Things Green LIVE! How to use water in a drought

As you probably discovered from watching our live television broadcast saving water isn't about saving money. And, there is nothing that you and I as a consumer can do to make a reasonable dent in conserving masses amount of water during this historic drought. 

When you consider that 90% of the water used in California is being consumed by industry, hydroelectric, agriculture, farming cows, sheep, pigs, and other livestock - the 10% that we are using is inconsequential. However, it's morally wrong to not be concerned personally about our drought conditions. In order to be a decent human being we must remember that conservation is paramount to the global picture. It's just right to conserve water.

Truth be known, water companies want you to use water. That's their business. If we don't use water then they don't make money. And, those fat cats need to make their highfalutin mortgage and car payments. So, by conserving water they are going to raise our rates. It's a vicious circle, but, that's the way the ball bounces. I have no problem in watching water companies squirm and beg for higher rates. You see, they can't just arbitrarily raise your rates. They must go through a process which nearly every time they get their way. For instance since 2000 cities like San Diego have increased their rates 141%, San Francisco 211%, Los Angeles 67%, Long Beach 41% in Fresno 61%.

That notwithstanding, modern technology has offered us opportunities to invest in conserving water while at the same time maintaining the greenest most luscious-looking lawns, garden, flowerbeds, fountains and ponds. The trick is knowing where to find those opportunities. This is the reason we put together the first and only 90 minute live television broadcast that specifically deals with the positive aspects of how to deal with the drought. The following are the products and services you saw me highlight on television. They are all strong and reputable entities. Some of the products you'll be able to get directly from the manufacturer while others from licensed landscape contractors and even others at your local nursery or garden center.

10 BEST drought-tolerant products:
featured on the show: 

• Deep Drip
• ANC Technology
• Little Valve
• Toro
• Hydretain
• Nutra-Gel
• Garden Tower
• Plants
• Sod
• Retailer

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​Deep Drip: It's important to make every drop count. Deep Drip Watering Stakes have attributes that are amazing. Whether it's the 8 inch size all the way up to the 24 inch size there is a Deep Drip Watering Stake for many applications like: flowers, fruits, vegetables and small plants. Depending on the size of the Deep Drip Watering Stake potted plants, shrubs, vines and trees will benefit from up to 50% water savings, soil and root aeration, promotion of deeper roots, to overall healthy plants. And, with the specially designed ABS cap you can use a sledgehammer for installation and its design offers an easy way to pull it out.

Ask for Deep Drip Watering Stakes by name at your local retailer and visit their web site for more info.

​Intelligent Controller by ANC Technology: Dennis Noble is the inventor of all the products you see at ANC Technology. He invited me to his ranch to see, first hand, how the Intelligent Controller works.

Each main controller can control five wireless pumps, five wireless flowmeter controllers with pressure meters, eight master valves, and 60 wireless irrigation zones. In addition it relays real-time field information when there is no PC attached. You'll see things like current soil moisture and temperature of each zone, to moisture control levels, battery status of each field device by zone, data of last irrigation event and a whole lot more. This is a simple but powerful operation with bidirectional wireless communications to adjust dry/wet control levels to opening and closing valves manually and it can learn how to control a menagerie of other options. There's a whole list of details that can be found at their website.

One of the unique aspects of the system is the wireless solar powered valve controller that is placed in the field near the soil moisture sensor and valve. Any time solar power is utilized you are assuring yourself that your carbon footprint is being lowered. Even though the whole system can be controlled via a PC, pad, laptop or the main controller you can do the same with the solar powered field controller. Everything is laid out in simple English for everyone to understand.

Tethered to the solar powered valve controller is the moisture sensor. It is a three prong the device that is buried perpendicular in the soil at a depth of 4 inches tousually no more than 8 inches. It all depends on your soil porosity. For sandy soils chances are you'll bury it deeper. And, likewise, if you're soil is heavy on the clay side then more of a shallow depth will be needed for the moisture sensor.

