Recently in Business Landscaping Category

Toxins in coal-tar-based sealcoats in parking lots may be the culprit in contaminated house dust, according to a USGS study.

PAHs - or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

PAHs are large molecules found in oil, coal and tar deposits, and can have toxic effects. It's long been known that PAHs are often found in house dust; however, the specific sources of these PAHs are largely undetermined.

Researchers found that dust from indoor areas near parking lots with coal-tar-based sealcoat had substantially elevated concentrations of PAHs.

SOURCE:  USGS at the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

It's important to restore landscapes in an ecologically sound way.  And that's not as intuitive as you might think.  It's not "business as usual."  Here are some suggestions from the California Landscape Contractors Association that might help you understand the major landscaping transformation that takes place after a fire.

Recommendations to Help Protect Your Property After a Fire from the California Landscape Contractors Association

Fire destroys hundreds of homes each year in California and often burns thousands of acres of land.  If your property was damaged by fire, the California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA) is pleased to offer some recommendations to help your landscape recover and to help protect your property.

... In general, many plants and trees are exposed to fire in their native environment and many will recover in the spring and should be left alone.  Any pruning or cutting back of fire-damaged plants should not be done until the plants show signs of recovery. Removing bark, leaves or limbs can expose the plants to sun damage.  Heat from the sun can actually kill the tissue beneath the bark on some trees.  It is best to leave them alone until new growth appears.

... Some plants recover faster than others. Burned plants can still be green underneath and still have healthy roots. If similar plants appear to be recovering, wait a few more weeks before removing damaged parts.  Full damage to woody plants may not be apparent until the next spring or summer season.  Re-examine them at that time and then carefully remove damaged wood to make room for new growth. Ash on the plants will not cause damage and should be left alone.

... Damaged trees that have branches that are cracked or overhanging homes, driveways etc., that can be a future hazard, should be removed.  Trees that have shifted in the soil due to wind or burn damage and those with burned roots should be removed as well, because they are now considered unstable and could potentially fall.  If fire has completely burned off all the bark around the entire circumference of the tree and/or fire has burned deep into the trunk, the tree should also be removed.

... Fertilization is not recommended.  Immediately fertilizing can cause damage to the roots and cause additional harm to the plants. Waiting also gives the soil time to recover.  Wait until the spring and fertilize at half rates with a product containing nitrogen.  Do not fertilize with manures at that time, since they contain a high concentration of salts that can injure roots.  

... Plastic irrigation lines, parts and drains may be damaged.  Check your existing irrigation system for leaks and damage and document them for your insurance company.  Also shut off irrigation water immediately after a fire to help prevent erosion and further damage.

... It is generally not recommended to water plants immediately after a fire.  If your area is experiencing a drought and water is necessary, water gently by hand.  Severely burned soils do not absorb water well.  Make sure the flow of water is slow enough to be absorbed. Also examine and clean concrete drains and swales.  Many become filled with ash and mud during a fire.

... In areas where protective plants are removed or destroyed, soil becomes vulnerable to erosion.  Soil erosion can happen slowly or it can happen very quickly in a heavy rain.  The exact measures needed for your property are based on your soil type, slope grade, home location, weather, water availability etc.  Also areas exposed by fire can open the door for invasive species and weeds. In some areas erosion control materials or mechanical control measures may need to be applied.  Contact your local CalTrans office or local forest service for guidelines in your area.  

... Water flow is an important factor of any erosion plan.  Never underestimate the power of storm water and debris.  Evaluating the area and planning for storm events is a critical first step to protecting your property and improper or inadequate measures can aggravate potential problems.  If you need help with erosion control or fire prevention landscaping, be sure to hire a licensed professional who specializes in that area of expertise.  Ask for references, insurance certificates and request to see their license.  You'll want to protect your home and your neighbors' as well.

... It is also an important time to evaluate your property's landscape and damage.  Take a look at what worked and what did not and try to determine how to make your property safer in case of a future fire.  For future reference, it is also a good idea to keep records and photos of your landscape as part of your home inventory list for insurance purposes.

