Pop Up Sprinkler Heads and Your Options

Irrigation systems are becoming more and more common in residential and commercial areas. It takes all the work out of watering the lawn and ensures that various areas are watered effectively, according to the landscape and climate. There are two common irrigation systems: the sprinkler irrigation system and the drip irrigation systems. A drip irrigation system works by running small tubes through the ground with several small holes throughout the tubes. The holes in the tubes allow a certain amount of water to leak out of the tube and water the ground from beneath the grass. This is often found in areas where evaporation of surface water is common, such as Nevada and Texas.

A sprinkler irrigation system uses sprinkler heads that spray water in a specific radius and pattern. Most sprinkler systems utilize pop up sprinkler heads, which pop up when it is time to water the lawn and spray a continuous stream of water that passes through a nozzle. The nozzle directs the water in a specific pattern that is most effective for that particular lawn. The pop up heads can be either stationary or rotatory heads, which rotate and spray water in a full circle or half-circle. The specific sprinkler heads that are best for each lawn depend on the landscape and climate in that particular area.

You’ll find pup up sprinkler heads that come between 2 inches and 20 inches. If you are in an area where digging deep is difficult, then you’ll use the shorter 2 inch spray heads. The 4 inch spray heads are commonly used in areas that have turf, such as football fields. As soil settles over time, a smaller spray head might not reach up high enough to spray over the turf. That’s why it’s very important you choose a spray head that is specific to your lawn and conditions.

Most pop up spray heads cover a spraying radius between 5 and 15 feet. This isn’t a terribly large areas and most lawns require several different heads for different areas. This is good because it allows for a wider range of customization according to your landscape.

Certain areas of the lawn may require more watering because there is plant life or shrubbery. You’ll use larger, 6 inch to 12 inch, spray heads with a larger radius to cover these areas. There is enough selection among sprinkler heads and nozzles that all lawns can be effectively watered with a modern sprinkler system.

Outdoor LED Lighting Can Be Very Cost Effective and Convenient in the Long Run

Putting up the right lighting in outdoor spaces and in landscaping around a home can lead to greatly enhancing aesthetics, besides adding to the safety and security of the property.

A major concern for homeowners is the high cost of the energy that is needed to power this lighting and this can at times lead to compromises that can have untoward consequences. This is where the development in lighting that has led to outdoor LED lighting has led to solutions that are ultimately, quite cost effective. These LED lights have a great many advantages over normal incandescent lighting which has led them to be now considered as the ultimate solution for any need to light up the area outside a home or any other property.

LED bulbs have a life span that is an equivalent of eleven years of non-stop use, and as outdoor lighting is in use for only dark periods when there is no sunlight, these bulbs can practically last a lifetime. Incandescent bulbs will last for just a thousand hours and will require constant replacement after every couple of months; a chore that in itself can be quite irksome and at times difficult. LED lighting allows fixtures to be at difficult to reach places, which ensure better lighting. In the case of incandescent lamps the ease of replacing bulbs has to be considered and this at times can lead to fixtures and locations that are not of the right kind for a garden or landscape.

The energy required for outdoor LED lighting is just a miniscule percentage point and in the long run can lead to a lot of savings. These savings accrue only after prolonged usage, and in no way reduces the high initial cost of such lighting bulbs. Many electrical utility companies and governmental agencies do offer grants and loans for installing such lighting, but even so the high cost is very much a deterrent to the wider usage of such outdoor LED lighting. The color of the light emanating from LED bulbs can also change over the years, but this is so gradual that most property owners do get used to it.

Bulbs used in outdoor LED lighting need to be of the variety that is suited to outdoor use, as these may have slightly different standards of manufacturing for them, so that they have the required resistance to inclement weather and other conditions that such bulbs will have to face. Fixtures used to house such bulbs must be properly waterproof to prevent any short circuit from rain water causing the bulbs to malfunction.

Landscape Supply Stores Are Open Everywhere

When you need the right materials to make your home beautiful you need the right shop. You need the right landscape supply store with the most helpful staff possible. Considering this you probably also need one with a large selection, or maybe not. Its up to you which store you go with, but here’s a short list of the good and the bad. Of course, I would never bad mouth a landscape supply store, but they do have their ups and downs.

If you are looking to shop at home depot for your landscape supply you might be in the right place. This store will supply you with the landscape selection that you want. They have hundreds if not a thousand different types of plants for you to look through. All of them are in generally good quality too. The best part about this store is that it’s usually a little more modestly priced then some of its competitors and other landscape supply stores.

