►
Description
Hear from local water expert Gregg Thompson about Water-Smart Landscaping—a program that provides simple tips for the lawn and landscape that can save water, build better soil (under the lawn and garden) and show you how to put the right plants in the right place. Thompson is a Water Resources Specialist for the City of Eagan and a member of the Bush Lake Chapter of the Isaac Walton League of America.
A
A
A
A
So
excuse
me
background
on
myself:
I'm
a
Bloomington
resident
I've
lived
here
for
15
years,
but
I've
worked
in
natural
resources,
management
or
my
background
is
in
landscape
architecture.
I'm
from
South
Dakota
grew
up
on
a
farm,
and
I
graduated
from
South
Dakota
State
University
in
94
in
their
landscape
architecture,
program
I
moved
to
the
twin
cities
in
the
mid
90s
then,
and
did
residential
landscaping
did
that
for
a
while,
and
we
worked
on
a
lot
of
new
construction
projects,
a
lot
of
we
worked
with
developers
and
home
builders
in
it.
A
You
know,
we
should
do
something
with
this
and
we
would
usually
include
soil
site
prep
as
a
line
item
in
our
quotes,
and
that
would
be
one
of
the
first
things
that
would
be
trimmed
out
of
a
landscape
budget
of
like
we're
just
going
to
throw
sign
on
it
and
an
irrigation
system,
and
they
can
take
care
of
that
later.
You
can't
really
do
much
to
take
care
of
pretty
serious
compaction
later
so
just
doing
enough
of
those
like
this
isn't
right.
A
This
doesn't
feel
right
and
so
eventually
I
I,
bailed
on
that
and
then
went
back
to
South
Dakota
when
there
I
work
for
a
company.
It
was
an
engineering
company
that
did
natural
resources
management.
So
then
we
got
more
into
doing
like
a
holistic
approach
or
trying
to
improve
soil
conditions
and
stuff
or
in
promoting
that
I
move
back
to
the
Twin.
Cities
got
a
job
with
the
soil
and
water
conservation
districts
and
worked
there
for
about
10
years.
A
Doing
urban
restoration
work
so
trying
to
provide
people
with
information
on
how
to
improve
soils
select
proper
plants,
you
know,
do
things
to
reduce
runoff,
reduce
erosion.
Things
like
that
and
then
now,
six
years
ago
I
had
started
at
the
city
of
Eagan,
so
they're
very
nice,
because
then
I
was
in
a
seven-county
area
before
and
I'm
just
in
one
city,
so
much
easier
job
for
me.
But
I
worked
there
to
provide
technical
support
to
reduce
stormwater
runoff
impacts
on
priority
Lakes
through
land
projects
and
watershed
stewardship
activities.
A
So
in
eagan
they
have
32
lakes
and
then
1200
other
water
bodies.
I
mean
it's
there's
so
many
water
resources
in
that
city
and
they
have
no
streams
but
very
fascinating,
but
I
also
I've
lived
in
Bloomington
a
long
time
and
I've
been
here
for
a
long
time,
because
my
my
grandparents
family
are
all
from
here
and
so
I've
just
I
water
resources
in
Bloomington
have
always
been
very
precious
to
me.
A
Ok,
so
anyway,
seven-county
metropolitan
area.
This
is
a
map
of
the
pretty
european
pre-european
settlement
native
plant
communities,
so
types
of
plants
or
communities
of
plans,
hundreds
thousands
different
species
of
plants,
all
coexisting
together
because
of
soil
conditions,
moisture
conditions,
sunlight
conditions,
but
Hennepin
era,
Hennepin
County,
here
Bloomington
right
here,
so
this
color
was
sort
of
oak
savanna,
so
Prairie
was
scattered
oak
trees
like
bur
Oaks,
the
cream
color,
that's
sort
of
like
where
the
airport
Mall
of
America
area.
That
was
true,
Prairie,
so
no
trees
there.
A
A
You
know
at
by
1850
around
1850
is
when
these
surveys
started
of
vegetation
surveys
or
public
land
survey
stuff.
So
this
is
what
was
here
before
we
were
here
so
within
a
native
Prairie
or
at
oak
savanna.
So
what
would
have
existed
here
in
Bloomington?
A
lot
of
plant
species
that
had
just
adapted
to
rain
periods
of
abundance
periods
of
drought?
