While duckweed is a fairly small floating plant that can develop in ponds and water features it can multiply and spread quickly destroying the look of your pond and wreaking havoc with your filtration system. The best defense to preventing a problematic spread in your pond is by treating it as soon as it emerges Remove What You Can With a Skimmer To quickly remove the surface duckweed and prepare your pond for treatment, you can use a rake or…

Whether you’re starting a garden from scratch or improving an existing one; the task can be painstaking and intimidating. A beautiful, thriving and prosperous vegetable garden requires healthy soil and hours of care. Here are the eight steps to growing a healthy vegetable garden courtesy of Irrigation Outlet" Step #1: Identify the Right Site When selecting a location, choose a site exposed to direct sunlight that offers afternoon shade. The afternoon shade will help reduce the water requirements. The soil…

The sun is shining, the trees and flowers are budding, and even the birds are chirping to the warm spring weather. You can forget about the long winter and start working on the appearance of your home's exterior. Although it’s relatively difficult to fix things in winter, you can’t avoid it during spring. Luckily, you don’t need a ton of gardening tools to make your outdoor spaces sparkle again this spring. Simply use our checklist, and everything will be fine.…

You’ve worked hard to achieve a green and thriving lawn and you’ll agree it can be a painstaking task if you lack the green thumb. Proper fertilization is crucial in lawn care, but knowing how and when to apply it will help boost your lawn’s growth and appearance. We discuss 5 expert tips for fertilizing your lawn correctly: Test the Soils before Fertilizing You should test the soil for pH, nutrient content and the composition of organic matter. By identifying…

Damage caused by poor water drainage is every homeowner’s worst nightmare. Improper drainage can cause water to collect around your home, seep through the ground and into your home’s foundation causing severe structural problems. Water also fuels the growth of molds, which can be harmful to your health, triggers erosion, wood rot, insects and rodent infestation in your home. The Importance of Proper Drainage A good drainage system allows the free flow of water away from structures and prevents accumulation…

Spring is quickly approaching, so now is the ideal time to prepare your pond for the new season. Here are five tips to help you get started: 1. Do an overall check: Before you do anything, we advise that you test your pond's general health. Depending on what kind of fish you have, the ideal pH to aim for is 7.3-7.7. If your pH is too high or too low you will need to add amendments to either lower or…

Spacing is important when it comes to sprinkler systems. If you place sprinklers too far apart you will end up with donut shaped brown spots in your lawn. If sprinklers are spaced too close together you can overwater areas and create water logged spots that suffocate grass roots. At Irrigation Outlet, we recommend using head-to-head coverage. This means that the sprinklers are placed so that the water spraying from one sprinkler touches all adjacent sprinkler heads. This applies to both…

New home construction can leave the lot rutted, bare and strewn with man-made and natural debris. It can also leave topsoil in bad condition, with poor-quality subsoil mixed with topsoil, due to digging for foundation work and utility trenching. Sometimes topsoil is entirely scraped away. With the necessary soil preparation and the appropriate grass mix, you can succeed in establishing a lawn after construction. Here are some common lawn problems after new construction and ways to correct these. 1. Construction…

Fungi live in the soil, and mushrooms are the reproductive part of that fungi. The fungi usually stay out of sight, busily working to break down organic material below the surface of your lawn. When conditions permit, mushrooms spring up and appear above ground. While mushrooms are visible, they spread their spores into the air. Then, they disappear when sunlight returns, or when the soil becomes dry again. You can control the emergence of mushrooms by altering certain conditions in…

When it comes to your landscape, a well-designed drainage system is a must. If you don't have proper drainage solutions in place, then water might collect in areas. This can turn your backyard into a wet swamp. Here is a guide to selecting the best drainage solution for your landscape. Do you Have A Drainage Problem? Here are some common signs that you have a drainage problem. If you notice of these issues in your residential or commercial lawn, your…

Some common plants found in residential ponds in the Southeast can multiply very aggressively and alter your pond's or lake's chemical composition, threatening indigenous aquatic plants and fish populations. And, they can make your pond or lake less enjoyable. So, it's important to take control of invasive plant problems as quickly as possible. Here is some helpful information about eight plants that South Carolina pond owners are advised to learn to identify, followed by a list of recommended ways to…

Water is essential to your lawn. It is the key to a healthy lawn. Most lawns need approximately 1 to 1.5 inches per week of water to stay healthy. The exact amount depends on a variety of factors including the amount of sunlight, type of grass and climate. It is important to ensure that your lawn gets adequate water. One way to do that is to be sure that you are irrigating your lawn correctly. This will help keep your…