For helpful information about fire prevention landscaping please go to: www.clca.org/clca/education/fire-protection.php

Our wild and cultivated landscapes are all vital to prevent climate change -- and especially in the aftermath of disasters such as Western states' wildfires.


Barbara Landrith
Outreach Specialist

California Landscape Contractors Association
barbaralandrith@clca.org
1491 River Park Dr#100
Sacramento, Ca 95815
(916) 830-2780
www.clca.org

It can be done!  One home at a time!  Low impact family gardening makes a huge difference in our climate change strategy...and the health of our families:

Havana relies on 200 urban farms known as organoponicos

Cuba, on the brink of starvation when the Soviet Union collapsed 20 years
ago, now produces 90% of its fruits and vegetable needs, using organic,
low-tech inputs.  The Cuban diet is healthier and uses 1/3 the energy to
produce versus typical western food production.

Some of the plots are small - just a few rows of lettuces and radishes being grown in an old parking space.

Other plots are much larger - the size of several football pitches. Usually they have a stall next to them to sell the produce at relatively low prices to local people.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8213617.stm

I've followed the honey bee crisis known as "colony collapse disorder" because of their close connection with our food supply, with nature, and because bees are one of the few "domesticated" insects in our economy.

Science is finally making headway on what is causing the die off of complete hives of bees.

Penn State researchers worked with the National Science Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Agricultural Marketing Service that already tests commodities such as milk and fruits and vegetables.

Honey has not regularly been analyzed, and bee pollen was not a commodity and so was not analyzed at all. The researchers decided to use types of screening the lab uses for milk and apples, which looks at over 170 pesticides. What they found is quite astounding to me... because of what it says about our agricultural practices.

All of the bees tested showed at least 1 pesticide and pollen averaged 6 pesticides with as many as 31 in a sample.

Honeycomb may contain pesticides applied years ago.

Scientists do not know that these chemicals have anything to do with colony collapse disorder, but scientists have concluded that these pesticides are definitely stressors. Penn State's Dr. Maryann Frazier say, "Pesticides alone have not shown they are the cause of CCD. We believe that it is a combination of a variety of factors, possibly including mites, viruses and pesticides."

While beekeepers will have a difficult time controlling pesticide exposure outside the hive, the Penn State researchers tested a method using gamma radiation for reducing the chemical load in beeswax and they found that irradiation broke down about 50% of the acaricides, pesticides that kill mites.

Read all the details at the Environment News Service.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) formally recognized the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency (NN EPA) in 2009 for their efforts to protect and preserve the environment over the past 30 years.

"For over 30 years we have partnered with the Navajo Nation to protect public health and precious natural resources," said Laura Yoshii, acting regional administrator for the EPA's Pacific Southwest region.  "The EPA applauds the Navajo Nation EPA not only for their achievements on their land, but for their leadership role in the development of tribal environmental programs nationally.  The Navajo Nation continues to build and implement its programs, has enacted seven of its own environmental laws, and set a national precedent for tribal sovereignty and environmental protection." Navajo Nation leaders met with federal officials to discuss environmental priorities for the Navajo Nation which administers several of the country's largest and most sophisticated tribal environmental programs.

"Former Navajo Nation elected leaders and managers have provided the foundation for the partnership with U.S. EPA," said Steve Etsitty, Executive Director of the Navajo Nation EPA.  "Under President Shirley's guidance the Navajo Nation EPA has truly emerged as a key implementer of environmental regulatory programs, and it will continue to protect the Navajo Nation and the south west United States from unhealthy pollution."

Abandoned Uranium Mine Cleanup

Navajo Nation EPA, four federal agencies and EPA are working together to implement a 5-year plan to address the legacy of over 500 abandoned uranium mines on the Navajo Nation.  Currently, NN EPA and EPA are working to

• identify and cleanup mines,
• assess potentially contaminated structures, and
• conduct massive outreach efforts to warn residents of potential hazards from unregulated, contaminated wells.

