January tasks in Lompoc, California Residential Landscapes

We’ve had a lot of rain over the past month. Lompoc residents can turn their sprinkler controllers off for a while. Residents in Lompoc can save on their water bills by reducing their water use in the first quarter of the year (Jan. Feb. Mar.) The city bases your rate for the remainder of the year based on your use during this time.

Its also time for fertilizing lawns and shrubs, weeding, gopher control and oak pruning. The fertilizer I use on lawns in January also has crabgrass preventative. Take advantage of the moisture now in the soil to make pulling weeds easier. Gophers are very active now so its a great time to control them. Prune oaks now while they are in their most dormant stage to lessen chances of disease spread. We mostly have Coast Live Oaks, Quercus agrifolia, in our area.

Take a look at your garden now to take an inventory of the plants you’d like to remove and replace. Make lawn irrigation and drip repairs. Plan your vegetable garden. Add compost and aerate lawns or other areas where tight clay is a problem. The city of Lompoc is mostly clay soil. Vandenberg Village, Mesa Oaks and other areas north of Lompoc are sandy, chaparral soil. Plan and choose plants according to your soil and you can alleviate a lot of watering, fertilizer and labor later. Chaparral soil has an oily film which causes water to run off instead of soaking in. Drip irrigation with a bowl made from soil for water retention is best for this type of soil, especially on a slope.

Try some new succulents or California native plants. Research each plant before you install it. Expect a beautiful spring full of flowers and greenery!

Plant a boulder

Boulders are the bones of my garden. They absorb the warmth of the sun and release it later into the night. Thus increasing the warmth in your garden and extending the growing hours for nearby plants. A dark colored boulder planted near a tomato will help the tomato to “feel” the heat and produce fruit earlier and longer into the fall. Planting cacti or succulents near a boulder help to mimic their natural environment. In Lompoc our climate is like San Francisco; cold, foggy and windy, so we need the help of boulders. The bigger and darker the boulder the more heat it can absorb and release. 

Boulders come in so many shapes, sizes and colors that the choices are endless. Santa Barbara sandstone is probably the most common in our area. An interesting fact I have learned about S. B. sandstone from Kathy at Architectural Stone in Buellton, is that they need to be watered in times of extended drought to prevent cracking. Arrowhead and chert are also local rocks that are mainly white. Serpentenite colors range from blue to green and is the California state rock. Serpentenite does contain asbestos. Not to worry though because asbestos is only hazardous if it becomes an airborne powder and is inhaled.

Boulders provide instant beauty and structure. I would love to design a garden around a natural outcropping. They can be used as steps, seating, plant holders, base for pots to sit upon, barriers to protect against vehicles, borders, walls or just to fill that awkward space.

Planting a locally grown boulder will be less expensive than one from out of state. The freight is what increases the price. They are usually sold by the pound but worth every penny. Add class, longevity, and instant color to your garden with a boulder or two.

Becky’s Busy Bees…….

Being a beginner beekeeper is very challenging and can be expensive. Learning as I do it is exciting and keeps me engaged in the ecology of animals.

I found it exponentially enjoyable working with bees this year despite my mistakes & dissapointments. 2019 was a good year for honey bee swarms. The rains this past spring made everything bloom and grow like crazy! So the bees had plenty of nectar and pollen to take back to their hives and create baby bees, honey, propolis and wax comb.

I went out on a few swarm calls that were received from Lompoc Valley Beekeepers club. I also received bees from other beekeepers.

My advice to beginner beekeepers is:

1. Learn as much as possible about bee behavior, needs & diseases before you get any bees.

2. Watch You tube “Certified Master Beekeeper’ & join a beginning beekeeper group on Facebook.

3. Find a mentor if possible.

4. Always have extra equipment for swarms.

5. Watch for overcrowding to prevent your hives from swarming.

6. Don’t invest too much money until you increase your knowledge.

7. Focus on increasing the strength in numbers of bees in each hive.

8. Leave plenty of honey, pollen and nectar for the bees in the fall so they have plenty to eat in the winter.

9. Wait for the hive to grow strong in numbers before harvesting any honey.

10. Join a local apiary club.

11. Re-Queen the hives if they are weak.

12. Keep trying & don’t get discouraged. My first bad sting was on my face because I didn’t zip my hood up all the way. The pleasure of learning & nurturing bees outweighs the pain when you see all the honey and happy bees!!

