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Jessica Schwartz
Hunter’s New Wireless Valve Link Helps Simplify Installation
When taking on a new installation or retrofit project, running wire from the controller to field valves can be time-consuming, labor-intensive, and expensive. The new Wireless Valve Link uses LoRa® Wireless Radio Technology from Hunter Industries enables contractors to easily connect valves without running additional wires or cutting into hardscape, which can be an extremeley time consuming part of any hardscape or design-build project.
Drip Irrigation Used In UK’s First-of-its-Kind Carbon Sequestering Initiative
Netafim, a provider of sustainable precision irrigation solutions and agricultural projects, has announced implementation of its drip irrigation system for a site growing carbon-storing trees in Suffolk, UK. In the first-of-its-kind project in the UK , a variety of Paulownia trees are being planted across 331 acres of land to produce fast-growing quality hardwood and absorb carbon dioxide up to seven times faster than newly-planted indigenous woodland. Initiated by Carbon Plantations, the property was built to ensure the project’s long-term stability and increase yield and carbon-storing capabilities. Working towards the UK Government’s strategy of creating economic opportunities for carbon capture as a key part of achieving net-zero emission goals, the trees will be thinned out after seven years, their timber sold for light construction, and carbon credits will either be claimed or auctioned for corporate carbon offsetting, contributing to ESG goals. The project is expected to absorb over 165,000 tons of CO2 over the first 10 years of its lifetime. “We already know that our drip technology increases water and nutrient use efficiency, while increasing productivity. We are excited to partner with Carbon Plantations to transform the way we are removing carbon from the atmosphere and advancing life around the world,” commented John Farner, Netafim chief sustainability officer. Nigel Couch, managing director of Carbon Plantations, said: “We are acutely aware of the urgency of taking action to tackle the climate and ecological crises, and increasing tree planting is a key part of the government’s Net Zero strategy. Farmers planting trees ...
Get Equipped: Irrigation And Water Management
This assortment of irrigation and water management solutions can add value to your professional lawn care and landscaping services. HydroPoint BaseStation 3200™ Irrigation Controller The BaseStation 3200™ site management controller provides users with more control and information than ever before. It supports patented two-wire technology from Baseline, as well as conventional wire and retrofit solutions. Its advanced flow management features and flexible communication options allow users to network devices through the Cloud or using a local area network. The BaseStation 3200 combines soil moisture sensor-based intelligent watering technology from Baseline with industry best practices. The BaseStation 3200 can help users reduce water use by up to 62%. SeEPRO EutroSORB Phosphorus Filtration Technology EutroSORB Phosphorus Filtration Technology is designed to intercept excess phosphorus from moving water to restore water quality. EutroSORB filters immediately begin working once deployed in a water resource. EutoSORB provides an efficient and economical solution to reduce phosphorus inputs, stop eutrophication, and protect water quality. EutroSORB and Phoslock® Phosphorus Locking Technology combine to provide comprehensive management solutions for both external and internal phosphorus. Hunter Spiral Barb Elbows Hunter Spiral Barb Elbow (HSBE) Fittings feature an innovative spiral-to-sealing barb design that makes them stronger and easy to install in any setting. The spiral barb expands into a single sealing barb that creates a leak-free connection and is designed to withstand pressures up to 80 PSI without leaks or breaks. The HSBE Fittings feature acetal material producing sharp barbs that grip the tubing better. They are compatible with Hunter FlexSG ...
Three Essential Irrigation Trends
Two-wire, battery power, and smart tech are taking control in landscape irrigation. Here’s what you need to know. Level up your customers’ irrigation systems and give yourself a competitive advantage by learning about the latest trends and top-selling products. These recommendations will not only help grow your business, but also help you tackle the challenges of meeting evolving state and national water use restrictions. Increasingly, customers are asking about product options that conserve energy and save money. Read on to learn three innovative ways to achieve your customers’ irrigation goals. Two-Wire Controllers The basic concept of a two-wire controller is that it uses a single two-wire path to communicate to a decoder or output device. It then uses the same wire to provide power to each zone valve through the solenoid. While a traditional controller is a reliable and tested irrigation method, there are several reasons you might consider two-wire for your next install. Traditional controller set-ups can use a lot of wire. Because a dedicated wire and common wire are required for each zone or control valve, this can quickly add up—especially in larger systems. Two-wire can actually use up to 70% less wire than traditional systems, depending on coverage area. This could mean lower installation and material costs for the same design and performance. Longer wire runs can also be achieved with a two-wire arrangement. If your installation has zone valves a significant distance from the controller, rather than upsizing the station wire to a larger gauge, ...