Together, the agencies have assessed 113 structures and are in the process of demolishing and excavating 27 radiation-contaminated structures and 10 residential yards.



This year, the NN EPA, the Navajo Department of Water Resources, EPA, and the Indian Health Service are working together to provide

• safe drinking water to 3,000 people and
• wastewater infrastructure to 2,500 homes.

 Over the past 25 years, Navajo homes with access to safe drinking water rose by nearly 20 percent.

Federal Drinking Water Program

The Navajo Nation remains the first and only tribal government that has EPA's authority to implement the federal drinking water program which ensures that the 162 public water systems serving approximately 150,000 people meet federal drinking water requirements.  These groundwater supplies are also protected through NN EPA's underground injection control program.

Underground Injection Control Program of Disposal Wells

The underground injection control program regulates the construction, operation, permitting and closure of storage and/or disposal wells.  In 2008, NN EPA took over the program to protect the tribe's groundwater resources.  Together with their prior authorization to oversee public water systems, the Navajo Nation is the first tribe in the nation to implement the two main regulatory programs under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.  In addition to the underground injection control program, the Navajo Nation also administers protects groundwater resources through their underground storage tank program.

Underground Storage Tank Lead Prevention Program

 The NN EPA runs the most capable tribal, underground storage tank leak prevention program in the country with two federally credentialed inspectors and a field citation pilot program. Recently, federally credentialed tank inspectors began inspecting the Nation's 125 underground storage tank facilities on behalf of the EPA.  

The pilot project allows the two inspectors to write EPA field citations for federal violations and is expected to increase field presence and improve compliance.  A hole the size of a pinhead can release 400 gallons of fuel in a year's time, enough to foul millions of gallons of fresh water.  To address leaking tanks, both agencies have cleaned up over 100 leaking underground storage tanks since 2004, using a combination of both federal and tribal leaking underground storage tank funds.

Title V Air Permitting

The Navajo Nation EPA has been successfully implementing their Title V air permitting program for 5 years, and collecting the permitting fees for 13 major sources. The NN EPA was the first tribe in the nation to achieve authority to implement this program.

Pesticide Inspections to Restore Land and Soil

Other programs protect and restore Navajo Nation's land and soil.  Last year, Navajo Nation Pesticide Program's federally credentialed inspectors conducted 120 federal pesticides inspections and 25 tribal inspections.  To address open dumps throughout the Navajo Nation, the EPA has invested $2 million dollars since 1990.  To date, 41 open dumps have been closed using federal and Navajo Nation funds.

First Tribal Superfund Law

In February 2008, the Navajo Nation Council passed the Navajo Nation Comprehensive Environmental Response, and Liability Act (Navajo CERCLA) or Superfund modeled after the EPA's program.  This is the first tribal Superfund law in the country, and is a huge success for the Navajo Nation, as it gives the Tribe the authority to address hazardous contamination across the Nation.

 For more information, please visit: http://www.navajonationepa.org/

On Lincoln's 200th birthday, Feb. 12, 2009, the new Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack "broke pavement" on The People's Garden during a ceremony on the grounds of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) commemorating Lincoln's birthday.

Green for Watershed Protection

Secretary Vilsack declared the stretch of pavement permanently closed and returned back to green, and encouraged other Administration officials and the general public to join in to protect the Chesapeake watershed.

"It is essential for the federal government to lead the way in enhancing and conserving our land and water resources," said Vilsack. "President Obama has expressed his commitment to responsible stewardship of our land, water and other natural resources, and one way of restoring the land to its natural condition is what we are doing here today - "breaking pavement" for The People's Garden."

The dedication comes on the 200th anniversary of the birth of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln founded the Department of Agriculture in 1862 and referred to it as "The People's Department" in his last annual message to Congress.

Green for Beneficial Gardening Promotion

Secretary Vilsack announced a goal of creating a community garden at each USDA facility worldwide. The USDA community garden project will include a wide variety of garden activities including Embassy window boxes, tree planting, and field office plots.

