuke 'em" with chemicals and the problem is usually quickly resolved.

Recommended pH levels in a living pond are 6.8 - 7.8 ppm.  If the pH level is too high (water is too alkaline) that may promote algae growth.  If the pH level is too low (water is acidic) that may cause toxicity in plant and animal life.  

Established, living ponds should be mostly maintenance free and the elements of the ecosystem work to balance the pH level naturally.  This assumes the ponds are well designed, have a continuous flow of water (for aeration and oxygenation) and are functional (no areas of stagnation).

A balanced ecosystem of plants, fish and bacteria all work to maintain the health of the pond.  Oxygen level and organic chemical levels, salt, water temperature, all affect the diverse life cycles and interactions within the pond. 

Recently, some of the pond water was observed to be discolored (brown).  This is more typically observed in late fall during autumn leaf-drop.  This event was okay because it followed heavy July rains and is likely the result of run-off from sprinklers and the high precipitation.  The water should soon clear out the pigments from leaves, soil, etc. and leach out of the pond and newly cleaned filters.  This type of run-off will not likely harm the biologicals in the water.  

On the other hand, when dirt, fertilizer and sunlight result in cloudy, green water would indicate a nutrient imbalance that may lead to algae bloom.  Green or planktonic algae will rapidly increase within an nitrogen and phosphate rich environment.  When that is the case it may be necessary introduce chemical free, natural algaecides such as Quetrine Plus (AquaScapes) or Ecocarbon products in order to control algae by reducing nutrients levels.  This takes a little longer but is one of the few options available to tweak substrate levels when dealing with bio-ponds.

RainMaker cleans pond filters according to seasonal conditions.  For example, in early spring, it is a good idea to clean filters once a month until a good eco-balance is established in order to contain algae bloom.  Mineral additives can help the pond consume excess ammonia and are also beneficial to plant and fish life.

Throughout summer months, filter cleaning is less frequent and introduction of biological additives is minimal.  There are exceptions here, too.  For example, the heavy rains that washed top-soil, fertilizer and contaminants into the ponds could prompt a check of water quality following such weather events.  

Late fall/early winter "leaf-drop" also increases the  pace of filter cleaning.  Pumps should continue to run during winter months to maintain aquatic life.  Turn off decorative water features, fountains, water-falls, etc during winter.

Don't forget winter sludge control and you get the idea of RainMaker All-Season Maintenance's approach to pond maintenance.

Thanks for the read.  Please comment.

When less is more.

Recently I have experienced something that has clarified what I believe to be a universal truth of life (and landscape maintenance).  Less can really be more.

In the world of sub-division landscaping, be it in an HOA or individual residential properties, we see a common, recurring problem.  Installers of new landscape regularly put in too many plants or select plant types without enough thought being given to the down-the-line impact of the plant choices.

The reasons for this are obvious.  New homeowners want landscape that looks good.  We all want our property to look lush and beautiful from day one.  We may not even know what it is called but we know what looks good to us.  Builders and homeowners often specify certain plant types that are popular or recognizable despite their short-comings as to sustainability.  Also, landscapers want their work to be a show-piece that adds to their reputation. I get it and don't fault that.

For the first few years, trees and shrubs tend to grow freely and are easily controlled with an appropriate pruning schedule. A few years down the road, however, the plants begin to mature and hit "critical mass."  The landscape sort of goes "kaboom!" and begins to take on an unwieldy, crowded and in some cases, jungle-like appearance. The problem is exacerbated when desert and non-desert plants are mixed and planted and irrigated on the same drip line. Most landscape maintenance folk are forced to water to the least common denominator, meaning desert plants end up getting too much water in order to serve the water-gulpers that show signs of stress.

Because of different water consumption needs, the desert plants tend to either grow extremely large when over-watered or begin to drown, struggle and die. The non-desert varieties also tend to do well at first but as time goes by, begin to out-grow the water source, be it a 1, 5 or 10 gallon per hour drip emitter.

Another part of the problem is that shrubbery is often installed and irrigated on the same drip line as trees. After just a few years of over-watering, maturing trees and shrubs begin to encroach on one another and become susceptible to pest infestation and/or disease.  Welcome to the jungle.

As the philosopher Axl Rose once said about landscape maintenance:

Welcome to the jungle, we got fun 'n' games
We got everything you want, honey we know the names
We are the people that you find, whatever you may need
If you got the money, honey we got your disease.
- Welcome To The Jungle (Steve Adler, Duff Mckagan, Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin, Saul Hudson)


This year, in one of our HOA communities we took the "less is more" approach when doing our winter pruning.  With the support of the HOA board, we identified about 100 plants to be removed and not replaced. The net effect has been that the xeriscaped areas are cleaner, more open, the decorative rock is more prominent and, in my opinion, the overall result is more attractive than when all of the original landscape was in place.