In addition, you want to secure a controller valve. It is wired to connect with the solar powered valve controller which collects data then sends it to the Intelligent Controller. From there you get to decide the action you wish to take. The best part is should you have any questions you can call the manufacturer and ask for the inventor, Dennis, personally and he'll be more than happy to help you through the process. As with any electronic device there is a learning curve. But if you take a few minutes and actually read the instruction manual you'll be surprised how illuminating it will be for easy operation of your Intelligent Controller.

Contact ANC Technology direct or ask your water district, irrigation specialist or water management consultant about the Intelligent Controller.

​LittleValve: It is rare when something so revolutionary comes to the marketplace that makes such an impact in the irrigation world. LittleValve is an exceptional, multi functional water delivery system that no landscape should be without. The inventor, Ted Sirkin, is a person that comes from the trenches of the landscape. He currently has one of, if not the, oldest landscape contractor license in the State of California. When a person has dedicated his life to the yard and garden he sees a way to make his life easier for himself and his crew. And, with that, LittleValve was born!

LittleValve has several components that offer the consumer and landscape contractor choices based on what is currently being used for delivering water to lawns and planter beds. You can simply secure yourself a Precision Rotating Nozzle (PRN) which will retrofit many of the popular sprinkler heads on the market like Toro. In fact, PRN technology offers a way of laying water on your lawn and planter beds in a fashion that gives the impression it's massaging its targeted area. Its finger like action can be adjusted from a 45° angle to a 277° angle. You'd be hard-pressed when adjusting a PRN by getting water on things that don't grow like concrete and asphalt.

Your PRN sits in what is called the stem or insert, which is another product in itself of the LittleValve. Once again, they have several product lines that allow you to retrofit several other manufacturers sprinkler bodies. When the insert pops up about halfway down you will see a little hole but no water is coming out of it. The reason is that there is a special little valve (ergo the name LittleValve) located inside the stem. This ingenious valve allows you to not only at just the ark on a PRN but it allows you to actually turn that individual sprinkler head off so you can service the head. One major problem in the world of irrigation is that water is dirty. Debris has a way of lodging itself inside of sprinkler heads clogging them up. There is a huge challenge in cleaning these heads as you typically have to walk back to either the sprinkler control box or the anti-siphon valve, turn the whole system off, walk back to the head to clean it out, then go back and turn the system on. Many times when you returnu'll find that you actually didn't clean that head out and you'll have to repeat the process all over again.

The LittleValve is the best way to service a sprinkler head without turning off the whole system. It comes with the very simple tool that you can clip on your key ring to turn it on or off. Now don't get so hasty about turning the head off as the LittleValve has a unique double function of controlling how far the PRN throws its stream of water. You can control the stream ark to reach as close as 18 inches to as far as 22 feet.

In addition to all of these wonderful features that the LittleValve offers you can also get what is called the "body" of the sprinkler. This is when you want to replace the whole kit and caboodle. We're talking the whole unit: head (PRN), stem or insert, and the housing or body that everything sits in. The best part about all this is that it's all inexpensive, you'll save upwards of 60% water, and you can do the work yourself or hire a licensed contractor to do it for you. Make sure you visit their website for more information.

​Toro Evolution Series Controller: For precise control over your irrigation needs in lawns and planter beds the Toro Evolution Series Controller is a Smart Connect device that knows the exact weather conditions of your yard and garden for the last 40 years. With its modular growth capabilities from 4 to 16 stations its Smart Sensor Integration is able to adjust on the fly or you can easily urge it to work manually. The Evolution is an evapotranspiration based controller that can be operated 1000 feet away all on the 9 Volt battery.

Weather data is collected during the day and at night adjusts accordingly based on historical whether data. Many laws and regulations are forcing us to manually turn off our irrigation control boxes so that they don't operate within 48 hours after it rains. The Evolution automatically senses measurable rain and will override the system so it won't turn on before the 48 hour rule. Then it's ready to roll just as normal.

Unlike evapotranspiration systems of times past where a paid service was required the Evolution has no extra or monthly subscription fees. The Smart Connect comes with a preprogrammed SD card and USB jump drive which simply can be updated via your desktop computer or laptop. And, since you're going to be at your computer anyhow you might want to do a Google search to convert your address to longitude and latitude. You'll input this information onto the system and it will pinpoint where your house is to draw from that 40 years of whether that is occurred in your yard.

