For Immediate Release:

Monday, January 1, 2018

Is your property ready for climate change?
Take a look and see how your property rates

Your trees are very most important to your property. Without them, your property will be exposed to the winds, heat and will not be able to hold any water. The value of your property will drop. Everything will die.
What is most important to the health of your trees on your property?
The soil is the most critical key to keeping your trees alive and healthy.
How is your soil? When was the last time you applied topsoil? If you haven’t been paying any attention to this add 20 points. The less topsoil you have, the less your soil will be able to hold water, and you will end up watering more and more, and the trees will just die faster.
When was the last time you applied compost? No compost add 20 points.
Live compost is very different than the soil you buy because it will have all the microbial life needed for proper growth of all your plants. Never buy topsoil with Urea or Sewer sludge. Add another 10 points if you use Sewer sludge.
When was the last time you added rock dust? If never or not within previous year add 20 points. Rock dust provides the minerals needed by the microbes which they convert into a soluble form of neutron for the trees etc.
What about Mulch? Wood chips are not mulch and will burn. Wood chips as mulch? Add 10 points. A proper mulch will decompose and add nutrients as humus to the soil and will not burn. I recommend Azalea/Gardenia mix because it is mainly earthworm castings and aged wood and is really soil. It will protect the soil and in turn the soil’s microbes from the suns heat.
How are you watering your trees?
If you are just watering your lawn and thinking that your trees will be fine, you are wrong. Add 10 points.
Add another 10 points if you are watering your lawn every day for just a few minutes
Add another 10 points if you are not deep watering your trees once a month.
Lawns are shallowly rooted while trees are deep-rooted. Trees need to get air and water to these roots. Without the water, the tree will not be able to get any nutrient up to the top of the tree. You can tell if a tree is suffering root dame by looking at the tops.
Add another 10 points if you are watering your trees every week for a few minutes each time.
A good watering program for trees is one good deep watering per month if that, depending on what soil you have.
Add another 10 points if you are using a chemical lawn fertilizer.
Chemicals destroy the health of the soil and everything that depends on it.
Add another 10 points if you are not using a drip system.
Add another 10 points if you are not using subsurface irrigation.
By keeping the water below ground, you are using 75% less water and still have healthy lawns and healthy trees. Yes, you should also use subsurface irrigation on lawns too.
How are you watering your vegetable garden? Overhead watering? Add 10 points
How are you fertilizing your property? Using chemical fertilizers? Add 20 points
Chemical fertilizers will cause stress and the higher the stress, the higher the pests and the higher the diseases.
Are you using overhead watering or bubblers on your roses? add 10 points
Do you have ground covers? If not add 10 points
Ground covers hold the soil together and provide for an exchange of nutrients and air while protecting the soil from the heat.
Are you overwatering your fruit trees? Not sure? You probably are overwatering your fruit trees. Add 20 points
Gardeners always overwater the fruit trees. Always. Citrus, for example, do not need to be watered every week if they have good topsoil.
The more points you have, the quicker your property will decay and the faster your trees, etc. will die.
Here is how your property rates
Over 200 points?
Your property is in deep trouble! Too late to turn it around. You will be lucky if your property makes it through this year. Your gardener will of-course, water more. Your arborist will fertilize more. You are overwatering. You do not have topsoil.You have lots of ants everywhere.
100 to 200 points
You are on the wrong path to success. Your property will start to show signs of stress soon if it is not already doing so. Your trees will begin to get attacked by pests and diseases. You still have time to change but not very much. Each year it will get worse. Your gardener is the last person to notice any of this so do not you depend on him/her. Start with the soil and then correct the watering and start organic fertilization as well as foliar sprayings. Bring in clean topsoil. Apply live compost and then a nice acid mulch as I mentioned before.
50 to 100 points
You probably have been reading my column and are working on making the changes. Good for you. Take a look at what you are not doing and start to correct that. Get control of your gardener. Make sure he/she is not overwatering. Make sure you are paying attention to topsoil and compost as well as organic fertilization. Foliar feeding is one of the best ways to make sure your property is getting all the proper nutrients needed by the plants for healthy growth.
Under 50 points
You are doing well. You are doing better than 90% of homeowners.
Pay attention to what you are not doing and get those things done asap. Any one item that I have mentioned if not addressed is enough to cause significant damages to your topsoil and in turn to your trees.
If your properties trees and plants are to survive future climate change, you must pay attention now before it is too late!
Happy New Year!
Any questions?
Leave in comment and I will answer back
andy Lopez
Invisible Gardener