The universal truths that I take from this is (1) reduce and simplify the unruly things in my life. (2) Do do things the right way the first time, (3) the process (of change) is painful; but worth it in the end.

Feel free to comment.

Many ways to skin a cat

This time of year I get many inquiries from homeowners concerned about their shrubs and tees.  With the onset of high temperatures some of the plants on or around their property begin to wilt and die.

Meeting with the homeowner and diagnosing watering deficiencies is the start of the discovery process. A common themes that surfaces is that shrubs and trees planted and irrigated with the same drip line have wildly different watering requirements.  Almost without exception what was planted x-number of years ago has now begun to out-grow the original water source.

The diagnosis (and accompanying bid amount) to correct the problem is not as simple as one would think.   Just upping the watering cycle duration may help the homeower in some cases.  But increasing watering duration to save one type of plant or tree can easily cause other more drought tolerant plants to drown. 

The cliche goes that there are many ways to skin a cat (with apologies to our feline friends) and while I have never personally attempted any method of cat skinning, I have likewise seen different methodologies when it comes to plants and drip irrigation.

 A contractor friend of mine who does primarily sprinkler system installation likes to put the drip emitter directly into the 5/8" drip tube, run the 1/4" emitter tubing (sometimes called "spaghetti line") to the base of the plant and call it good. Doing it that way I estimate he saves some goodly number of hours per year and maybe 10 cents per plant installed over the method that I will describe below.

Nurseries, landscapers and plant cultivators refer to plant material size by the gallon.  For example, a one gallon plant is about 6 to 8 inches tall and a 5 gallon plant is typically 15 to 18 inches tall.  In as little as one year, plants may outgrow the original water source, i.e., and the 1 gallon-per-hour (gph) emitter that worked just fine last year no longer provides adequate water flow for this year's (now) larger sized plant.

When that happens, the only solution is to bring more water to the plant.  Additional drip lines may be run to the plant or a new emitter allowing a greater gph flow to the plant must be installed or the plant will struggle and slowly die.  In order to do accomplish getting more water to the plant, one must remove the decorative gravel, get under the weed-guard fabric, and dig back to the 5/8" drip tube to make the change.  That about doubles the required labor quotient compared to if  the drip line had been installed the correct way.

What is the correct way? In my opinion, the correct way to run drip irrigation is to install a barbed connector at the drip tube, connect the spaghetti line to the connector, run the 1/4" tubing to the plant and connect the color-coded drip emitter at the plant-end of the line. Then, when plants begin to outgrow their water-source, a maintenance guy like myself can easily snip off the old emitter and install a new, higher gph emitter. The labor requirement is short and material cost is negligible.

So on behalf of landscape maintenance guys, I hope we can influence irrigation system installers everywhere to take the extra time at installation to use the 10 cent connector.  Not likely.  For now, we will just keep muddling through, dealing with the short-cuts of others.  

As the Preacher said:   The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.  (Ecclesiastes 1:9)


Thanks for the read.  Post a comment if you'd like.

Spring stress test

Here is an update on what is going on in the Greater St. George, Utah area.

We've completed the recommended spring aeration, fertilization and pre-emergent applications. More importantly, the watering systems have been turned back on and we are beginning to see the greening-up of the grass, trees and shrubs.

The watering schedule has been ratcheted up over the past few weeks to get the turf-grass fully re-established.

At the end of March, while it is still cool, we will be turning the water off (for about a week) to induce a controlled “stress” on the grass. Once the grass starts showing signs of stress we will turn the water back on with short-duration watering (2-4 minutes) and multiple start times about 4 days a week depending on soil, slope and exposure.

The watering schedule is designed to promote deeper water penetration and root growth. The objective is to increase conservation efforts by “training” the grass to go deeper for water.

Thanks for reading us. Check back for more random landscaping thoughts by visiting www.rainmakerallseason.com and click on the “Visit the RASM Blog” button."

A midsummer night's dream

"Lord what fools these mortals be." - Puck (III.ii.115) in William Shakespeare's Midsummer night's dream.

It is doubtful that the Bard, ever considered southern Utah landscape maintenance when he penned this classic and bawdy comedy masterpiece. However, just as a rose by any other name is still a rose, a true statement by any other interpretation continues to be a true statement.

In southern Utah, at the height of our extreme heat, clay soil and quest for green grass, we foolishly attempt outlandish to out-duel mother nature. When summer heat and stress are prevalent, we seem unable to accept the browning of grass and wilting of shrubs without a fight.

So fighting on we go. One of the normal responses to extreme temperatures this time of year is to add additional minutes and start times to our irrigation routine. This is all well and good except mother nature often foils the foolish mortal with a new and better problem.

One of the only ways to keep turf grass green this time of year is to increase water. However, regular morning watering does not allow sufficient absorption to prevent root zone drying and surface scorch. So, we add additional watering times for early evening. That mitigates the drying cycle and deepens the overall water penetration at the root zone.

