The Austin Tree Doctor

Here’s a short tip for this time of year— quick January or February irrigation check (before spring growth starts).

60-second checklist: In the next two or three weeks run all the zones for a couple of minutes each. Just hold off if we are expecting a big freeze soon and look for:
• Soggy spots / bubbling sprinkler head.(leak or stuck valve)
• Zone won’t turn on after hard cold snaps (Somewhat common freeze issue or broken line or valve debris)
• Controller OFF or won’t come on? Rain sensor or simple electrical issue.
• Drip fittings popped off/ plants dry on drip zone?
• Heads tilted/spraying sidewalk or street?

Spring root growth is coming—now’s the time to catch issues early so the trees, shrubs and lawn get a nice solid start when they need it.
TX Licensed Irrigator • diagnosis-first repair/optimization • covering Central/Downtown.

Message me if you want a quick recommendation on what to check first. You can also send me pictures or any questions you might have (or to schedule a diagnostic visit).

I’d love to hear from y’all!

Jason

Central/downtown Austin neighbors, here’s a short tip for this time of year— quick January or February irrigation check (before spring growth starts). Join Nextdoor, an app for neighborhoods where you can get local tips, buy and sell items, and more

I love this! Back when I got into Arboriculture there was not much research done on topics that I was most interested in and I had to figure a lot of things out myself with my own research and fairly crude experiments. Agricultural soil practices have been studied immensely, but it's very different in the urban environment. It had been my specialty. It's nice to see actual results verified and compared more and more every year. It seems to have taken a while, but finally people are realizing the importance of soil all over again like they did generations ago. One of my sources for information was a book written in the 1800's and it's nice to see the author's questions and theories answered/confirmed more then 100 years later. It took this long for some of what he believed to be proven as fact.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/oURbC1cD5tYDCFPH/?mibextid=WC7FNe

These samples belong to the same soil type and have been in corn-bean rotation for over 20 years, but their treatment was very different!!!.

The land on the left has not been plowed or fertilized with anhydrous ammonia for more than 20 years and has benefited from a rye cover crop.

The land on the right was plowed annually and fertilized with anhydrous ammonia in the fall.

This photo was taken about 2 minutes after the samples were immersed in water.

The plowed land practically “exploded” as soon as it hit the water. Repeated plowing of the soil has destroyed its structure, removing interstitial space and the biological “glue” that helps hold the soil together, leading to its disintegration.

In contrast, with minimal soil disturbance, the no-tilled soil had excellent porosity and high biological activity, giving it a healthy structure that could withstand water shock.

In less than five minutes, the plowed land disappeared completely, while the unplowed land remained almost intact.

We wanted to see how long it would last and continued adding water (to compensate for evaporation) for several weeks.

We stopped after 6 weeks, during which time the no-till soil sample was still 95% intact.

Credit: Daily Factfinder

For those of you with irrigation systems into DIY in Austin and similar areas, here is a helpful video for the freezing weather from a great irrigation guy, Jimmy with 4L Irrigation. He’s the real deal, he helped answer my questions when I first got licensed for no other reason than to simply help a fellow irrigator.

If you’re in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, give him a ring, you may need him if any of the lines burst or just for anything irrigation related. He’s top of line! If you’re in Austin and don’t want to mess with it feel free to contact me, I’d love to hear from you.

Sprinkler Winter Shut Down North Texas Keller Texas Winter Sprinkler Preparation