The system can communicate in English as well as Spanish and for other languages making this a truly multicultural device. In addition you can customize exactly when you want certain areas to get more or less water based on the needs of your plants. For instance you might have a corner of the yard that has a tropical setting. This type of landscape has special water needs. You can tell the Evolution to water that area more frequently so the plants don't suffer.

The weather sensor is a fascinating piece of equipment in itself. You can simply attach it to the gutter of your house where it will talk to the Evolution wirelessly. It also serves as your rain gauge and satellite communicator. What's really amazing is that you can share this device with your neighbors. All they need to do is get their own Evolution and it will talk to the weather sensor. The Evolution is so intelligent you can create your own password so that your neighbors won't be able to change anything in your Evolution.

Oh, it just doesn't stop there. You are able to create auxiliary schedules for other low power devices such as accent and yard lighting, fountains and a whole lot more. It would behoove you to contact your local Toro dealer or licensed landscape contractor to have the Toro Evolution Series Controller become an integral part of your water management needs.

​Hydretain: Most of the water that you put on your lawn is lost to evaporation. Hydretain created a program that treats your plants and soil to capture moisture vapor before it escapes back into the atmosphere, converting it back to the liquid and passing it on to your plants roots. Hydretain is scientifically proven to reduce watering requirements of plants up to 50% or more!

Hydretain is a 93% bio based biodegradable technology that conserves water, saves you money, increases the efficiency of fertilizers and pesticides, reducing runoff and pollution. A Hydretain program can help win the drought war by allowing plants to survive twice as long between irrigation.

You'll not only be saving money, but you'll also be an important part of a global strategy to conserve our most precious of resources – water. Between every soil particle is airspace. When you water this airspace gets filled and roots are able to absorb the water, nutrients which may be in the water and the nutrients from the soil. As the water begins to evaporate an amazing thing happens when Hydretain has been introduced into the soil. Humidity at the root system begins to form within the airspace between the soil particles. Hydretain puts a film on the roots which acts like a baseball glove and catches the humidity turning it into available water for plant roots. It's sustainability without sacrifice saving 50% or more in water.

Using Hydretain is really simple. It comes in a 1 quart hose end sprayer. Simply attach your hose, turn your water on bend over the safety tab (don't get frightened, it's going to break) then turn the knob to on. Put an even coat to your pre-moistened turf or planter beds. By the way, 9 ounces covers 1000 ft². One court treats up to 3500 ft². Once applied, you'll want to push the product into the soil by watering it in as it has to get into those airspaces which are between the soil particles we just discussed. And, it doesn't do any good for the product to sit on plant and grass leaves as it's not designed to work that way. It has to be in the soil. That's why the hose end sprayer has a setting that you could switch the knob to that'll allow you to disperse water through it without using any more product. This way the next time you need to use Hydretain you have a hose and sprayer ready to go.

​Hydretain also works on your veggies, too. I have seen studies from Penn State, Ohio State and other universities that show that you will get up to a 40% savings on your vegetables. It's also good for seeding and use when planting trees.

In addition, Hydretain comes in granular form. The directions on the package are clearly marked with the proper settings for several different types of spreaders which will allow you to broadcast the product without having to water it in right away. For instance, if you're watering days are Mondays and Thursdays you can apply the product on a Friday then when Monday comes around it will deliver it into the root zone on your regular watering day.

Ask for Hydretain by name at your local nursery and garden center. For the professional, Hydretain goes under the name of Lesco Moisture Manager for professional root zone moisture management.

​Nutra-Gel 12-13-9 + Micros by Baicor: They say that nothing new under the sun has ever been invented. I take exception to that as they never met the folks at Baicor. A family owned and operated business, Baicor, has done something so extraordinary to a common known product, polymers, that it excites me to no end.

Polymers are all around us. If you wear soft contact lenses those are typically made from a polymer. If you used to wear diapers, still do, or are planning to in the future – the super absorbency that is touted in diapers are polymers. Chances are you've seen a clear vase with hydrated gushy-like balls in it as a decoration. Those are polymers.

