The City of Kelowna and the Canadian Cancer Society are putting on an event called "How to get your Lawn & Garden off Drugs, Water & Maybe even Grass.

Join author Carole Rubin as she speaks on eco-friendly home garden and lawn care using safe organic techniques. She will be selling and signing books after the presentation.

Cost: Free

Date: Thursday June 4th 2009

Time: 7:00 PM

Location: Kelowna City Hall Council Chambers - 1435 Water Street

Topics:

• Healthy Lawn
• Xeriscaping
• Water Conservation
  

Having a healthy and lush lawn is important to some home owners but with the recent pesticide ban some products may not be available any longer. There are alternatives.

Corn gluten can be applied in early spring and it will prevent weed and crab grass seeds from germinating. If you keep a thick, healthy lawn throughout the season, weeds will not be able to establish. You can use a fertilizer high in nitrogen that should be applied early spring, late spring, early summer and early fall. 

If you have thin patches of grass, this is where weeds will try to establish themselves, you can dress your lawn with weed free topsoil then apply grass seed. Also, you can always weed by hand.

Scotts EcoSense line of products are made from ingredients such as canola oil, acetic acid (vinegar), insect phermones, feather meal etc. which are not hamrful to the environment. They have a natural lawn fertilizer and weed and insect control sprays.

Visit ScottsEcoSense.ca for help on managing your pest problems, maintaining a healthy lawn and having good garden care practices.

 

Ken Salvail of Ken's Horticultural Services is putting on free workshops for homeowners interested in conserving water and having an efficient irrigation system.

Plants need enough water to reach the depth of their roots and this may vary in the spring and in the summer. In the spring months, there should be fewer waterings but the same amount of water should be used each time.

At the workshops, homeowners will learn how their irrigation system and timer units work so they can improve their efficiency and conserve water. He'll also talk about the Top 10 ways to save water.

There will be 3 hour-long sessions:

April 5th  1PM - 2PM at the Bylands Garden Centre at Byland Road and Highway 97 in West Kelowna

April 12th  1PM - 2PM at the Bylands Garden Centre at Byland Road and Highway 97 in West Kelowna

April 26th 1 PM at the Kel-Lake Greenhouse at 4351 Shanks Road in Winfield

 

There will be a yard waste collection happening this week for Kelowna B and Peachland residents.

Kelowna B and Peachland

Nov 17 to 21

Waste Pickup reminders:

• 7 AM set out time on regular garbage day
• use clear bags or reusable containers
• residential yard waste only
• 23 kg per item (50 lbs)
  
• bundled prunings must be less than 1 metre long and 1/2 metre across; prunings must be 1/2 inch or smaller

Benefits of the program:

• residents avoid trips to the landfill
• less congestion and lineups at the landfill
• lowers the need for illegal dumpings
• yard waste is composted and reused as Glenmore Grow
• in 2007, 2200 tonnes of yard waste avoided the landfills

For more information: Visit RegionalDistrict.com or call the office at 250-861-8788

Ken Salvail of Ken's Horticultural Services, who co-hosts the Saturday morning AM 1150 Garden Show has planned a seminar on sustainable landscaping on Saturday October 18th in Lake Country.

Ken will show attendees how to choose drought tolerant plants which are suitable for the Okanagan and how to conserve water and be efficient when you do water them. Ken advises to avoid overhead sprinkers and use drip and soaker hoses to minimize evaporation of the water. Plants can want frequent waterings but you should water heavily when you do, and less often. Even pruning which can pollute the environment (when using energy) can be avoided if plants are planted in the right places.

According to Ken, homeowners and developers need to choose the right landscaping for their current location.

The City of Kelowna has called upon Salvail for his advice on water conservation and residential landscaping while reviewing its water use policies.

To register for the 3 hour seminar, call 1-250-766-3733.

Source: Article by Judie Steeves titled "Learn about sustainable landscaping"

Canadian Tire is promoting a greener tomorrow by showcasing products that can make a difference in the environment today.