Not happy with home depot right now? Well, the good news is that you don’t have to go there. There is another option that is probably in your area. Why not go to an Aqua-Flo Supply store location? A neat thing about Aqua-Flo Supply is how friendly and available the customer service is. No other store do we see employees this engaged. This is one of the most helpful landscape supply stores you can choose.

Of course, last but not least, there is always Walmart. You can expect a smaller selection and almost completely absent staff members, but they will have the cheapest price you will find anywhere. I know you want to get what you need, sometimes when were on a budget we can’t afford to go to landscape supply stores, we have to settle for Walmart. I know, sad but true.

I hope you find exactly what you are looking for no matter where you go. Remember to come with ideas already in your mind. It will make the whole shopping process a lot easier for you. I know you want the best products possible, but remember your budget! Its your best friend in this situation.

Irrigation Systems Help Farmers to Reduce Their Dependence on Rain

Farming in earlier times, and even now in many parts of the world has depended on the rain falling in the area being farmed. This quite often led to complete failure of crops, which were unable to get the necessary water that was necessary for their growth. The practice of putting in irrigation systems has led to lessen the dependence of farming activities on rain, by the simple process of moving in water from other areas, which have a surplus of water.

Irrigation systems that used the practice of bringing in water from distant areas started in the 6th century BC in areas of the Middle East. There are also archeological excavations in India which have pointed out to the use of canals, which used gravity to bring water to established cities, from water sources like rivers and lakes. The basic premise behind irrigation systems, involves the creation of conduits to carry the water in canals and gravity to negate the need for any other additional force to move the water, persists to this day. There are macro solutions when entire systems are built, with dams that impound rain water from rivers, outtake canals that take the water to the area where it is needed and a system of feeder canals and smaller water carrying structures to take them to the fields where they are actually needed.

Modern farmers have developed further techniques to help them grow crops without having to depend on rain. This allows them to be in greater control over growing the crops, right from the seeding, nurturing and reaping the harvest. Where they have access to irrigation canals, they use a system of dykes and furrows that allows them to direct the water where it is needed, and stop this irrigation when needed. At times, the system is used along with pumps that use water from wells or other water sources to flood the created furrows and dykes. Where water tables are very high, the same method is used to bring the water to where it is needed. Irrigation methods that have gained a lot of prominence in recent times are sprinkler irrigation, which uses hoses and pipes and pumps to force water through sprinklers to irrigate the land. This does result in a lot of reduction in wastage and ensures that water reaches only the plants required. The use of drip irrigation reduces this wastage still further and is in wide use in desert and other areas where water sources are few and far between.

Have you considered purchasing Rain Bird 5000 sprinklers?

There are many brands of lawn sprinkler systems out there and none are as good as the Rain Bird 5000 series.

I have been a lawn freak for most of my life. I have owned more than a few homes in my life and spent most of my time making the yards look fantastic. To me life centres around a beautiful lawn. As a child I loved playing in the grass and remember it being fluffy and soft. When I was bouncing around on it with my kid brother and German Shepherd dog at the age of 9 it was like a huge green mattress out on the acreage that I still miss to this day. And then the green stains that this healthy earth product left on my blue jeans was so hard to get out but I can still remember that sweet smell of fresh green grass.

Maybe this is the reason I still love grass so much. I love it so much that I will do almost anything to have the perfect lawn. Ask my relatives and even my children and they will tell you the same thing. In fact I can have the most beautiful home and the nicest work shop or 3 car garage and that will be invisible to me or almost of no value if my lawn which fills in the blanks around it is dead looking or simply not perfect.

My wife can have the perfect flower gardens and trimmed shrubs and hedges along the winding driveway or Apple trees dripping with huge crispy fruit-age and that would simply be completely unappealing without a perfect lawn.

Ya see the lawn makes everything else beautiful. I recently showed off the perfect lawn and give all due credit to not myself but the rain bird 5000 sprinkler system I had installed in my yard a few years earlier.

As a child my father would make me and my brother drag around a section of sprinklers that were attached to a 3 inch plastic hose connected to a pump which pumped water from a river that flowed past our home. The section was so heavy and not fun to manueaver. And worse yet it never covered all the areas of the lawn spaces we were trying to water. This system does..

In my most recent yard project where I had the most awesome grass I had installed the rain bird 5000 system. I must say I miss that lawn but made a huge profit when we sold that home. I really sold the lawn and not everything else that was placed in and around it.

Benefits of Professional Sprinkler Installation

Although the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) doesn’t mind the use of sprinklers in households, the agency states that some sprinkler systems waste too much water, especially those that haven’t been installed correctly or were poorly maintained. Aside from wastage, some sprinklers can actually do more harm than good by damaging stucco, wood shingles, and concrete. Hence, the EPA recommends that homeowners seek professional help when it comes to setting-up and repairing water sprinkler systems.