What Baicor has done is taken the science behind polymers and introduced a patented process of incorporating nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and micronutrients into polymer prills. When incorporated in the dry state into soil the polymers will hydrate between 2 to 400 times their weight in water. At the soil dries out these polymers open their doors and allow the roots to slurp up the moisture inside of the hydrated polymers. When they get a drink they notice that it's a super tonic with the added nutrients. Once the nutrients are depleted, the gel continues to act as a water in nutrient absorbent, providing plants with better growing conditions. Nutra-Gel is easy to use and ideal for containers, transplanting, and for the use in the vases to extend flower life.

Ask for Nutra-Gel by name at your local nursery and garden center. If it doesn't have the nutrients included in the product it's not Nutra-Gel. Or, visit Baicor online for a dealer near you or call them at 435-752-2475.

​Garden Tower: Real estate doesn't grow. In other words, the amount of land we have is all that we have. The earth is finite in size, however, the Garden Tower Project has found a way to grow up to 50 vegetable plants in a small footprint while considering conserving water, sustainability, and offering a better lifestyle for the beginning and seasoned gardener.

The Garden Tower is a cylindrical growing system that adapts to your needs. 100% American made with UV stabilized food grade polypropylene the Garden Tower is fully recyclable. It sports six removable trays that have large pockets making planting seeds or seedlings simple. These trays look like giant decorated doughnuts with a hole in the middle.

As you are putting together your Garden Tower a cylindrical tube/column is inserted in the hole. It in itself has holes in it as well. Once all in place with soil and plants this cylindrical tube becomes a portal to compost kitchen scraps. You simply take the cap off and insert your kitchen scraps, and then the composting process begins. Now to make things even more exciting make a run to your local nursery and garden center and purchase a container of common earthworms and drop them in the cylinder. The worms will quickly begin to process the kitchen scraps into a usable fertilizer. The holes that are in the column allow the worms to move freely in the garden soil aerating the plants and fertilizing them at the same time. If you ask me this is simply ingenious. The open access at the top allows for easy watering. Gravity pulls the water down to water all of the plants. As the water percolates through the Garden Tower excess moisture is collected by a removable drawer at the bottom of the unit. You simply pull the drawer out to water when needed. Not only is this recycling of water but, it is blasted with amazing nutrients in the form of a T as it made its way through the unit.

Just above the drawer is a pull gate with holes in it. Think of it as a sieve which allows the water to pass through the bottom of the removable drawer which collects water. When you remove the pull gate the composted material inside of the compost column is released into the drawer allowing more room for loading clean kitchen scraps to be devoured and turned into compost gold by the earthworms.

As with all vegetables and most annual color you'll need between 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight. Full sun is best. And, with the Garden Tower's internal bearing track it allows one-handed 360° rotation of the unit so your plants can grow evenly.

Ask for the Garden Tower at your local nursery and garden center. Or, you can order online at their website.

​Ricardo's Nursery: California natives have their place in the landscape. However, most people don't know that many California native plants go dormant during the summertime. Quite frankly most of them are scrubby and not that attractive. Kind of like my children. And, it takes as much, if not more, water for them to get established the first year after planting them than many other plants do.

Ricardo's Nursery, in Long Beach, specializes in water friendly plants. These are plants that are pretty all year 'round. And, in many cases they'll use less water than California natives. There is no reason why you should have a landscape that looks barren and desert like. Ask Ricardo which plants will grow in your yard that'll use less water.

​Marathon Sod: Southern California's most popular sod is Marathon Sod. Original Marathon is a deep-rooted fast-growing sod for those with active lifestyles, pets and children. It has the ability to repair itself before you even notice a blade of grass is out of place. Marathon II is a little slower growing and great for those that occasionally use their lawn for weekend get-togethers and light use. Marathon III is a tight knit slow-growing turf perfect to showcase your yard.