Water Wisely

Imagine going on vacation 2,000 miles from home and being able to control your sprinkler system from the beach with beer in hand and smart phone in the other. Sound exciting? Racchio gives the user that power and control over their irrigation system. Its actually easy to use, not hard to learn and impresses everyone. Racchio gives a lot of information about how many gallons each sprinkler area is using on any given day. User can turn off one zone if it has a leak or all zones if it starts raining. Racchio is very ‘smart’ and can make decisions on its own. The controller design is super simplified and all programming takes place on your smart phone.

Racchio Generation II is the latest technology in sprinkler controllers for homeowners and commercial properties. They have great customer service and actual real people that answer the phones and can explain things in layman’s terms. Becky likes this.

Gopher Gassers are Ripping off Homeowners

Beware!! of the people that are claiming to kill gophers with carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas which just seeps up through the ground when the hose is inserted underground.  Gophers have several holes close to the surface where gas can escape. This does not work to kill underground rodents. Also, these people are not usually licensed by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR). By law, anyone for hire must have a valid DPR license to treat for pests in California.

Becky’s Creative Landscape & Design has a portable machine which adds a white smoke and a repellant to the carbon monoxide gas, therefore the smoke can be seen and the holes filled as the machine is running. This method is effective in making their runs an undesirable place. The gophers leave the area due to the smell and taste.  The repellant is odorless to humans. In addition to the underground repellant we use a granular which is watered in by lawn sprinklers. We have had good results with the repellants and they are safe to use where pets and children play. CDPR license#139176. Check a pest control business for valid license on the CDPR website:  https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/license/currlic.htm

How to Receive $1000 to Remove Your Lawn

The City of Lompoc, Ca will give homeowners living within the Lompoc city limits a rebate of $1000.00 to remove their lawn, install a drip system & install drought tolerant plants. The rebate can offset the price of hiring a contractor to do the work for you & Becky’s Creative Landscape & Design is the perfect business to hire for the job. BCLD specializes in drought tolerant landscape installations. Becky designs to your specifications & finds practical & beautiful solutions suited to your individual tastes. Hire a professional this time to get the job done right, before summer visitors are on your doorstep. Why not install a water saving creek bed where the rainwater can soak into your own water table beneath your property? It can be used later in the year by the plants in the yard. Becky knows the G-3 (Green Gardens Group) greengardensgroup.com method of using sheet mulches & skipping the glyphosate (Round-up) in the initial stage of landscaping. Becky & her team will complete your project on budget & on time.

MWELO Certification

Becky Barritt has been certified by the Environmental Protection Agency for MWELO; Master Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance. This is California’s state ordinance that regulates the use of water in the landscape; residential & commercial. Currently anyone building a new home with 500 sq. feet of landscape area or building an addition which needs a permit will be required to complete the MWELO package which is a lot of paperwork, mathematical calculations, landscape & irrigation design.

Why not hire Becky to do your MWELO paperwork? She has been through 28 years of self-employment in the green industry, employing others & working hard. She can complete the whole package! Right now she can do residential landscape drawings. In the future she plans to do commercial design.

Becky is certified through G-3; The Green Gardens Group.

The Single Most Water-Wasting Error When Programming Irrigation Controllers

The single most water-wasting error when programming irrigation controllers is putting in multiple start times within a program. Each Program; A, B, or C only needs one start time per program. If the controller is programmed for 4 start times under program A, then program A will run through 4 times. This is 4 times more water than you need. I think that people mistakenly think that each station needs a start time which is not the case. If one thinks of the programming like a family tree diagram then it might make it easier to understand. A,B, and C are at the bottom most part of the trunk and each program has the ability to run all 4 stations. When we give Program A one start time it cycles through all the stations that have minutes on them under Program A.

