Soil Science Society of America

In Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and other major cities in New Mexico, nearly every public golf course is now watered with treated municipal wastewater rather than precious potable water supplies. Across the U.S. Southwest as a whole, more than 40% of all golf courses receive treated effluent. Reusing the effluent increases the sustainability of golf courses.

Additionally, golf courses and homeowners alike fertilize their lawns during the growing season. The major nutrient in fertilizer is nitrate. A New Mexico State University turfgrass expert has a new vision for even more efficiency.

Bernd Leinauer, a turfgrass expert at New Mexico State University, suggests combining "fertigation," drip irrigation, and decentralized water treatment. In a paper published in the journal Crop Science, he and co-author Elena Sevostianova detail their modern-day recipe for a lush, green lawn.

Leinauer says combining the three approaches could solve several issues. Right now, many big New Mexico cities remove nearly all the nitrate from wastewater all the time. That's an expensive and energy-intensive step designed to prevent pollution of surface- and ground- waters. "But from a turf perspective that doesn't make a whole lot of sense," Leinauer says, since golf course managers (and homeowners) end up applying mineral nitrate fertilizers to keep turf thriving.

Fertigation is a method of supplying fertilizers to plants through irrigation water (fertilize and irrigate at the same time). Drip irrigation delivers water directly to plant roots underground, instead of sprinkling plants from above.

In Leinauer's and Sevostianova's vision, a decentralized treatment system at a subdivision would be "tailored" to generate effluent during the summer that contained 15 parts per million (ppm) of the nutrient nitrate. Residents would then use this water to fertigate their lawns. Because drip systems put water directly into the soil, Leinauer says, homeowners wouldn't come in contact with it.

"Why not leave the nitrate in the water?" Leinauer asks, "Then the effluent already contains a fertilizer that the golf course operator [or homeowner] doesn't have to buy" or manage. The tailored water from the decentralized treatment system makes this feasible. "The overall idea is to combine subsurface, drip irrigation with tailored water: water with nutrient levels tailored for the summer versus the winter."

Will re-using this high-nitrate content water cause problems? Will the nitrate seep into the subsoil, and eventually to groundwater? Leinauer is now studying this at a test facility.

So far, results are good. Turf plots drip-irrigated with tailored water are just as green and healthy as those receiving potable water and mineral fertilizers, Leinauer says. The researchers also see little evidence of greater nitrate loss from the fertigated, drip-irrigated plots.

Still, he cautions, the results are preliminary and there are other challenges to address. For example, wastewater effluent tends to be high in salt.

These problems must be solved, though, as water supplies continue to decline. In New Mexico, for example, demands on potable water from agriculture and a growing populace are so great that "basically the only water left for the landscape is treated effluent," Leinauer says. But the issue is hardly unique to his region. Leinauer hopes researchers around the country will embark on similar studies.

"We're doing our part here in the Southwest, but our region is completely different from, let's say, New England, or the Midwest," he says. "So, these questions need to be investigated more thoroughly on a regional basis."

By Kay Ledbetter

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

Many tools are available for turf managers to help monitor soil or weather conditions, diagnose turf problems or even take the guesswork out of selecting the best-suited grass type for the shade environment, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Research turf expert.

Dr. Ben Wherley, an assistant professor for turfgrass science/ecology with AgriLife Research and the Texas A&M University soil and crop science department in College Station, demonstrated some of the new tools and technologies available to attendees of the turf and landscape industry at the recent Turf, Landscape and Irrigation Expo at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Dallas.

Whether it is shade, pH, salinity, soil compaction, air circulation, soil type, spray application, lawn size or soil moisture, Wherley said there are an increasing number of helpful apps and tools available for professionals, such as landscapers, golf course superintendents and athletic field managers, as well as homeowners, since most of the devices are reasonably priced.

Some iPhone or iPad apps that are handy, he said, are:

• Sunseeker app allows a person to enter any date and determine the exact trajectory of the sun for that date, helpful in determining how many hours of direct sunlight will reach a given area. Wherley said it also is used for tree pruning and planting, allowing landscapers to identify the problem trees when they have shade issues and determine where the shade pattern will fall when a new tree is planted.
• Planimeter app allows a landscaper to pull up a GPS map of a client's home and drop pins on the corners of their property to get a quick, accurate estimate of the size of their lawn. "You could literally do a bid remotely or at the customer's doorstep without having to walk off or measure the site," Wherley said.
• Landscape and Garden Calculator app helps the landscaper or do-it-yourselfer calculate the quantity of materials, such as fertilizer and mulch needed for any given area, as well as fence lengths, spaces between items and angles if needed.
•  Turfgrass Management app is designed for the southern U.S. and has pictures and information for all types of insects, pests and diseases - "things you might want to be looking out for on your site and it gives you an alert on your phone," Wherley said.
•  SoilWeb app allows anyone to access the GPS-based system, identify their location and determine what soil type is there.