So
they
a
lot
of
them
just
developed,
really
deep
root
systems
to
go
through
the
soil
and
get
moisture
further
down.
A
So
in
this
case
we
have
a
plant
that
is
about
two
feet:
tall
called
lead
plant
and
that
there's
still
some
of
this
some
remnant
pieces
of
this
down
on
a
bluff
on
Nine
Mile
Creek
in
one
very
specific
spot,
two
foot
tall
plant.
But
it's
got
a
15
foot
deep
root
system.
So
we
go
into
a
little
period
of
drought.
It
doesn't
know
it
at
all.
You
know
it's
not
affected
by.
A
If
we
don't
get
rained
for
two
weeks
or
three
weeks
and
a
lot
of
these
other
plants,
you
know
to
as
compared
to
Kentucky
bluegrass,
which
is
a
European
introduction,
Kentucky
bluegrass
developed
in
an
area
in
Europe
that
gets
four
times
as
much
annual
rainfall
as
we
get
in
Minnesota.
So
here
it's
under
drought
stress
all
the
time,
except
right
after
a
rain
event
or
with
irrigation.
You
know
you
put
it
on
irrigation
to
keep
it
alive.
A
It
can't
develop
a
deep
breath
system,
never
had
to
do
that,
and
so
it
takes
a
long
time
for
plants
to
really
adapt.
It's
got
a
weak
energy.
You
know
root
system
that
it
just
can't
physically
push
into
hard
soils.
So
its
root
system
is
two
to
three
inches
max,
so
we
go
into
a
little
bit
of
drought
and
it
gets
affected
pretty
easily.
So.
A
It's
just
little
map
of
Bloomington.
This
is
what
remains
of
what
are
classified
is
areas
of
ecological
significance,
so
areas
that
don't
have
a
lot
of
invasive
species
in
them,
or
still
have
quite
a
few
native
plants
in
on
both
trees
or
just
ground
layer
and
one
area
in
particular.
If
you
haven't
checked
it
out,
so
you
know
nine
mile
creek
is
in
there,
but
there's
a
lot
of
buckthorn
and
stuff.
That's
coming
in
around
the
edge
that
the
city
is
doing
bucks
on
removal
projects
and
stuff
in
there.
A
But
this
area
is
just
a
favorite
of
mine.
Tierney's
woods.
Have
you
guys
ever
been
out
to
Washington
Tierney's
woods?
It's
it's
out
by
that
I'd
forget
the
name
of
the
it's
like
senior
living,
a
place,
it's
where
they,
this
road
used
to
go
across
169,
but
now
it's
sort
of
blocked
off,
but
there's
a
really
cool
woodland
area
in
there
with
little
walk
path.
You
know
through
it
it's
really
cool,
really
cool
in
the
spring
and
in
the
summer
and
then
very
pretty
in
the
fall.
A
It's
got
these
huge
paper
birch
in
there
that
are
just
gigantic,
but
a
lot
of
beautiful
Oaks,
but
very
cool
area
in
there,
but
there's
still
some
pieces
around,
but
a
lot
of
the
city.
It's
just
had
been
developed.
We
might
have
some
that
are
some
woodlands,
but
in
a
lot
of
cases,
is
just
a
buckthorn
forest.
You
know,
we've
got
some
oak
trees
that
exist
still
but
they're
not
able
to
regenerate,
because
the
buckthorn
is
just
so
thick
in
there
and
then
there's
just
not
a
lot
left
the
ground
layer.
A
So
this
is
what
remains
in
the
Twin
Cities
area
of
these
native
plant
communities,
these
groups
of
plants-
you
know
that
shows
up
a
little
bit
in
Bloomington,
but
there's
not
a
lot
left.
So
you
have
vegetation.
Removal
leads
a
decrease
habitat
soil
disturbance,
leads
to
soil
compaction,
increased
runoff,
increased
erosion
and
then
decrease
water
quality
and
lakes,
streams
and
wetlands,
because
you
just
have
more
water.
That's
now
flowing
off,
can't
soak
into
the
ground
and
washing
soil
into
water
bodies.
A
So
this
is
when
I
was
in
the
landscape
contracting
company
a
lot
of
what,
when
we
would
show
up
at
a
site.