Water Harvesting To Irrigate Landscapes
Rain water, gray water, and blackwater systems can aid arid areas. Reducing the amount of water used for landscape irrigation is challenging, yet extremely important to the drought affected areas of the U.S. Landscape watering needs within the U.S. vary greatly based on many different factors: local climate, soil conditions, native plants, plant selection, and micro-climates on the site. In many locales, rainfall can be nature’s irrigation system, while in drought affected areas precious potable water provides most of the source for landscape irrigation. Yet even with these differences, saving water is very possible. In most cases, simple changes can result in water savings between 10% to 20%. By reusing water, savings of 50% to 100% are achievable. First Steps The first step in saving water is maximizing the efficiency of the irrigation system. Once that is accomplished, incorporating a water reuse system (i.e., rain water harvesting, gray water, or blackwater) makes sense. (Efficient irrigation systems will obviously reduce the cost of any new water-reuse systems.) Irrigation System Efficiency. Obvious simple system fixes such as addressing leaks, adjusting heads to not over- or under-spray, getting the controller set right, adding a rain sensor, and upgrading the controller to an EPA WaterSense weather-based model will result in a reduced water bill and a less costly water reuse system. The EPA provides a water budgeting tool which is handy when determining how much water should be applied to a landscape. It can be found at epa.gov/watersense/water-budget-tool. Soil & Mulch. Another step to ...
Turf June 2022 Issue
Editor’s Letter: June 2022 Issue Not A Drop To Drink I could fill this Editor’s Letter with scary statistics about water shortages and drought, but unless you’re living under a rock within that xeriscape you designed, it’s not news to you. In many areas, we are in crisis with a precious resource not only essential to life, but essential to the landscape trade. “Using clean, filtered drinking water to water landscapes will become a thing of the past,” writes Doug Pushard, founder of HarvestH20 in his article, “Water Harvesting & Reuse.” Though that may seem unlikely, or at least years away, in states blessed with adequate rainfall, landscapers in California are already facing harsh water realities. While smart controllers, drip irrigation, and appropriate plant selection should come into play in any irrigated landscape, firms like CK Landscape in San Francisco are leading the way with fertigation, groundwater use, and graywater systems as standard practices in their stunning designs. It likely won’t be long until many others in arid areas are following suit—by choice or by necessity. Of course, too much water comes with its own set of landscape problems. Storms with deluges of rain over a short time can mean drainage problems. And stormwater runoff is increasingly being scrutinized for its pollutants. I recently spoke with a friend in a neighborhood where his rain garden is a property requirement and subject to municipal inspections and fines. And yet I remember a time fairly recently when few people had even heard ...
The Drought-Wise Landscaper
Strategies from a California landscaper and irrigation expert. For the third time in the state’s history, California is facing a water crisis that reaches far beyond a solitary dry spell. Now in its fourth straight year, this ongoing drought is forcing the California Department of Water Resources to declare a state of emergency in many areas of the state. The deterioration of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, state water cutbacks, decreased snowfall, and climate change are contributing to a situation that threatens the very quality of life of Californians. The projected outlook also remains bleak when population growth is taken into account. According to the Association of California Water Agencies, “state officials recently projected that California’s population will reach 50 million by 2032 and 60 million by 2050.” This will create a huge strain on the state’s already taxed water supply system. Of course, one has only to read the news to know many other states are also facing ongoing water shortages. Fertigation In the face of such a seemingly insurmountable problem and accompanying water restrictions, landscaping becomes an easy target, leaving many to wonder what the future will look like for an industry so intimately tied to water-use. Yet a major solution may lie in fertigation, or fertilizing a yard through the irrigation system. The practice has historically been used almost exclusively at large commercial establishments such as golf courses and nurseries. But at my CA-based landscape firm, CK Water Systems and Landscape Development, I make fertigation systems available to ...
Cali in Crisis: Water Agencies Call for Immediate & Long-Term Action
California water agencies form the group, Solve The Water Crisis. A newly formed statewide education effort, Solve the Water Crisis, was launched this past April in California. It is being spearheaded by local water agencies from across the state with diverse supporters from all regions and across all industries. “As the State repeatedly calls for more conservation to get through the current drought, reactionary solutions to the current drought are not an acceptable or adequate policy response. There is a lack of acknowledgement on the larger and long-term picture – we are in a generational water supply crisis that is far more than just this drought and we need California policymakers to take immediate action,” says Heather Dyer, general manager of San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, and a leader of Solve the Water Crisis. As the State responds to manage this current drought, the perpetual and systemic water crisis continues to grow, with no relief or remedy in sight, for the near term or future, states the group. Water agencies are now calling on the state to take action in response to the years of drought conditions, the repeated imposition of emergency regulations and water restrictions to reduce consumption, and the lack of progress on water infrastructure investment. The groups feels the time is now to imagine and create water infrastructure aligned with the new climate reality of significantly reduced snow-pack and increased precipitation volatility. Worsening climate conditions coupled with a population that has doubled since the development ...
