Does the thought of making changes to your yard seem costly? Can you still get reasonable benefits from just changing a few things instead of your whole yard? Do you feel overwhelmed because you don’t know where to start? Do you feel like you don’t know enough about irrigation systems to know what to do?
Having an efficient automatic irrigation system can be financially affordable for homeowners, especially with help from our rebates. Homeowners can choose to install or update a spray or drip irrigation system. To figure out your budget using our rebates, consider the following questions: How much can I spend on irrigation updates this year? It’s important to be realistic about what you can spend and stick to your budget. You don’t necessarily need to spend thousands of dollars to begin saving water. We offer rebates to help you cover some of the costs. Upgrades don’t have to be completed all at once. They can be done in phases.
Check out our New Irrigation Efficiency Guide: Beautiful Landscapes with Less Water. Download the guide here.
There are misconceptions about how to prune a tree. Here are seven things you need to know before you begin.
1. Always have a reason for each cut you make on a tree. A beautiful day and hearing you need to prune now are not the right reasons. The main reasons we trim our trees are to support strong tree structure, encourage fruit production, prevent damage, provide clearance to avoid conflicts, shape the tree for aesthetic reasons and repair the tree from previous damage.
2. Chose the right time of the year. There are good times of the year to prune. Pruning at other times can lead to tree distress and disease. Prune during late winter and early spring, just as trees are coming out of dormancy and will be actively growing soon. For fruit trees, wait until they have flowered before pruning to encourage production and direct growth.
3. Use good hand tools, including a bypass hand pruner and scabbard, 8” folding hand saw, long reach pruner and orchard ladder (step ladders on uneven ground can be dangerous). As fun as they may seem, never use a chainsaw unless operating from the ground below shoulder height. Always wear PPE including safety chaps. Remember to sterilize tools with alcohol or Lysol spray when moving between trees.
Hand Pruner and Bypass Pruning Shears
4. Know your tree type. To figure out your tree type and its particular needs, try some plant identification apps, read the Arbor Day Foundation brochure “what tree is that.” or take photos of the tree and ask an expert. Pictures should include the overall tree form, leaves, bark, flowers or fruit. The most common trees in the Albuquerque landscapes are honey locust, Modesto ash, Siberian elm, London planetree, desert willow, Austrian pine, ashes, ornamental pear, Afghan pine, purple leaf plum, cottonwoods, golden raintree, Chinese pistache, pinon pine, redbuds, crabapples, Navajo willow, Texas red oak and mimosa.
5. Check out your tree’s health. How much water does it need and if/when does it need to be pruned? Highly-stressed trees should not have living branches pruned or removed. A healthy tree’s overall vigor and branch growth from previous years should be around 3”- 4” of growth per year between a bud scar and a new terminal bud. Access the density of the canopy all around and under the tree. For healthy conifers look for four years’ worth of needles on a branch. Less than two years on a branch is considered stressed.
6. Know the three types of pruning cuts: heading, removal and reduction. Avoid heading unless attempting to correct damage. Removal describes cutting branches all the way back to the main trunk. Remove 1” caliper branches and avoid cutting anything bigger than 3”. Some trees, like our local cottonwood, may not be able to heal large wounds. Reduction cut is the ideal cut. It is used to redirect and subordinate growth. Reduction cutting allows the tree to heal properly. Prune back to a branch that is at least 1/3 the size of the branch removed in order to avoid excess sprouting and allow the remaining branch to assert dominance.
7. Know where and how to make the cut. Refer to the diagrams to properly identify the branch collar, which contains the Branch Protection Zone (BPZ) that has specialized tissues which resist the passage of decay organisms into the trunk. Cut about 1/2” outside the branch collar. This allows for proper wound healing. Use the following three-step method when making a cut: First, make a partial upward cut several inches out from the final cut. Next, make a full downward cut a half inch farther out to take the weight off. Lastly, make the final cut without nicking the branch collar.
By reviewing and understanding these seven tree pruning concepts you are well on your way to properly pruning your trees. Remember, tree pruning is only needed every few years. The proper watering of your trees needs to happen monthly. Check out the other tree health articles below to keep yours in tip-top shape.
Author: Amos Arber, Xeriscape Rebate Inspector with the Water Resources Conservation Department for the Water Authority. Have a question about the article? AskAnExpert@abcwua.org
Most irrigation systems have a lifespan of 20 years before they begin to break down. If your house is older than that, most likely you are dealing with issues (water pressure, uniformity of watering, overspraying and possible leaks) that negatively affect the quality of your landscape. If you are going to go through the time, effort and cost of a total yard transformation, seriously consider replacing your whole irrigation system.
PRO TIPS FOR SPOTTING POSSIBLE PROBLEMS WITH THE IRRIGATION SYSTEM:
• Grass is often taller and darker green around a sprinkler that is leaking or in the middle of a lawn where a pipe is leaking.
• Wet spots in a pathway could indicate either a broken emitter is shooting water or a leak is occurring in piping underneath the path.
• Odd sounds, like hissing or splashing, or squishy areas in the lawn or gravel often indicate a leak.
• Calcium deposits on gravel without plants can indicate a leak.
• A wilting plant can indicate a clogged emitter.