The tools or devices Wherley demonstrated and his comments about each include: 

• A wind meter - "Very helpful when a turf manager needs to make spray applications. When spray technicians go out and make an application, they need to be sure and document that the application was made under a minimal wind speed to avoid off-target movement of the application. This device can be picked up for less than $100."
• Daily light integral or DLI meters - "Think of them as a rain gauge for light. They can be turned on and put anywhere on the landscape and you come back 24 hours later. It will register the amount of photons in a 24-hour period that that given spot has received - and ultimately that is what plants respond to.

"In recent years, we have begun to get a pretty good idea of the minimum DLI requirements for maintaining acceptable quality of different turf species and cultivars. It measures moles of light. By taking a quick 24-hour measurement of your landscape - both in full sun and shade - you can get an idea of how a given turf species or cultivar will perform before you invest money in that sod."

• Soil stick pH meter - "Designed to take readings in the field, you just press the tip of the unit onto the soil and you can get a reading instantaneously. If the soil is not wet, it will just need to be moistened slightly."
• Quantum light sensor - "Light is a big issue,and this tells how much photosynthetic light is hitting a spot. Homeowners want to know 'If I get X amount of shade in a spot, will a certain turf grow there?' These are a little more expensive, about $200 to $300, so probably will be used by a professional rather than a homeowner."
• Soil profile sampler - "This provides you an undisturbed soil profile sample 6 inches deep, which is good if you want to show a customer they have a thatch problem. Or maybe they laid sod and they are watering and it is still wilting. You dig down and find out they have soil layering issues and the water can't get down through the clay to the sand. You can learn a lot about a system by looking at the soil profile."
• Soil moisture meters or soil probes - "These are utilized to monitor moisture level in the soil profile. Many golf courses have begun to use these daily on greens for determining precisely where and how much to hand water, allowing the course to save water by not using the automatic irrigation system until the entire green has dried down."
• Turf thermometer - "This can give you an idea early on of whether your turf is becoming water stressed. There can often be as much as a 20 degree difference between a watered lawn and a dry lawn, and as much as a 50 degree difference between the lawn and pavement or stone."
• Electrical conductivity meter - "If you think salts might be the reason for turf decline, this will help you test. Wherever the tip is will be where you measure salinity. Salt tends to accumulate at the surface or at the waterline,so you don't stick this too deep into the soil. The device also allows you to track where salts have moved following rain or irrigation events, allowing managers the ability to know when they've effectively 'flushed' salts below the roots of their turf."

"These are just a handful of some of the latest tools and technologies that have enhanced the capacity of today's turfgrass professional to more effectively diagnose issues and better manage high quality greenscapes," Wherley said.

Better Business Bureau

Warmer temperatures and rainy weather are bringing out various insects you probably don't want in or around your home. Especially since Texas is a state at risk of the mosquito-borne viruses like West Nile and chikungunya. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has already confirmed the state's five cases of chikungunya, a viral disease that can cause fever and severe joint pain, and one case of West Nile Fever.

According to DSHS, all cases of chikungunya have been imported, meaning that travelers have acquired the illness while visiting areas where the virus is more common. However, those imported cases mean there is a potential for chikungunya to spread in Texas because the mosquitoes that transmit it are present in the state.

Better Business Bureau (BBB) serving Central, Coastal, Southwest Texas and the Permian Basin generally sees an increase in consumer inquiries for pest control businesses during these summer months as people try to prevent invasive and potentially harmful bugs. It's important to be sure you hire a company you can trust. Nationally, BBB received more than 4,000 complaints regarding pest control services in 2013. Most alleged work not being completed according to signed contracts, billing issues or unmet guarantees.

Keep the following advice in mind before hiring a pest control service:

Research the company. Check any pest control company's BBB Business Review at bbb.org before signing a contract. Look at the company's rating, how it has responded to customer complaints and any advertising issues. Use check bbb.org to find a local BBB Accredited pest control service.

Compare prices. Solicit bids from at least three different pest control companies before making a decision. BBB provides a free Request a Quote service to make it easier to gather estimates from local BBB Accredited Businesses.

Ask about safety. Because pesticides and pest control products could be dangerous to touch or inhale, be sure to ask the company about the safety of the chemicals they use. Let the company know if you have pets, children or sensitive plants as that may impact the products they select for your home.

Check for licensing and insurance. Make sure the company meets state licensing requirements by verifying with the Texas Department of Agriculture. Also, be sure to ask for proof of the company's insurance and coverage for any potential property damage or personal liability.

Get it in writing. Make sure all guarantees are clearly stated in writing with details about the service agreement. Be sure you understand what the company will do if pests continue or come back after treatment.

Carefully review your contract. Be sure you fully understand the nature of the pest to be exterminated, the extent of the infestation, and the work necessary to solve the problem.  

Cleburne: Summer Thyme Festival will be held 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m., August 2, at the Cultural Arts Center, 425 Granbury, Cleburne. There will be free lectures, mini-workshops, kids activity center, seed swap, info table and vendors. For more information, call 817-793-4625, email [email protected], or visit www.jcherbsocietytx.webs.com.  