This
is
what
we
had
to
deal
with
so
be
just
super
compacted
out
here
from
all
the
construction
equipment,
and
then
we
would
just
put
an
irrigation
system
lay
sod
on
top
of
it
for
the
plantings.
We
would
use
a
big
auger
on
the
front
of
the
skid
loader
to
bore
the
holes,
because
you
couldn't
physically
dig
into
the
soil
with
a
shovel.
A
You
know
just
so
compacted
make
it
green
and
then
turn
it
over
to
homeowner,
and
then
this
is
what
they
you
don't
have,
and
we
would
turn
on
the
irrigation
systems
when
we
install
those
set
it
on
new
sod
cycle,
which
is
like
watering
at
least
every
other
day
or
sometimes
every
day,
and
sometimes
we
go
back
to
a
project
a
couple
years
later
and
it
was
still
set
on
that
cycle.
You
know
people
are
just
dumping,
a
ton
of
water
on
to
keep
things
alive
and
you
know
construction
impacts.
A
This
is
just
hard
as
rock
and
plants
cannot.
Roots
cannot
grow
down
through
that
stuff.
So
when
you
put
turf
on
it,
we
call
that
green
concrete.
You
know
that
it
just
it's
green
at
the
surface,
but
it
can't
absorb
any
water
down
deep
it
just
saturates
with
irrigation,
and
then
everything
else
is
just
shutting
off.
A
Every
home
is
a
big
impact
on
stormwater
runoff,
typical
quarter.
Third
acre
residential
lot,
rooftop
lon
driveway
in
a
one
inch
rainfall
there's
about
seven
thousand
gallons
of
water.
That
comes
off
of
a
typical
lot,
so
seventeen
hundred
gallons
off
of
a
typical
rooftop,
1,100
gallons
off
a
typical
driveway
and
about
4,500
gallons
off
of
a
typical
compacted
long.
That's
all
coming
off!
You
know
a
lot
of
it
at
the
front.
Half
is
coming
out
here
to
the
street
and
into
the
storm
drain
system
in
the
back,
then
it
just
sort
of
goes.
A
You
know
away
into
the
neighbors
are
into
these
sometimes
drainage,
swales.
Over
the
course
of
the
year.
That's
two
hundred
twenty
thousand
gallons
of
water.
That's
just
annually
coming
off
of
the
yard,
so
rain
water,
absorbing
landscapes,
are
one
way
to
take
advantage
of
that
water.
So,
in
this
case
this
is
a
house
worked
on
in
in
Plymouth
when
I
was
at
the
Soil
and
Water
Conservation
District.
A
This
was
the
rooftop
drainage
area
that
comes
out
of
this
downspout,
so
in
a
one
inch
rain
event,
there's
300
gallons
of
water.
That
comes
out
of
just
this
chunk
right
here,
so
their
lawns
super
compacted
couldn't
poke
anything
into
it.
Water
flow
would
go
across
the
lawn
when
the
lawn
was
saturated
in
a
rainfall
and
then
I
just
headed
out
to
the
street,
spilled
over
the
curb
and
into
the
gutter.
A
At
the
same
time,
so
and
I
was
responsible
for
a
lot
of
this,
when
I
was
doing
residential
landscaping,
we
would
put
river
birch
trees
by
people's
homes,
because
you
liked
the
way
it
looked
at
the
brick.
You
know
something
of
all:
it's
pretty
color
river
birch
tree
or
the
called
river
birch
because
they
grow
in
river
valleys
and
river
flood
plains
there
around
moisture
all
the
time.
So
you
put
it
in
this
environment
where
up
here
it
was
like
in
a
desert,
because
the
water
that's
coming
off.
A
A
So
the
river
birch
tree
was
not
doing
very
well
hadn't
grown
much
since
it
had
been
planted
some
years
earlier
and
then
the
shrubs
just
sort
of
hanging
on.
But
what
we
wanted
to
do
is
soak
water
in
here.
This
was
at
this
point
was
15
feet
away
from
the
foundation
any
time
you're
going
to
soak
water
in
you
want
to
be
at
least
10
feet
away
from
a
foundation.
You
know
downhill
I
want
to
try
to
go
uphill.
A
You
don't
want
that
water
coming
back
into
the
basement
or
causing
issues
if
you're
on
slab,
then
it's
a
look,
then
it's
different.