• Small areas of dry turf, often near a sprinkler, usually mean there’s a clogged nozzle.
To achieve higher efficiency over time you need to maintain your system. Extending the lifespan of your system requires some upkeep. Most often this maintenance is very easy and won’t take much time at all.
There are a number of things to consider when you are growing fruit and vegetables
The healthier your soil is the less water you will need over the growing season. Improve your soils by adding compost and other amendments every year. Getting a soil test can help you determine exactly what to add.
Cover your garden with an organic mulch, whether it is straw or wood chips (or another organic product). A thick layer (3-4”) of mulch will reduce the frequency of watering, and the amount you need because it helps cool the soil and protects against rapid evaporation.
Raised beds and pots can make gardening more convenient because you don’t have to stoop and it’s a way to utilize small spaces, or area where the ground may not be able to be used for gardening. The convenience often comes with a trade-off. Raised beds and pots tend to require water more frequently, often times using more water over a growing season than if you planted your garden in the soil.
Historic, or traditional methods, such as waffle gardens and using ollas (unglazed terracotta pots which go in the soil at a plant’s rootzone) will often help you conserve water. More information on waffle gardens can be found here: Waffle Gardens – UNM Sustainability
Choose appropriate fruits and vegetables for your garden. Blueberries may be a “superfood” and delicious, but they want to grow in acidic, consistently moist soils. Those conditions are essentially the opposite of Albuquerque. Huckleberries, related to blueberries, prefer a more alkaline soil, and will often flourish in drier conditions.
We have provided you with a quick guide to also give you a better idea of the relative amount of water needed to keep your fruits and veggies healthy and consistently producing for you.
Author: Richard Perce, Irrigation Efficiency Specialist with the Water Conservation Department for the Water Authority. Have a question about the article? AskAnExpert@abcwua.org
It’s irrigation season. If you have a grass lawn with spray heads, it’s time to check out your system to make sure it is running smoothly. Run a one-minute test program on the controller and visually examine each zone. Look for broken, leaning, or clogged sprinkler heads. Check and adjust for irrigation spraying on sidewalks, driveways, patios, or streets. Look for uneven coverage and sprays that may be blocked by new landscape growth.
If any of the above issues are happening, you’ll want to go through each spray head and perform the following maintenance tasks:
Flush the sprinkler system by turning on the sprinklers for a few seconds without the nozzle.
Adjust the arc by turning the sprinkler on. While the sprinkler is watering, look at the right side and see if it is aligned. If it isn’t, you will need to align it by turning the entire riser to the correct position (to the right) as this is the fixed side of the arc. While turning the riser you will hear a noise. This is a ratcheting system that allows you to make an adjustment. Turn it clockwise to reduce the arc and counterclockwise to increase the arc.
Adjust the radius by turning the screw in the middle of the nozzle with a flathead screwdriver, turning clockwise position to reduce, and to reach farther turn opposite direction or counterclockwise.
Clean the filter by pulling the riser up and holding it with one hand, while your other hand unthreads the nozzle and pulls the filter out. Clean the filter by dipping it into a bucket of water.
If your spray heads are putting out a very fine mist or fogging, your system may be operating over its design pressure. You’ll need to install a pressure regulator to reduce the water pressure at the irrigation system’s water connection, which is before the backflow and after the meter.
Learn more by checking out these other useful irrigation articles:
Author: Jill Brown, ASLA, is a Landscape Architect and owner of My Landscape Coach in Albuquerque, NM. Contributor: Greg at Sisco Irrigation, Albuquerque, NM. Have A question about the article? AskAnExpert@abcwua.org
The most efficient way to water your yard is by using an automatic system. Hand watering can be problematic because it can lead to inconsistent watering, causing you to overwater, underwater, or forget to water altogether.
If you are ready to invest in a more efficient irrigation system, a Water Sense Smart hose timer is the way to go. It’s an inexpensive way to get your plants on an automatic irrigation system, allowing you to water your yard on a specific day of the week, time of the day, and for a set number of minutes. You can put it together yourself for under $100.
The hose timer can attach to high-quality irrigation Polypipe with drip emitters or connect to a professional landscape dripline. The irrigation dripline can stay in the ground year-round and is easily connected to an automatic in-ground irrigation system.
There are a variety of products you can use, including smart controllers, easy twist and turn controllers, battery controllers, multi-valve controllers, and more. We offer a rebate on ones that adjust to our weather and your plant’s watering needs.
Below is an example of a hose watering system using one of the smart irrigation controllers —in this case, a B-hyve hose faucet controller— included in our rebate program. All the pieces and parts needed for this system are listed below, but if you have any doubts, take this picture to your local irrigation supply store and they’ll help you get everything you need.
Plants thrive on a consistent watering routine that allows the soil to dry out slightly between waterings. Setting up an automatic hose bib system is easy, inexpensive, water smart and the best thing you can do to keep your plants healthy.
Learn more by checking out these other useful irrigation articles:
Author: Jill Brown, ASLA, is a Landscape Architect and owner of My Landscape Coach in Albuquerque, NM. Contributor: Greg at Sisco Irrigation, Albuquerque, NM. Have A question about the article? AskAnExpert@abcwua.org
