Check out Susan Morrison’s 4 week old plugs in the SF Bay area! She’ll be posting more about it in a few weeks on her blog – I’ll keep you posted!
“This is REAL triple digit weather … over 110 for most of the month. The lawn gets noticeably stressed by the last day before watering – slightly blue and footprints don’t spring back.
But I’m using 60% of the water it would take for an established Bermuda lawn, and mowing less than once a week. Unlike Bermuda, that turns scraggly when underwatered, the California Buffalograss just slows down it’s growth but stays reasonably green.”
Read more about her experience here: http://lazygardens.blogspot.com/search/label/buffalo%20grass
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A note from Danny:
Watering is very critical to the initial establishment of California Buffalograss. From the early plug stage to the
growing out stage of 3 to 4 weeks (depending on temperatures and locations) the plugs should be irrigated
everyday to keep the soil moist until the roots from the plugs begin to grow into the surrounding soil. Usually
within a couple of week if you give the plugs a light pull you can tell if the roots are growing out. If the soils is
too dry the plugs will not grow out and you will not see very many runners going out of the plugs.
Along with alot of watering there can be weed seeds germinating. You can either spot spray while there is still
space between the plugs or manually hoe the weeds or pull them by hand before they get established. This is
critical about the second week after installing the plugs. Left unchecked, the weeds can grow faster than the
plugs have time to establish and drown them out.
Posted in Tips & Advice | 1 Comment »
24 days after planting (7/6/09):
35 days after planting (7/17/09):
From Dave Fujino, Ph.D., Executive Director at the UC Davis California Center for Urban Horticulture:
“As you can see on the Day 35 picture, the plugs are growing quite well. There appears to be less growth for those in the shade, but the shaded plugs are growing and look healthy. The 2 plots have been weeded and I was told been treated with Surflan. I am having one of the sites treated with EM (effective microorganisms) to see if there is a qualitative effect on growth and appearance. Remember that these plugs got off to a slow start, since they were sitting in a plug tray for more than a month. “
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Susan Morrison in the San Francisco Bay Area: http://www.garden-chick.typepad.com/
Shirley “Edenmaker” Bovshow in Los Angeles: http://edenmakersblog.com/?p=1142
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Read about this Phoenix homeowner’s experience with California Buffalograss here! She’s only watering her lawn once every 4 days for 15 minutes, in their triple digit weather!
http://lazygardens.blogspot.com/search/label/buffalo%20grass
“I am hard to impress, but … I’m impressed…3 to 4 months establishing the plugs is a minor investment of time compared to the saving water and mowing time I’m going to be enjoying next year.”
Posted in Lawn Pics!, Testimonials, Tips & Advice | 2 Comments »
Here’s a backyard installation done by Buchholz Landscaping in Fairfax, California! Visit their website at www.gardenbuilders.com
Posted in Lawn Pics! | 1 Comment »
MP Rotator sprinkler heads are the newest innovation in sprinkler head design. They combine the best in water conservation, low cost and ease of installation of all sprinkler heads on the market today. MP Rotators have been proven in years of agricultural use and have an excellent history of reliability and durability. Visit them on their website to learn more at http://www.hunterindustries.com/products/mprotator/
We use them in our backyard!
Posted in Randomness, Save Water | Leave a Comment »
Beginning next year in 2010, the City of Fresno will install approximately 25,000 meters on a yearly basis, until 2013 when the entire project is complete.
All costs for the water meter program are built into the current residential water rates; there will be no special assessment or charge associated with the cost of meter purchase or installation.
In 2010, as water meters are installed, the City will begin reading meters and billing a metered rate for those customers with meters. This means customers will be paying for actual water used – even WASTED water!
Posted in Randomness, Save Water | Leave a Comment »
From the boss man, Danny Takao:
With the current drought conditions we face here in California and other parts of the country, the new California garden will need to change to accommodate our growing population. With the increasing population here in California the pressure on our water resources will continue regardless if we get rain next year. One of the greatest user of water in our landscape is our cool season fescue type grasses. The inputs of fertilizers, chemical sprays and water doesn’t make much sense anymore. We need to change the way we think about our gardens and the way we live. And we need to do it now….
UC Verde Buffalo Grass
When I first learned of UC Verde Buffalo Grass it was from a catalog from High Country Gardens in New Mexico. David Salman is a leader in regards to low water landscape in New Mexico. After reading about the Buffalo Grass I put it in the back of my mind to follow up again when I had more time. I knew this grass was interesting but at the time 5 years ago water was not an issue.
A couple of years ago I had to go a Green Roof Conference in Minneapolis to see about becoming a grower of green roof modules. By chance Wayne Thorsen from Todd Valley Sod Farm had his booth next to the Live Roof booth. (Todd Valley Farms owns the rights to UC Verde , Prestige and Legacy developed by UC Davis and UC Riverside and the University of Nebraska. ) I couldn’t believe this because I had forgotten all about the buffalo grass. Anyways Wayne and I got to talking about UC Verde and a month later Wayne callled to say we could be a plug producer in California. Later on Wayne called Tom Hawkins from Florasource ( Our marketing and sales partner) to go see the trials at UC Riverside. UC Riverside and UC Davis are the breeders of UC Verde. What I saw at the trials really made me a believer in UC Verde. What UC Riverside did was establish plots of different drought tolerant turfs and then turn off the water. The only green blocks in the trials were UC Verde. The Zoysia and Bermuda grasses were completely dead. It was really a amazing sight.
Since that trial we have started our own trial plots here at the nursery and have become a firm believer even more. UC Verde creates a really deep root system and the ability to transpire very slowly in hot weather. Making this grass ideal for our central valley heat. The only negative about UC Verde is the dormancy period from late November to early March. But the straw color of the grass during dormancy can be painted with turf paint or left natural. It’s quite strking with the dormant colors.
As our world gets closer to the tipping point there is something we can do to help and use less water in the process. UC Verde Buffalo grass is that solution. I’m glad to be a part of this and I hope California can see we need to use less water but still have our green gardens.
Posted in Randomness, Save Water | Leave a Comment »
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