You
can
go
a
little
bit
closer,
but
we
don't
want
to
cause
any
basement
water
issues
with
this,
so
at
least
10
feet
away.
If
you
had
basement
water
issues
in
the
past
and
a
specific
corner,
then
I'd
go
a
little
further
away
or
really
find
out.
What
is
the
cause
of
that?
But
anyway,
in
this
case
we
were
safe.
We
could
soak
water
in
out
here.
A
So
here's
the
homeowner
is
digging
a
rain
garden.
So
it's
a
depressed
area
they're
over
digging.
It
initially
digging
out
the
soil
that
was
to
really
loosen
it
up
the
soil
that
they
were
digging
out
there,
putting
on
the
downhill
side
to
sort
of
make
a
berm
or
a
hump.
So
then
water
would
come
in
here
fill
and
then
it
would
spill
back
out.
This
is
the
low
point
over
here
where
the
down,
where
the
runoff
always
used
to
go
so
once
this
is
full
of
its
spilled
this
way.
A
But
this
was
their
loot,
/,
loosening
or
/
digging
it,
and
then
this
is
after
they
had
back
filled
it
in
with
compost.
So
now
the
above-ground
ponding
was
just
about
3
or
4
inches
deep.
It
wasn't
very
deep,
but
I'd
been
loosened
up
about
18
inches
below
there
to
make
this
big
sponge.
So
this
is
on
clay.
Soils
in
Plymouth
I
mean
they've
got
a
lot
of
heavy
soils,
but
this
thing
still
it
drains
down
in
six
hours.
A
You
know
the
water,
that's
at
the
surface
of
it,
but
they're
there
mote
they
had
put
the
compost
in.
They
had
mulched
it,
and
now
they
were
planting
it.
So
you
put
the
right
plants
in
the
right
place
on
the
bottom
of
the
rain
garden,
you
put
plants
that
can
tolerate
a
little
periodic
flooding,
so
these
are
native
irises
blue
flag,
irises
that
really
like
those
kinds
of
conditions,
and
they
can
take
periodic
droughts
if
they're
in
good.
A
What
they
did,
the
homeowners.
They
wanted
the
colored
mulch,
but
it
would
be
expensive
to
do
colored
mulch
for
the
whole
thing
and
the
colored
part
only
lasts.
You
know
for
a
little
while
until
that
stuff
leeches
off,
but
what
we
did
was
use
the
cheaper,
just
a
regular
shredded
wood
mulch
on
the
bottom,
and
then
they
put
the
colored
stuff
on
top
just
a
top
dress
it
then
you
can
go
really
thin
with
that,
because
mulch
rots
from
the
bottom
up,
so
the
stuff
on
top
will
stay
there
for
a
long
time.
A
But
it
was
pretty
inexpensive,
but
then
that
river
birch
tree
really
kicked
it
in
you
know
it
was
doing
much
better,
the
shrubs
behind
it
much
better
because
you're
adding
some
moisture
next
to
them.
This
is
a
homeowner
in
here
in
in
Bloomington,
who
does
not
live
just
down
the
street.
There
Nine
Mile
Creek
is
in
their
backyard.
Then
98
Street
is
just
to
the
left
on
this
photo,
but
they
their
driveway.
Their
asphalt,
driveway
that
was
before
was
shot.
It
was
35
years
old.
It
was
all
busted
up.
A
It
was
time
to
redo
something
with
the
driveway,
so
the
homeowner
here
was,
you
know,
concerned
about
water
runoff.
You
know
wanted
to
do
her
part,
and
so
she
worked
with
a
an
asphalt
contractor
called
Earth
Wizards
that
they
also
do
rain,
gardens
sort
of
an
environmental
asphalt
company,
which
is
a
weird
you
know,
combination,
but
what
they
did,
because
the
homeowner
said
I
want
to
reduce
the
run
up.
That
goes
down
the
driveway,
so
they
tore
out
the
old
driveway
and
they
redid
the
base
of
the
of
the
driveway
to
tilt
the
whole
thing.
A
So
the
driveway
tilts.
This
way
and
runs
into
them
and
over
excavated
rain
garden
over
on
this
side,
so
they
have
very,
they
have
just
this
little
part
of
the
driveway
right
here
actually
leaves
and
goes
out
into
the
street,
but
otherwise
this
catches
and
then
all
this
rooftop
catches
comes
out
here
and
goes
through
a
little
dry
streambed.