Let’s say I have a 4 station controller. If I want to water established lawn I would put it on Program A and run stations 1 and 2. Then a newly planted area would be on Program B and run stations 3 and 4. This way we can separate the two areas that need to be watered differently. Also, a new planting area can be watered twice per day by adding a second start time under Program B for the summer. Then when it cools down or the plants are a little more established, the second start time can be eliminated.

I like to use a black sharpie to mark the top of each sprinkler valve with numbers 1,2,3, and 4 and make them correspond to the station numbers on the controller. One can see the color of the wire that is attached to each sprinkler valve and match that up at the controller where the wires attach into the bottom of the controller. Use silver sharpie on black valves or a yellow crayon which is also used on wet surfaces. Yellow crayon can be purchased where they sell other items for marking brick pavers or concrete.

I also use an Excel spreadsheet to lay out all the information in an easily understood format and hang it by the controller which is usually in a garage. Its not necessary to put the controller in the garage and that’s usually the most inconvenient location. Outdoor controllers have a box built around them that is waterproof and has a key. Remote control units are very easy to use and cut down on running back and forth from the sprinkler area to the controller.

 

 

Peace Community Garden, Lompoc, Ca.

A new community garden has been started in Lompoc. It’s located at 1000 West Ocean Avenue on the Peace Lutheran Church property. It’s surrounded by fencing which helps keep animals out. It has been sponsored by the Beautification & Appearance Commission of Lompoc. Along with many volunteers Becky Barritt has been instrumental in developing the garden. She has utilized her equipment, time, money and employees to get the garden off the ground. Becky first designed the space to accommodate raised planters, tractor tire gardens, open ground areas and common areas. Mainly vegies, herbs and edible flowers will be planted. Ornamental plants like lavender and marigolds have also been welcomed.

“In under a year we have turned an unused space into something practical, beautiful and user friendly. We even have some tractor tires ready to plant.” said Becky.

The three goals of the garden are to:

1. Grow organically
2. Create community
3. Become healthier

We hope to have a handi-capped accessible walkway to the garden from the parking lot.

We also hope to meet at the garden for educational classes.

50 Ways to Kill your Gophers

One of my favorite movies is Caddyshack with Bill Murray. Now I laugh at myself as I begin to undertake the same challenge Bill Murray had in the 80’s popular movie. Gophers and other burrowing rodents are a recurring problem in our area. Lompoc, Ca is surrounded by farm fields so the invasion of gophers, packrats. moles and other rodents is non-stop. There are however, several ways to control them without blowing up the entire golf course or killing the golfers!

There may be 50 ways to attempt to kill rodents but I have narrowed them down to a few effective strategies. Gophers are the #1 enemy since we seem to encounter more damage from these critters than anything else especially in sandy soils. Gophers eat plants, roots, push soil up and create tunnels and dens that become holes which drain away precious water and soil from the base of our plants. If you ever see plants disappearing underground you can be sure its a hungry gopher. They can be prevented somewhat by using gopher wire which is actually a galvanized aviary wire. This wire is laid on top of the ground then secured with sod pins. However, it only prevents them from pushing soil up wards. They can still burrow underneath and eat plants and roots. Gopher repellant in the form of castor oil or granulated castor oil is effective also. Gophers don’t like the smell or taste of it. Castor oil is non-toxic to pets. Poisons delivered underground can be effective also but not 100% safe if a pet is around. I think the most effective treatment is carbon monoxide delivered underground into the new tunnels. Carbon monoxide will kill all rodents that are underground; usually in one treatment. If there are multiple rodents or established colonies then it will most likely take more treatments. Call or text 805-331-3483 or email Becky at beckys.landscape@verizon.net for an estimate.