You can save upto 40% on select environmentally friendly products for energy conservation, healthy home and garden, waste reduction and water conservation.

• blue planet household cleaners
• energy star programmable thermostats
• water-efficient showheads and toilets
• energy star light fixtuers, ceiling fans, motion sensors
• energy saver fan heaters, air cleaners
• renewable energy products to produce, convert and store energy

To learn more about Canadian Tire's green commitment, visit their green options page.

When landscaping a home, an underground irrigation system should be one of the priorities. In a traditional irrigation system, the gardens and yard can be watered using a timer control that can be programmed to water on specific days at a specific time for a specific duration.

With the next generation of irrigation systems, the watering schedule can be controlled over the internet from anywhere in the world. If you are out of town for instance, and the weather patterns change you can login and change the watering cycle and even if you don't, the system is smart enough to do it for you.

These Smart Watering Systems or self-adjusting irrigation systems "integrate current weather data and horticultural science with web–based technology to automate and optimize landscape watering schedules". So, your local weather conditions along with data about soil types, land slope, sun and shade and sprinkler type all play a role in determining the amount of water your landscape receives.

ET Water, based out of California, manufactures this smart controller technology and has won a Green Product award for it's innovation. The system can reduce water bills by 50% in irrigation season. A typical control costs about $500 along with a web service fee ranging from $6 to $16. The technology pays for itself in 3 to 4 years in water savings. Current applications are in high water usage scenarios such as parks and schools.

Source: Article by Donna Birch in the New Home Showcase titled "Computerized smart watering system"

Conserve water by changing your landscape

A couple in Fresno, California converted their green grass lawn into a desert themed rock cover with cactuses that requires very little water. They were concerned about the water shortage and decided to do their part for water conservation. They have gotten quite a few compliments on the work they did over two years at a cost of $4000.

Here are some other ways to reduce water use in your landscape:

• irrigation - make sure there are no leaks in the irrigation system

Even if there is a pin size leak in the system, 100 gallons of water can be lost over the course of a month. Also, you should adjust your use of the system according to the seasons, there's no reason to have it running over the winter months. Don't water during the hot periods of the day because water evaporates quicker; the middle of the night is a good time. Switch to systems that have soaker hoses or use drips so there is a less likelihood of runoffs and waste.

• plant selection - choose plants that require very little water

There are a multi-tude of options for plants that are drought tolerant. These include:

• annuals - portulaca, cosmos, zinnias 
• perennials - yarrow, daylillies, lavendar, lamb's ears, African daisies
• trees - oaks, myrtle, olive, hackberry, jujube
• vines - potato vine, trumpet vine, honeysuckle, wisteria

Perhaps a visit to a local garden shop can give you more information on drought tolerant plants for the Okanagan

• lawn size - reduce the lawn area so you don't need to use as much water

You can remove portions of lawn and put in pieces such as paving stone or dry creeks.

• use warm season grass - they use 50% less water
• plant a decidous tree - since there are no leaves in the winter, sunlight can enter your home and they provide you with shade in the summer months
• don't overfertilize - they tend to make the grass grow quicker thus requiring more water; use slow release fertilizer instead
• use mulch in your gardens - they help reduce evaporation, moderate soil tempratures, improve water penetration and control weeds

Source: Capital News: New Home Showcase - Article by Nzong Xiong titled "Couple converts yard into low-water landscape"

I received a visit from Garry Klammer, a franchise owner of Turf Logic in Kelowna the other day for a free consultation on my lawn. He is a walking knowledgebase of lawn care tips and advice.

I had met him earlier at the Mayors Environmental Expo and he provided us with tips on mowing the lawn properly and watering in a responsible manner.

He told me my soil was in good condition and so was my yard. He advised that I should think about getting slit-seeding done in patches where grass was missing along with aeration and provided me with a quote.

He also told me to get a moisture measuring device from Rona that would help me determine the moisture levels of the lawn so that I can water only when necessary.