A
She
got
cost-sharing
money
from
the
watershed
district
to
put
this
in
that
they
really
the
watershed
district
paid
for
this,
because
then
they
sort
of
lumped
this
all
together
and
then
the
watershed
district
said
we
will
pay
for
this
part
if
you're
paying
for
that
part
of
the
driveway.
But
the
watershed
district
is
it's
a
great.
They
have
the
cost
sharing
program.
They
have
a
booth
downstairs
down
at
the
very
far
end.
A
Could
people
to
talk
to
if
you're
in
their
watershed
district
and
they
have
maps
to
find
out
if
you're
in
their
watershed
district.
But
a
lot
of
Bloomington
is
for
a
healthy
lawn,
raising
the
mole
height,
the
higher
you
mow,
the
deeper
the
roots
can
go
on
the
grass
on
the
Kentucky
bluegrass.
If
you're
mowing
it
at
an
inch,
it
can
only
support
a
1
inch
deep
root
system.
If
you
mode
at
3
inches,
it
can
support
a
3
inch
deep
root
system
if
it
can
physically
poke
into
the
soil.
A
If
the
soil
is
not
to
rock
hard
mowing
high,
so
it
reduces
moisture
loss
encourages
deeper
rooting,
makes
it
more
drought-tolerant,
don't
mow
during
droughts.
What
my
practice
has
been
for
many
years,
and
it
works
very
well
but
of
you
know
what
once
we
stop
getting
rain
so
like
in
July,
there's
been
as
many
years
that
I
I
haven't.
We
get
to
beginning
of
July
and
I,
don't
mow
until
September,
because
if
we're
not
getting
any
rain,
the
grass
is
not
really
growing.
A
It's
not
doing
very
well
and
the
more
you
mow
it
like,
especially
when
we're
not
getting
rains
the
more
you're
stressing
it
out,
because
you're
making
fresh
cuts
across
the
blades
of
grass
and
anyplace
there's
fresh
cuts.
That's
where
water
vapor
is
escaping
out
of
the
plant,
so
it
just
wilts
down
faster
and
also
I.
Think
I,
the
next
one
using
a
sharp
mulching
blade
and
I
encourage
people
to
have
two
mower
blades.
A
So
you
can
just
make
sure
you've
got
one
sharp
on
on
hand
and
keep
checking
it
before
you
mow
I've,
just
reach
under
and
carefully
slide
your
finger
along
the
blade.
But
if
there's
any
Nick's
in
it,
if
there's
any
roundedness
to
it,
that
should
come
off
and
put
them
put
a
sharp
blade
on
cuz
with
with
dull
blades.
So
a
sharp
blade
would
cut
the
cut
the
leaf
blade
cleanly
pretty
cleanly.
A
You
use
a
dull
blade
and
it
rips
it,
and
so
you
have
all
this
jaggedness
on
the
end
of
the
leaf
blades
of
the
grass
that
creates
more
surface
area
where
it
just
loses
water
vapor,
so
it
just
wilts
out
faster,
so
the
sharper
it
is
the
better
the
cut
will
be
and
then
with
the
mulching
blades
there's
a
lot
of
different
styles.
But
bagging
is
sort
of
University
of
Minnesota
Extension
Service.
You
know
the
turfgrass
people,
they
don't
encourage
bagging
at
all.
You
know
you
chop
up
the
leaf
blades
really.
A
Finally,
let
it
sit
on
the
on
the
back
on
the
lawn
it
breaks
down
really
quickly
by
bagging
you're,
also
removing
nutrients.
You
know
off
of
what
could
be
sort
of
free
fertilizer
for
your
organic
matter,
so
letting
it
lay
but
chopping
it
up.
Really
finely
so.
There's
not
big
chunks
of
grass
and
oftentimes
to
dull
blades.
They
just
don't
reach
op
it
very
well
compared
to
the
sharper
blades.
So
cleaner
cut
is
less
moisture
loss
testing
for
soil
compaction.
What
we
use
on
construction
sites
is
called
the
soil
penetrator.