The gardens will be designed to promote "going green" concepts, including landscaping and building design to retain water and reduce runoff; roof gardens for energy efficiency; utilizing native plantings and using sound conservation practices.

Green Space for Runoff Reduction

The USDA People's Garden will eliminate 1,250 square feet of unnecessary paved surface at the USDA headquarters and return the landscape to grass. The changes signal a removal of impervious surfaces and improvement in water management that is needed throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

Demonstration Habitat for Backyard and Green Space Applications

The new garden will add 612 square feet of planted space to showcase conservation practices that all Americans can implement in their own backyards and green spaces.

As a component of the garden, pollinator-friendly plantings will not only provide important habitat for bees and butterflies, but can serve as an educational opportunity to help people understand the vital role pollinators play in our food, forage and all agriculture. The garden plot is adjacent to the site of the USDA Farmer's Market.

Watershed Protection of the Chesapeake Watershed

About 100,000 streams and rivers thread through the Chesapeake's 64,000-square-mile watershed, which is home to almost 17 million people in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware, New York and the District of Columbia. The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in North America, with a length of 200 miles and 11,684 miles of tidal shoreline, more than the entire U.S. West Coast.

The Chesapeake Bay supports more than 3,600 species of plants, fish and animals.

Reduce Pollution on Wildlife Habitat, Forests and Water Resources...and Improve Community Natural Resources

USDA leads efforts on public and private lands to help reduce the impact of nutrient and sediment pollution on wildlife habitat, forest lands and water quality, as well as supporting community involvement in managing natural resources, urban green space and land stewardship. For more information about USDA, the People's Garden, the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and other conservation and agriculture related programs available in local communities, visit a USDA Service Center or go to the USDA Web page at www.usda.gov.

Complementary education materials such as the distance-learning project MonarchLIVE and partnerships with schools and the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign which will extend the impact and reach of the USDA garden initiative are available at na.fs.fed.us. Backyard conservation and other materials also can be obtained by dialing 1-888-LANDCARE.

Written by Barbara Eisenstein,
Horticulture Outreach Coordinator
Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden

Each year I look forward to the burst of spring wildflowers in the planted strip along the sidewalk beside my house. I await the towering sunflowers that follow in the summer. The blues of the sages, ceanothus and penstemons calm me, while the bright orange and reds of the mallows and monkeyflowers bring excitement. The coolness of the woodland garden with its rich, deep greens is comforting.

The Compost Pile

But the compost heap is the wildness of my suburbia. It is teaming with life, with hunters, grazers, scavengers, and decomposers. They take the form of mammals, lizards, insects, snakes, spiders and unknowns. It is my favorite garden spot.

The rear corner of my backyard is where I put most of my yard waste. It is not a pretty sight. A black plastic bin contains household vegetable waste, hopefully keeping the rats from the sweet, succulent food they so enjoy. Leaves, twigs, branches, and grass clippings are piled high.

Beautifying The Compost Pile

Though it is my favorite place, I realize it is not much to look at, and so I planted a tree mallow (Lavatera assurgeniflora) to keep it from view. Within about six months the mallow grew from six inches to four feet tall and at least 6 feet wide, effectively screening the pile of debris.

Easy Composting

I am a lazy composter. I throw the yard waste into a heap, spreading grass clippings over layers of twigs, branches and leaves. This ensures that the mound does not compress into an air-tight, anaerobic, rotting mess. I do not turn my compost, rather, I dig into it whenever the need arises.

What to Layer Onto Your Compost Pile

On top are the least decomposed leaves and grass. Slightly below is the partially decomposed material, perfect for mulch in my woodland gardens. Digging in a bit further I come across deep brown, rich organic soil. Occasionally I sprinkle this over my turf instead of using fertilizer. It has seeds from weeds, but on balance my lawn is dense and healthy with a tolerable quantity of weeds. I add perlite (available at most garden shops) to this rich organic soil to make potting soil. Again, my pots have some weeds, but for the most part, my container plants do well. I incorporate extra perlite for succulents and other plants requiring excellent drainage. This mix has worked well for pots of dudleyas, sages, and even a woolly blue curls, now two years old.