Unfortunately, the night-time watering is also the final ingredient in the recipe for a midsummer night-mare. Dark, warm and wet puts the fun in fungus!

Once fungus is present, there is a protracted battle to isolate and control the condition. Preventative chemical treatment is required as is sanitation practices to quarentine spread to other areas.

If you are unsure if your brown spots are fungus or caused by some other issue, consult a local resource such as a Master Gardner, commercial landscaper, horticulturalist or other expert to help you to identify and treat for the problem.

Of course, the best way to combat fungus is to have a healthy organism in the first place. But if you see browning, and have (1) checked water delivery (minutes, frequency and efficacy), (2) ruled out other pests (grubs, dogs and contaminants), then fungus is the next likely culprit this time of year.

Anti-fungal chemicals, properly used and applied according to the application rate indicated on the label, can defineatly help your lawn look its best.

Check with your landscaper, local nursery or county extension office for more help with establishing a pro-active chemical budget. Good luck and remember:

If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended:
That you have but slumbered here,
While these visions did appear;
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend.
If you pardon, we will mend.
- Puck (V. Epilogue. 1–8) in William Shakespeare's Midsummer night's dream.

Best watering strategy for greater St. George, UT

One of the most important aspects to a great landscape result is the watering schedule.

First things first. If you maintain your own irrigation system, give your sprinkler system a tune up. Start with the clock. Taking a few minutes to read the manual will be beneficial. Familiarizing yourself with the features and controls will allow you to control the watering schedule such as which days of the week to water and how many minutes each station will water.

Next, observe the sprinklers as each zone is watering. Many times problems can be detected with a simple visual inspection. However, water delivery problems are sometimes difficult to see without an experienced eye. A good rule of thumb is to replace filters and nozzles every spring and replace heads every two years.

Check for excessive run-off. Consider the slope of terrain, thatch layer and soil composition when determining the length of time to water. Consider a plan of low duration (5 - 10 minutes) with multiple starts.

You can also check with your local County Extension office for recommendation specific to your situation and landscape.

Turf aeration

One of the questions that I frequently get is "how often should I aerate my turf grass?"

The answer is simple. Whenever it needs it. Okay, a little background. Aerating turf means puncturing the thatch and top soil layer to allow water and air to better access the root zone. In most landscape, and for a variety of reasons which shall be addressed in another post (if ever) root zones are fairly shallow perhaps 3-5" in depth.

There are different ways to aerate turf including spiked shoes (no joke), tined hand tools (think pitch-fork) and the most common, commercial aerating machines. But as to the question of frequency...

The first consideration is soil composition. Southern Utah soil is naturally sandy or contains significant amounts of clay and non-loamy material.

Sandy soil allows water to penetrate but does not retain water at an optimal root zone depth (say 8" to 24" below ground). Soil that is too sandy acts as a sieve and water is quickly lost into the ground.

On the other hand, clay soil inhibits water penetration and surface irrigation tends to stand or run off. That is bad for the grass and bad for the water budget. Normally the longer the water sits on the ground, the better depth of absorption can be achieved. Super high clay content is the opposite problem of sandy soil and will cause the water to stand too long leading to fungus, root rot and other problems. So examine a fist full of soil. If the soil has fine grainy sand, you are probably losing water and minerals. If the soil balls up like silly putty when you squeeze it in your hand you have clay. "Good soil" will hold together lightly and crumble in a nice loam.

Another method is to observe the water delivery. Allowing for slope of terrain, if the sprinkler water runoff is excessive, you probably have a high clay content in the soil and aeration may help the water penetrate and provide better water retention.

Next factor is thatch. Thatch is nothing more than a build up of organic material above the root zone. Most commercial landscapers do not use mulching mowers; instead bag and remove clippings each time the turf is cut which reduces accumulation of thatch zone. Even so, over time residual clippings may buildup faster than nature can break them down and the thatch zone may divert water laterally rather than allow for surface penetration and root zone watering. A simple way to check for thatch is to brush your fingers through the turf at the soil line. If more than an inch of thatch is present throughout, aeration can help punch holes to let the water and air do their thing.

Finally, the overall maintenance schedule has relevance for if/when to aerate. While aeration can be done in any season, I recommend late winter or early fall. The reasons are twofold. There is less mechanical watering taking place and the likelihood for damage to sprinkler heads or pipes is less severe than at other times of the year.

Also, when pre-emergent chemicals are applied, usually in mid springtime and or autumn, aeration should be avoided for 90-120 thereafter. The nature of aeration simply punctures the pre-emergent barrier and reduces the efficacy of the chemical.

So accounting for soil composition, watering and chemical schedule and thatch buildup I recommend most southern Utah lawns be aerated at least one time per year. Happy humus!