Crandall: Kaufman County Master Gardeners present a Landscape & Sprinkler System Seminar on August 2, 8:30 a.m.-noon at the Central Baptist Church gym,1749 S. FM 148, Crandall. The cost is $10 per person. Learn proper soil preparation, planting and selection of native and adaptive plants, turf and trees. Plant list provided. Watch your sprinkler system save you money by converting your spray heads to drip, learning the cycle and soak irrigation method, as well as very basic, hands-on repairs & maintenance to home automatic sprinkler systems. For more information and to register, contact Sharon Burden at 972-932-9069 or email [email protected].

Dallas: "Canning Your Garden Vegetables" will be presented 2-4 p.m., August 2 at Texas Discovery Gardens at Fair Park, 3601 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Dallas. Take advantage of the summer's garden bounty and learn to can and preserve nature's finest fruits and vegetables. Donelle and Marilyn Simmons with Garden Inspirations and The FarmGirls Organic Radio Show will demonstrate the equipment and procedures in canning and preserving food. $25; $20 for TDG members. Register in advance. For more information, visit http://texasdiscoverygardens.org/events_and_classes.php. 

Rosenberg: "Fall Vegetable Gardening" will be presented Saturday, August 2, at the Agriculture Center at 1402 Band Road, Rosenberg, by Fort Bend Master Gardener vegetable specialists at 10 a.m. in the Vegetable Garden. Learn about garden preparation, maintaining soil health, fertilization, irrigation, pest control and the seasonal vegetable choices for Fort Bend County. The Demonstration Gardens are open from 9-11 a.m., with Master Gardeners available to answer gardening questions. Call 281-341-7068 or visit www.fbmg.com for more information.

Woodway: Dr. Larry Stein, Extension Horticulturist for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, will demonstrate how to properly prune fruit and nut trees for maximum production at 1 p.m., August 6, at Whitehall Center at the Carleen Bright Arboretum, 9001 Bosque Blvd., Woodway. $10 admission. For more information, visit http://www.mclennanmastergardeners.org.  

Nacogdoches: SFA Gardens at Stephen F. Austin State University will host the monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Thursday, August 14, in the Ina Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, 2900 Raguet St. in Nacogdoches. Ethan Kauffmann will present "Green Roofs, Green Walls, the South Carolina Way." Kauffmann grew up in Lancaster, Penn., before attending Clemson University and earning a B.S. in Biology. In 2007 he joined Moore Farms Botanical Garden after eight years at Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Garden where he managed the zoo horticulture program. In his current position as Garden Director at Moore Farms Botanical Garden, he has led the transition from a private pleasure garden to a non-profit botanical garden. Kauffmann has collected plants across the country and abroad but is always excited to return to the wild places of South Carolina. He feels that horticulture connects us to the natural world and that exploring this relationship is vital to understanding and defining our place in it. Ethan currently resides in Columbia, South Carolina. The Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series is held the second Thursday of each month at the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture's SFA Pineywoods Native Plant Center. A rare plant raffle will be held after the program. The lecture is free and open to the public, but donations to the Theresa and Les Reeves lecture series fund are always appreciated. Parking is available at the nearby Raguet Elementary School, 2428 Raguet St., with continual shuttle service to the Ina Brundrett Conservation Education Building. For more information, call 936-468-1832 or email [email protected].

• Many, many practical and timely garden tips that are for Texas - not Maine or California!
• Organic, earth friendly tips to make your garden grow and prosper
• Lots of space to record your own activities for future reference
• Planting dates and tips for vegetables, flowers, herbs, fruit and lawns

The Vegetable Book

By Dr. Sam Cotner

Finally, back by popular demand and in its fourth printing, the most informative and comprehensive "how-to" book on vegetable gardening in Texas (also, suitable for most other areas of the South) written by the late, great Dr. Sam Cotner, former head of horticulture at Texas A&M University and lifelong gardener. This interesting read has over 370 pages of detailed information on every crop, from Asparagus to Watermelon including problem/solving sections for each vegetable. If you want to maximize your enjoyment and success growing vegetables in Texas, this book is a "must have," whether you are a beginner or a seasoned gardener. Price $34.02

By William D. Adams

The best thing for tomato enthusiasts since the tomato itself! Adams draws on more than thirty years of experience to provide a complete, step-by-step guide to success in the tomato patch. Learn everything from soil preparation, planting, feeding, caging and watering. Liberally sprinkled with the author's easy humor and illustrated with his own excellent photographs, this must-have book has everything you'll need to assure a bumper crop! 189 pages. Lots of color photographs! Price: $31.94

($15.82 if ordered separately)

Remit payment to:

TG Books * PO Box 9005 * Waco, TX 76714

or call Toll-Free 1-800-727-9020

American Express, Visa, MasterCard and Discover Accepted