Native Species Habitat In The Compost Pile

Whenever I climb the mound to add more greens, I see thousands of spiders scurry away. Digging into the pile I uncover large, juicy translucent grubs, and slender pink earthworms. Millipedes slither on. A startled lizard slides away as I turn over a log. Earwigs, sowbugs, snails and slugs join the mix. The compost heap is always warm as bacteria, in concert with all of these other critters, go about the everyday work of recycling organic debris into rich soil. It has a rich earthy smell.

And if all of this activity were not enough, now when I go to the pile, I see a carefully excavated hole, with a neat pile of fine soil beside it. My imagination goes wild trying to visualize this meticulous excavator. I don’t have gophers. Maybe it is Mole from Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows.
 

About Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden

RSABG is the largest botanical garden dedicated exclusively to our state's native plants. Visitors are welcome to enjoy the meandering pathways of this 86 acre natural setting which offers panoramic mountain views throughout the year. Self guided interpretive brochures are available at the California Garden Shop and enable visitors to fully enjoy the three distinct areas of the Botanic Garden: Indian Hill Mesa, the East Alluvial Gardens, and the Plant Communities.

The Botanic Garden is a private, non-profit organization, open to the public daily from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free; a donation of $4.00/person and $8.00/family is suggested.

Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden
1500 North College Avenue
Claremont, CA 91711-3157
Telephone: (909) 625-8767
www.rsabg.org

Learn! Explore! Take Action!

Celebrate the vital importance of wetlands to the Nation's ecological, economic, and social health.

May, American Wetlands Month is also a great opportunity to discover and teach others about the important role that wetlands play in our environment and the significant benefits they provide - improved water quality, increased water storage and supply, reduced flood and storm surge risk, and critical habitat for plants, fish, and wildlife.

In organizing its activities this year, EPA is placing special emphasis on encouraging Americans to:

1. Learn about wetlands. This is a great time to better understand what a wetland is, where wetlands can be found, and the importance of wetlands. Activities may include reading and studying about wetland areas, drawing maps or illustrations of wetlands, and identifying native species found in wetlands. Information on wetlands and the important benefits they provide is available on this website, through EPA's wetland fact sheet series, or by visiting the websites of our partners.
2. Explore a wetland near you. Unless you live in the most extreme climate zones, there is a good chance a scenic wetland exists nearby for you to visit and explore during American Wetlands Month and throughout the year. To find a wetland near you, consult your local parks department, state natural resource agency, or the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (http://www.fws.gov/refuges). If you live in the Washington, DC area, a guide has been created to highlight wetlands and wildlife sanctuaries.
3. Take action to protect and restore wetlands. Support and promote wetlands informing community members about wetlands' vital roles, "adopting" a wetland, joining a local watershed group, or participating in a wetland monitoring, restoration, or cleanup project. There are many other actions Americans can take to help conserve wetlands.To learn more about what you can do to help protect and restore these valuable natural resources in your state or local area, visit http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/awm/#you.

Containers are...and aren't... natural growing mediums for plants.  That's a puzzling way to look at containers, but in nature, you find small containers such as a tree growing in a little pouch of soil on the side of a cliff, and you find watersheds which are really huge containers snuggled into the subsurface rocks of the earth's very infrastructure.

So...let's talk containers on a human scale.

Pots on a porch are the simplest form of container gardening.  Then come larger potted trees indoors.  And porch boxes to decorate Mediterranean windows and railings.  And even larger concrete pots that are lavish planters for corporate entryways and shopping centers.  And indoor gardens infused with water gardens and even waterfalls.

Containers are practical ways to bring living plants up and close to where we spend our time.  And I'm assuming you've already heard that Americans spend as much as 95% of their time indoors...

Customized Container Gardens

A new trend in landscaping is to plant customized containers in their final location.  Add professional skills to create professional results -- and reduce the amount of transportation and injury to plants as they are moved from distant growers to retailers to final destination landscapes.

