Earth-Kind Landscape Demonstrations

Selecting and Preparing Demonstrators

Earth-Kind Training/Seminars/ConferenceSample Agenda• Principles of Earth-Kind• Landscape Design for Water

Conservation• Plant Selection• Soil Preparation• Irrigation Efficiency• Lawn Care • Water Conserving Landscape

Practices

Optional Speakers• Mengmeng Gu• Dotty Woodson• Steve Chaney• Greg Church

Demonstration Site Selection• No or few water conservation

practices in place• Demonstrator very interested

in conserving water• Spend money to save money • Willing to adopt all or many

water conserving practices• Willing to collect and submit

data• Willing to share information

with others, allow pictures, interviews, etc.

Initial Site VisitLandscape Evaluation

• Identify elements of the landscape that can be improved with Earth-Kind practices

• Poor Design• Poor plant selection• No soil preparation• No mulch in beds• Lawn performance poor• Lawn cut too short• Lawn on compacted soils

Before and After

Initial Site VisitIrrigation Evaluation

• Poor performance • Clogged nozzles• Misdirected heads• Mismatched heads• Leaking or Broken pipes/heads/valves• Too high or too low water pressure• Irrigation head too low• Grass too high• Tree, shrubs, groundcover grown to

block irrigation• Bad Design• Poor coverage• Water bubbling, dripping or gushing all

the time or just during run time• Runoff occurs before adequate water

applied• Area along road, driveway or sidewalk

stays too dry

Water Conservation ServicesUpgrade Irrigation System

• Set irrigation controller to comply with water restrictions– Day of week– Time of day

• Install/check Rain and Freeze Sensor• Upgrade Controller

– Seasonal Adjustment– Cycle and Soak– Smart Controller

• Check irrigation system for efficiency– Make any repairs

• Correct irrigation design if necessary • Replace spray emitters with water conserving emitters• Convert to Drip Irrigation

Charge to Water Conserving Nozzles

Up Grade Controller

Change to Drip Irrigation

Fix Problems

Other Water Conserving Practices

• Maintain 2 to 4 inches Mulch in all planted beds - shrubs, groundcover, flowers

• Cut lawn 1/3 taller during hot summer• Do not fertilize in heat of summer• Aerate compacted lawns– Add ½” compost to increase infiltration rate

• Don’t Bag It

Long Term Investments in Landscapes

• Add shade– Plant tree – Shade cloth – Trellis

• Use Alternative Water fro Irrigation– Rainwater harvesting – Air conditioner condensate– Graywater

• Rain Garden for stormwater protection– Prevent Erosion