A
A
If
you
can
push
it
all
the
way
into
the
ground,
you
don't
have
compaction
issues,
but
if
you
can
only
get
it
in
a
couple
of
inches
and
it's
just
super
hard
and
you
can't
push
it
in
move
over
a
little
bit
and
try
again
cuz,
you
might
be
on
a
rut
or
a
rock
or
something
but
keep
trying
it
out
and
see.
If
you
can
sink
this
all
the
way
in
usually
if
you've
got
a
well-established
tree
in
your
yard,
that
the
trees
do
a
really
good
job
of
loosening
soil
compaction.
A
But
it
takes
many
many
years
and
usually
you
can
sink
that's
pretty
easily
around
tree
roots
if
you
can
get
between
the
tree
roots,
but
you
go
out
in
the
areas
away
from
the
tree
and
usually
then
it's
using
it
gets
more
compacted,
but
something
to
check
for
an
easy
test
that
to
determine
if
you
need
to
aerate.
If
you
can't
push
that
thing
in
23
inches
at
least
then
that's
when
you
should
look
at
using
a
lawn
aerator,
a
core
plug
aerator,
so
those
can
usually
go
down
about
three
inches.
A
But
it's
it's
a
it's
a
good
thing
to
do.
If
you've
got
compacted
soils,
if
you
can
sink
that
flag
again,
all
the
way
in
you
don't
have
to
do
this
because
then
it's
not
dealing
with
the
soil
compaction
issue.
If
you
do
it
yourself,
you
want
to
pre,
locate
and
flag
any
shell
of
buried
wires.
Telephone
cable
can
be
sometimes
pretty
shallow
and
irrigation
heads.
Those
will.
This
thing
will
punch
right
through
the
top
of
an
irrigation
head
lawn
service
companies.
Do
it
I
had
contractor?
A
Do
it
and
it
was
85
bucks
I
think
fall
is
the
best
time
to
do
it,
equipment
rental.
You
can
get
them
usually
for
65
bucks,
but
then
you
have
to
trailer
it.
You
know
you
pay
another
five
or
ten
bucks
to
move
it
and
if
you've
got
a
hitch
on
the
vehicle
or
you're
borrowing,
you
know
I
think
it's
pretty
cost-effective
to
have
a
contractor.
Do
it
if
you're,
if
you're
make
sure
they're
in
the
you
know,
85
95
bucks
is
a
pretty
reasonable,
in
my
opinion.
Best
time
to
do
it
is
in
September.
A
Next
best
time
is
made
of
June
it's
not
as
great
here
and
made
a
June,
because
you
have
more
weed
seeds,
dandelion
stuff,
like
that
blowing
around
that
you
could
be
introducing
a
lot
of
areas
where
that
more
weed
seeds
could
blow
in
and
germinate
in
these
holes
in
the
fall.
There's
not
as
much
of
that
going
on.
A
So
there's
your
core
plug
aeration
Toro
has
this
one,
and
this
is
on
what
they
use
on
bigger
sites
deep
time
aeration
these
things
can
go
down,
8
to
16,
inches
in
depth,
I
mean
way
down
in
they
jab
in
and
then
sort
of
rock
the
soil.
But
this
is
what
they
use
like
on
some
golf
courses
and
the
rough
areas.
A
If
you're
trying
to
lose
some
soils,
soil
sampling,
so
at
work,
we
do
soil
sampling
for
for
residents
if
they
want
to
find
out
what
they've
got
down
for
their
soils,
we
help
them
do
soil
tests
and
stuff
or
collect
the
soil
to
send
it
in
for
samples,
but
we
use
this
auger
that
can
go
down
24
inches,
but
it's
really
for
main
soil
samples.
You
want
to
go
0
to
4
inches
and
see
what's
what's
down
there.
This
is
a
good
sign.
It's
nice
and
black.
It's
got
organic
matter
in
it
this.
A
A
That's
not
what
this
was
it's
a
little
deceiving,
but
this
whole
also
was
initially
black,
but
I
just
kept
going
down
to
see
what
was
further
down
below
the
black,
because
the
homeowner
was
convinced
they
had
clay
soils,
but
they
had
compacted
soils
at
the
very
surface
underneath
there
they
had
very
sandy
soils,
but
it
just
had
been
driven
over
by
equipment.
So
at
the
surface
it
got
sucked
down
anyway.
A
That's
taking
soil
samples
are
very
good
thing
sending
that
into
the
University.
