Spartan Mowers Releases 2025 Product Lineup
Jessica Schwartz
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 ...
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 ...
Milan’s Botanical Garden Transformed To Explore Energy
When landscapers think of parks or gardens, they think of the energy it takes to build them. But at Milan Design Week 2022, the city’s Botanical Garden was transformed to explore the idea of a park “creating” energy. International design office CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and architect Italo Rota conceived “Feeling the Energy.” The installation made use of 500 meters of digitally bent copper pipe to create a sensorial path where people explored different forms of sustainable energy production and consumption. The installation harvested and stored energy during the day, using it to illuminate the Botanical Garden in the evening. It also powered water vaporizers that cooled the garden pathways, while nourishing vegetation. The installation invited people to wander through Milan’s historical Botanical Garden in a sequence of six main areas to directly experience power produced from the sun, wind, and people’s movements. Each step featured a different object, all made of copper. Upon entry, visitors immediately discovered a majestic carousel to experience energy in motion. Then, people could walk under a series of portals which played sequences from the renowned Four Seasons symphony by Antonio Vivaldi. The exhibition path also included a giant vibraphone which people were invited to play. Moreover, a tunnel with colored diaphragms laden with organic photovoltaic panels could be opened or closed by those wandering through it, while a canopy featured sensors that could detect people’s presence and activate a cool mist. “The installation is inspired by the functioning of plant organisms,” says Carlo Ratti, founding ...
Colorado Water Conservation Bill Targets Reduction Of Turfgrass
Looks To Offer Financial Incentives For Creating Water-Wise Landscapes The state of Colorado has introduced a bill that would create a state program to finance the voluntary replacement of irrigated turf and incentivize water-wise landscapes. House Bill 22-1151 defines water-wise landscaping as one that emphasizes native and drought tolerant plants and calls for a state turf replacement program to be developed on or before July 1, 2023. According to news station KDVR, if the bill passes, “people across the state would receive a dollar for every square foot of non-natives grass they get rid of.” The bill asserts that irrigation of outdoor landscaping accounts for nearly 50% of water use within the municipal and industrial sectors of Colorado and is mostly used for irrigation of non-native turfgrass. It further states that “evidence from existing programs demonstrate that, for each acre of turf removed, one to two acre-feet per year of water savings can be realized.” While the bill takes no issue with irrigated parks, sports fields, playgrounds, and portions of residential yards, it says, “much of the turf in the State is nonessential and located in areas that receive little, if any, use.” Examples cited include: medians; areas adjacent to open spaces or transportation corridors; sloped areas of more than 25% grade; stormwater drainage and retention basins; commercial, institutional, or industrial properties; common elements in a common interest community; and portions of residential yards. Incentive money would not be awarded for replacing turfgrass with impermeable concrete, artificial turf, water features, ...
Get Equipped: Irrigation And Water Management
Take a look at this assortment of irrigation and water management products that can add value to your professional lawn care and landscaping services. ESP-LXIVM Series From Rain Bird Rain Bird’s ESP-LXIVM Series consists of two easy-to-use controllers for two-wire irrigation systems that provide large, challenging sites with advanced water management tools and diagnostics. The standard model can support up to 60 stations, while the “Pro” model can manage larger sites with up to 240 stations. Both feature Rain Bird’s new Integrated Valve Module (IVM), a “smart valve” that maintains constant communication with the controller. The IVM also eliminates the need for a decoder, cutting the quantity of wire splices in half. The LXIVM’s diagnostics include a “Self-Healing” feature that automatically detects fixes to wire path and splice issues and restarts irrigation without manual intervention. A “Two-Wire Mapping” feature maps integrated devices to corresponding wire paths to find and resolve issues. Supported field devices include the IVM-SOL, IVM-OUT, IVM-SEN, and the IVM-SD. Advanced flow management tools alert users to high- and low-flow conditions and manage hydraulic demand. Simplicity3hp From Munro The Munro Simplicity series pump stations offer low-maintenance, high-value, and professional-grade design. The new 3hp model fits a niche for smaller commercial, agricultural, and residential irrigation systems that can benefit from the control and energy efficiency offered by a VFD (variable frequency drive). These self-contained UL-QCZJ pumping stations are simple to specify with high quality specs and drawings available, simple to install with free phone-in commissioning support, and simple to ...
Neighborhood Influences On Water Conservation
Did you know “peer pressure” can affect lawn watering habits and conservation? University of Florida researcher Laura Warner studies the social behaviors that lead to water use and conservation. Her newest research, published in Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, shows that people are heavily influenced by what others do and what others expect—even with issues such as lawn irrigation. In other words, we take our lead from people beyond our significant other and friends. Using this data, Warner believes she can help communities lower their water use. “There is an opportunity to make water conservation more visible through conversations, with influential groups sharing conservation practices with those they influence,” said Warner, a UF/IFAS associate professor of agricultural education and communication. “To influence others, people who care about saving water need to explicitly share what they personally do to save water.” Conversely, she found that the less you think your neighbors conserve, the more likely you are to conserve water. Instead of aligning with neighbors’ actions, it appears people conserve to make up for a perceived lack of conservation in their neighborhood. Alternately, people might not conserve water because they think their neighbors are conserving enough for everyone. More research is needed to examine this complex community relationship, she said. Water scarcity is a statewide, national, and global issue. Domestic water demand grew more than 600% from 1960 to 2014. About 75% of U.S. residential water is used outdoor, with more than half of it going to landscape irrigation, according to ...