Just plant them in place.  What a novel idea! 

The novelty is really that local nurseries can grow these pre-designed pots in their well-tended facilities and then move them in one piece, with specialized lifting equipment, of course, to their home without any transplanting, trimming or damage from poor care.

Container Gardening for Scale

A hanging basked just doesn't provide the scale necessary for today's larger buildings.  Whether the third story loft apartment or the three story office building...or towering entryway to a MacMansion, larger plantings fit better. 

Environmental Impact of Container Gardens

LARGER CONTAINTERS:  A potential benefit of larger plantings is that larger, more mature plants also provide more greenhouse gas and clim ate change benefits.  Mature trees provide more air filtration than saplings, so the larger the container and the longer-lived the trees and shrubs, the "greener" they can be.

Larger containers also hold moisture better than small containers.  Less exposure to air reduces evaporation.  Mulching containers with decorative rocks, bark or other natural materials can also reduce water use. 

SPECIES SELECTION:  Some species of plants provide more air filtation and less water use than others. And desert plants such as cacti also require less water use.

RECYCLED MATERIAL:  The containers  themselves can be manufactured with recycled  content:  crushed concrete, rubber tires, recycled glass, etc. can be mixed into the container materials to use some of the landfill materials that cause problems in the wider community.

 Waste is the largest contributor to climate change -- be it wasted construction debris (C&D), used tires, wasted green materials that are put into landfills instead of composted back into the soil...or wasted water.

Many green solutions provide multiple benefits in this complex, interwoven world of ours.  Recycled content is one of those multi-benefit solutions...and large container gardens are a perfect application to not only use recycled materials in a beautiful way, but use them to grow environmentally hard-working plants! 



 

A recent discussion about composters on the GreenYes news group brought the following recommendations about composters.

In my experience, tumblers do not work as well as the manufacturer would like you to think they do !

A couple of reasons, for composting to really happen you need 4 basic needs; Brown (carbon), Green (nitrogen), Water (40%- 60%) & Air. But you also need a strong back a microorganisims. The tumblers is suspended in the air, with air flow all around the bin - this tends to dry the compost out, you will need to monitor and add water more often. I like the fact that a compost pile directly on the ground is in contact with soil micro & macro organisims, which play a huge role in the process of decomposition.

For composting to speed up or excellorate, you need enough material in the mix (critical mass) to get the pile or microbs going (heat up -131 F- 150 F optimum). At those temperatures the organic material is broke down very quickly, also plant pathogens and weed seed are distroyed in the center of the pile. This heat is generated by the microbs (thermophilic) that when comsume or break down a carbon molecule, it releases that energy stored in that molecule. Along with heat they respire water, which then dries the pile out further.

The other problem that will be incountered is the dead weight. When you have 60 gallons of material in a drum, most of the weight will settle, this tends to squeeze out air and all the weight is at the bottom. In order to mix & aereate the pile or the bin, you have to tumble or get that weight at the bottom of that pile, up to the top, several times to mix thoroughly. This can weigh quite a bit and can be hard work. Not to say turning a pile on the ground with a pitch fork is not hard, I just find it difficult and more time consuming to monitor, maintain and a rotate a tumbler.

...and opinion two:

Several years ago, when I worked for the County Extension Office, we established a compost demonstration area with several types of home built and manufactured composting devices. This included a tumbler.

As a general rule, the home built bins worked better and were easier to use than the manufactured ones. We had more problems with the tumbler than any others.

Composting can be as simple as green manure in which you bury food scraps in the soil of a flower or veggie garden, or it can be a large, scientifically designed operation to handle leaves, hay and food scraps gathered from restaurants, etc.

Either way, a little experimenting helps. And asking questions at your local County Extension center can be enlightening. Many of these Department of Agriculture offices also offer instruction sheets and classes to help you get started. Just look up "agricultural extension agent" and your county on search engines to find your local office. They are located in every state (US), and in most counties. Large cities also have offices.

Very helpful information centers!