Aside from minimizing damage, professional installation is needed to ensure that these sprinklers water a wider area more efficiently. Factors like spray patterns, spray intervals, water pressure, and the amount of water discharged all need to be taken into consideration during the installation process. Water pressure is especially important, since too much of it can slowly chip away at bricks and concrete tiles every time the sprinklers are switched on.

Professionals must also take into consideration the amount of precipitation an area receives, since some sprinkler systems encourage fungal growth. Fungal growth is also dependent on the type of grass on the lawn, since grass provides the bio-matter needed by algae, moss, and molds to thrive and reproduce. Choosing appropriate rotors and sprinkler heads to suit the area’s precipitation levels may be necessary to keep fungal growth in check. For the best results, homeowners should hire contractors that provide professional assessment, installation, and repair services.

Conserve Water and Win a Vacation with a Rain Bird Sprinkler

Rain Bird is currently running a contest that will send 3 winners to Texas if they prove to have used the company’s pressure-regulating machines to conserve water. The contest is part of Project PRS Challenge that aims to educate irrigation professionals and homeowners about the benefits of using such systems.

One example of how beneficial Rain Bird sprinkler systems are is University of Texas-Austin’s drip irrigation technology that installed water in its 125-acre landscape. While the project cost the school a staggering $2 million, the $800,000 worth of savings in utilities and conservation of 10 million gallons of water every year makes the investment well worth it.

As of August, Project PRS has already logged water savings of up to over 57 million gallons. Rain Bird and other irrigation professionals will continue to promote the conservation of water by using irrigation systems even after the contest has concluded.
http://www.aquaflo.com/save-water-through-a-rain-bird-sprinkler-win-a-trip-to-texas-in-november/

Rain Bird Drip Irrigation: Easing Farmers’ Worries of Water Quality Fees

The Record recently reported that several amendments to water quality regulations in the Central Valley could become official by next Spring. Some of the proposed changes include monitoring of groundwater beneath crops, requiring farmers to attend educational meetings and draft plans in protecting water quality and managing soil erosion – all of which are expected to double or triple the costs of water quality improvement.

Farmers who use Rain Bird drip irrigation systems on their land don’t have much cause for worry though, as the particular system waters the roots of crops directly instead of letting water flow through the entire farm.

It’s with this kind of system that farmers can both save on resources and energy and minimize soil erosion, which can help them adhere to the new water quality standards.
http://www.aquaflo.com/rain-bird-drip-irrigation-system-may-help-farmers-ease-burden-of-higher-water-quality-fees/

Civilization’s Depth to the Science of Irrigation

The first civilizations thrived near major rivers and waterways: Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and so on. Part of the reason why so many ancient civilizations built their settlements so close to rivers was because they needed a steady supply of water for various uses, including irrigation. As these civilizations expanded farther from rivers and waterways, the need to create proper irrigation systems also grew. Today, you can grow crops and vegetation without being close to rivers, as long as proper irrigation systems are in place.

Early irrigation systems used the natural features of rivers to water their crops. In Egypt, towns near the Nile anticipated seasonal flooding, and made various preparations to ensure that crops and land plots were watered. The annual flooding of the Nile was much anticipated by the populace, since the absence of flooding in the middle of a hot desert could lead to famine. The Nile functioned as a large irrigation system, which enabled Egypt to develop into a major ancient superpower.

Today, irrigation systems are more controlled with spray heads and drip spouts due to a pressing need to conserve water. That was the case in the 1970s when Egypt’s Aswan Dam in the southern part of the country was completed, enabling the country to control its seasonal Nile floods. Indeed, if it hadn’t been for irrigation systems, the civilizations of the ancient world wouldn’t have been possible.

Watering Your Lawn to Perfection

Everybody loves to see a green and perfectly kept lawn, especially during the summer. A well-tended lawn enhances the beauty of your property, especially the front area, and increases its resale value. Moreover, it reflects how well you take care of the property.

Yet maintaining a green lawn is not an easy task during the summer, as water can be scarce. It can be especially critical during a drought, particularly when authorities are compelled to implement water rationing measures. Expect to see more brown than green lawns during such episodes.

In any case, a green lawn is the product of proper irrigation and sustained gardening efforts. While you may think an ordinary garden hose can do the trick, it ultimately results in uneven water distribution. Some areas may get more water than the others, and this may result in broken green patches instead of an unbroken carpet of green.

You therefore need a good sprinkler system that can disperse water evenly across a wide area. You’ll need to pick a suitable sprinkler system based on your garden’s size to ensure even water distribution throughout the lawn area. With persistence and the right implements, you can soon have a green, immaculate garden.