Southland Sod Farms, the growers of Marathon Sod, take a scientific approach to water uptake in your turf. When incorporating a proper water management technique your lawn will not use as much water as you might imagine. Lawns are imperative in keeping soil alive. Without turf, trees and shrubs by themselves would have a difficult supplying the oxygen we need to live on. And, when you understand that turf only needs no more than an inch and a quarter of water per week it becomes understandable that all homes should adorn their landscape with grass.

Besides...fake grass just - sucks! It's not real. When it gets hot it burns the bottoms of animals’ feet, children can play on in during a hot day, and it doesn't breath. It kills soil, it can't clean water, it's more expensive than real grass over a ten year period, you still have to maintain it by washing it down - it gets dirty...oh, the list goes on!

​James True Value Hardware: Supporting small business is important. In fact, unlike big box stores, you'll find the most intelligent and well versed industry pro's there. Service and quality is not is short supply at James Hardware located on the corner of Beach Blvd. and Lambert in La Habra. As you saw in the TV show owner David Samarin is wealth of knowledge and kind of looks like...me! Sometimes we use him as my stunt double.

Since most of water is used and lost inside the home, James Hardware can help you maximize your water usage. Visit their web site, go to their store and give them a call at (562)691-1711.

Special thanks to:

• Dave Wilson Nursery
• 4M Nurseries
• Reseda Pottery
• Cal Blend Soils
• Irrigation

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​Dave Wilson Nursery and Otto and Son's Nursery: Fruit and trees are being blamed for using massive amounts of water. This simply isn't true. My media friends like to sensationalize things with numbers they think of in their head. I come from a long strand of California farmers.

They have adopted many of the techniques that we have discussed in this blog and on our television special. It is why I thought it important to incorporate plants provided by Dave Wilson Nursery and Otto and Son's Nursery as they are leaders in fruit and nut tree production. These nurseries not only provide product for retailers all across California but they also are suppliers of plants to farmers that grow product we buy at the market. Visit their websites to make educated decisions for the types of fruit trees you would like to incorporate in your waterways garden.

4M Nurseries: 4M Nurseries has been a friend of the program for years. Their flower quality garners respect from landscapers, nurseries and homeowners in southern California. Based in Chino their plants are acclimated to our varying environmental conditions. They are known to adapt from the mountains to the sea, the desert and valley floors to everything in between. Ask for 4M Nurseries plants by name at your local nursery. Or, you can buy wholesale direct. Visit their web site for more information.

Reseda Discount Fountains and Pottery: Their name says it all. They are located at 7313 Reseda Blvd, Reseda, CA 91335. Visit their website for more info.
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Cal Blend Soils, Inc.: Providing the compost for our show. They are located at 1270 E. Arrow Highway #A, Irwindale, CA 91706. Visit their website for more info.

Subterranean Irrigation: The concept behind the subterranean irrigation is phenomenal. The jury is still out on how effective they are and whether or not they'll stand the test of time with root invasion. Some systems have an herbicide imbedded at the water outlet orifice while others have a copper lining to stop roots from entering. The system I showed uses water pressure through minute (tiny) watering orifices blasting water and severing roots. The concept is that you water often but in short :30 to :90 second intervals. All interesting concepts. If more information contact me via email and I'll steer you in their direction.

Additional thanks for the production of this show includes, but, is not limited to:
Stepän Federoff
Steve Mendrin
Pam Samarin
Doug Sato
Zandra Platzek
Zhelbert Zohrabian
Brad Kalpakoff
Jacob Kasimoff
Hayden Nighswonger
Baboonya
Shirley's Cheese Rolls
David Samarin
KLCS Management, staff and crew.
Our studio audience and all of our viewers!

​Don't forget to watch my weekly show on KLCS-TV 58 every Saturday at 9AM. Should you ever have a gardening question, please feel free to call me at 1-800-405-NICK (6425) 24/7. Leave a message and we will call you back! And, I do the social media thing with my two Facebook pages (NickFederoff and ThingsGreen), along with Pinterest, Instagram and LinkedIN.

The information collected for this show comes from a lifetime of experience...and the Internet. Do your part not to be a drip and respect the resources we have. Water is precious. If you don't believe me, watch the Mel Gibson movie where it starts off with him on a raft trying to grow a lemon tree (I'm not a movie buff - sorry).