Benefits of substrate farming like better yields with less labor, pesticides, water, and fertilizer are just a few of the reasons growers today are considering substrate farming. As the AgTech world considers additional ways to grow more food with fewer inputs substrate farming has moved up on the list. Especially for soft fruit producers and backyard growers the way forward is growing in a substrate.
A substrate is a surface… Read more »
Green Energy according to the U.S. Department of Energy the sun releases the same amount of energy in an hour that the entire world population utilizes over the course of a year. Today in the United States less than 2% of power is supplied by solar (read big opportunity). Most areas of the United States (especially agricultural areas) receive enough sunshine to make solar power practical. As agriculture searches for ways to solve food shortages,… Read more »
How to protect plants from frost. Frost season is just around the corner for almond growers in California, and at the same time rains are making it hard to get in orchards to get systems ready for the season. Extreme weather phenomena, such as fires, earthquakes, heat waves, cold fronts, and floods are becoming more and more common. One of these extreme weather events is the drop of temperature below 32˚F, namely frost. When a… Read more »
Consistent investments over a number of years can be an effective strategy to accumulate wealth. Even small additions to your water savings add up to huge savings over time. We call it the six degrees of compound savings,… Read more »
Watering your landscape seems like a science, but you will quickly discover it’s more of an art. That is why the best answer to the question “How much should I water my roses?” is – That depends. The reason for this is the variables used to determine how long and when to water. For the engineering minded gardeners, it seems simple. You just need to complete a few calculations like these, and you will know… Read more »
Water conservation for landscapes does not have to be complicated. The majority of irrigation systems I evaluate have lots of room for improvement. Often the first enhancements can be made, with minor costs. As a result, the return on the investment is achieved quickly. It’s similar to beginning golf. At first breaking 100 is relatively easy and doesn’t take much of a time investment. As scores get lower and lower, it takes more to improve. Unfortunately,… Read more »
As the pressure to conserve water increases the threat to our urban forest also grows because of the tendency to (especially for trees) cut the water back dramatically in the winter. Trees are the most valuable asset in most landscapes. Keeping your investment healthy and thriving improves the value of your real estate. You can read a great article about trees and property values here. Below are five excellent reasons you should… Read more »
If my Dad were alive today I would not call him cheap, I would call him green or sustainable or maybe a conservationist. I was reminded of this as I spoke to an old friend this week when he told me, “I don’t waste anything because I don’t want to waste money.” 20 years ago we would have called him cheap or on a good day frugal. Fortunately today our outlook has changed and whatever… Read more »
We have all heard the term, “Inspect what you expect.” Measurement of performance is one of the quickest ways to inspire change and we are surrounded by technology that helps us monitor performance. We can easily see how many steps we take in a day or the number of miles we have walked and run on our iphones. The landscape irrigation industry would benefit from better tools like this to measure the amount of water… Read more »
New Year’s resolutions are fun to make but hard to maintain. They tend to come from a place inside us telling us what we should do. Sometimes they make us feel like we misbehaved and we need to do better next year, giving us a feeling of guilt. Feeling guilty about not saving water isn’t going to get us to reach our water saving goals. Saving water is critical to our future and our children… Read more »
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