If
any
of
you
send
in
a
soil
sample
before
to
the
University
to
see
so
it
costs
17
bucks
to
send
in
a
sample.
This
is
the
form
and
I've
got
forms
down
at
our
booth.
I
forgot
to
bring
the
handouts
down
at
our
booth
at
the
south
end
of
the
building.
You
fill
this
out.
You
check
over
here
regular
test
that
includes
organic,
total,
organic
matter,
phosphorus
potassium
line
or
pH,
and
then
on
the
back
side.
A
It
talks
about
how
to
gather
the
sample
where
to
mail
the
sample
to
or
where
to
drop
it
off
at
the
University
at
the
st.
Paul
lab,
and
then
you
get
this
sheet
back.
So
here's
your
soil
test
report
and
the
number
that
I
really
look
the
most
at
is
this
organic
matter
percent.
You
want
to
be
at
five
percent
or
more
soil
organic
matter
for
a
healthy
soil.
Five
to
ten
percent
is
usually
the
healthy
range
for
a
for
a
typical
lon.
This
one
two
and
a
half
percent.
A
That
would
tell
me
it
needs
to
add
in
organic
matter,
add
in
compost
and
I'll.
Show
you
how
to
oh,
that's
done
in
a
little
bit,
but
really
again.
The
goal
for
organic
matter
is
greater
than
five
percent
and
most
suburban
lawns.
Don't
you
don't
hit
it?
You
know
cuz
when
when
grading
work
is
done,
final
grading
work
is
done
and
they
bring
in
top
soil.
It's
junk
stuff
that
comes
from
another
site
that
has
maybe
some
blackness
colored
to
it,
but
it
it
could
be.
You
know
a
lot
of
clay
content.
A
We
don't
need
any
more
clay.
You
know
add
it
on
the
surface,
but
we
did
we
used
horrible
stuff
to
dump
on
people's
lawns
and
drove
over
and
was
full
weed
seeds
too,
but
compost
leaf
well
aged
leaf
compost.
This
is
the
stuff
that
you
would
get
from
like
the
mulch
store
or
some
of
the
other
Latino
legitimate
places
that
sell
compost.
So
this,
like
I'd
mentioned
before,
is
weed
seed
free.
So
it
had
it's
been
heated
to
155
degrees
and
that
kills
off
the
weed
seeds
pathogens.
A
A
An
eighth
inch
to
a
quarter
inch
depth
across
the
lawn
in
the
fall
is
a
really
good
time
to
do
that
and
then
it's
just
the
lawn
would
be
black
blackish
a
little
bit,
but
then
it
breaks
down
and
then
goes
in
incorporates
in
and
in
doing
that,
potentially
every
other
year
for
a
couple
years
or
you
do
it
once
wait
a
year.
Take
another
lon
sample,
send
it
in
and
see.
A
If
how
much
that's
changed,
your
organic
content
there's
other
contractors,
they
pull
up
with
a
big
semi,
pull
out
a
big
hose,
and
then
they
can
just
blast
it
on,
but
that
you're
paying
more.
They
have
a
contract
to
do
that
plus
you'll.
You
know
one
way
to
also
do
this:
you
get
it
in
a
pickup
or
you
have
it
delivered
to
the
site
dumped
in
the
driveway.
A
You
know
what
have
you
and
then
get
a
wheel
barrel
load
up
the
wheel
barrel,
go
and
dump
piles
around
in
the
yard
and
then
get
a
hard
time
Drake
and
then
just
rake
it
out.
It's
easy
to
spread
and
it's
super
light
stuff,
but
it's
it's
pretty
easy
to
apply
and
it's
easy
to
haul
in
a
pickup
because
it
is
so
light.
It's
not
going
to.
You
know
way
down
the
truck
for
larger
projects.
A
This
is
what
should
be
done
on
new
construction
projects
before
the
lawn
is
put
down
whether
tilling,
but
it
depends
really
on
the
type
of
Taylor.
If
the
tiller
little
spades
are
curved
back
in
at
the
bottom
or
on
the
outside
of
their
the
till.
Sometimes
they
can
smear
and
compact
soil
further
down
below
where
they've
loosened.
So
this
is
a
soil
Spade.
It's
called
these
things
just
GM
in
to
the
soil
and
they
don't
create
a
hard
pan
and
just
fracture
the
soil.
A
This
is
what
the
d.o.t
requires
on
their
landscaping
projects
now
lon
alternatives
like
I
mentioned
before,
or
maybe
I
can't
remember.
If
I
mentioned
before,
fine
fescue
lawn
grass
compared
to
Kentucky
bluegrass.
That
has
a
two
to
three
inch.
Deep
road
system:
fine
fescue
lawn
grass,
once
it's
established,
has
about
an
eight
to
ten
inch
deep
blood
system.
It's
much
more
drought,
tolerant
than
Kentucky
bluegrass.
A
Excuse
me:
yarrow
also
is
a
pretty
nice
lawn
substitute
in
very
sunny
areas,
really
dry
conditions
and
abused
environments
out
by
the
boulevard
in
the
boulevard
area,
behind
the
curb
or
you
can't
get
grass
to
grow.
This
stuff
works
really.
Well,
it
likes
clay.
Soils
compaction
doesn't
seem
to
mind
salt,
so
I
grew
up
in
South
Dakota
on
a
farm,
and
our
house
was
in
what
used
to
be
a
pasture,
and
my
mom
did
a
lot
of
the
mowing
when
my
brother
and
I
were
very
young
and
she
would
drop
the
mower
blade
down.
A
She
wanted
to
look
like
a
golf
course
biet.
We
had
no
irrigation
system
and
we
didn't
fertilized
or
anything,
but
in
July
she
would
scalp
the
lawn.
You
know
it'd
be
like
an
inch
taller
inch
and
a
quarter
and
the
next
day
or
two
days
later.
It's
not
it's
not
raining
for
a
while
or
and
drought
everything's
brown,
except
for
this
stuff.
This
would
just
be
these
green
patches
that
could
tolerate
being
Mon
short
and
it
would
still
flower
too,
because
yarrow
flowers
has
little
pink
flowers
or
white
flowers
on
it.
A
If
you
don't
mow
it,
it's
going
to
get
six
inches,
seven
inches
tall,
but
you
can
mow
it
a
couple
of
times
per
year
to
keep
it
at
three
inches
or
4
inches
I.
Had
it
I
seeded
it
out
a
place
that
I
was
I,
lived
out
for
eight
years
and
I
seeded
it.
The
first
year,
I
was
in
there
on
a
berm
I
put
in
a
rain
garden.
Then
we
had
a
berm
on
the
downhill
side
of
the
rain
garden.
A
I
did
fine
fescue
to
just
try
that
out-
and
this
is
like
2001
and
I
lived
there
for
eight
years-
I
mold
that
area
six
times
over
the
eight
years,
because
then
sometimes
it
depended
on
how
much
rain
we
got
at
the
end
of
June.
If
we
got
a
lot
of
rain
in
mid
to
end
of
june,
then
the
stuff
would
get
a
little
bit
taller.
A
You
know
five
inches
and
I
would
mow
it
and
then
at
three
inches
and
then
that
was
it
for
the
summer
and
I
didn't
have
to
mow
it
again
and
it
would
stay
very
green.
But
if
you
want
to
maintain
a
you
know,
sort
of
a
manicured
yard
look
but
still
mowing
no
less
than
three
inches.
You
might
have
to
do
end
of
june,
beginning
of
September,
maybe
but
it's
nice
stuff.
What
it
doesn't
do
well
with
is,
if
you've
got
a
low
spot
in
your
yard.
A
That,
then,
it's
underwater
right
now,
you
know,
are
under
water
during
a
rain
event.
It
floods
that
will
kill
it.
If
you
have
an
area
in
your
yard
that
kids
are
constantly
like
running
over
or
you
have
a
dog.
That's
constantly
running
a
path
through.
This
won't
be
able
to
tolerate
that
either.
But
neither
will
you
know:
Kentucky
bluegrass
has
trouble
with
that
too,
but
I
do
have
the
handout
that
I
forgot
to
bring
that
is
down
in
our
booth
again
south
end
of
the
building.
A
That
then
has
a
source
for
this
in
a
prairie
nursery.
Calm
is
one
source
that
we've
found.
That
has
a
really
good
mix,
so
it's
got
five
to
six
different
species
of
fine
fescues
they've
been
selling
it
since
the
mid-90s,
they've
really
honed
it
down.
You
can
find
this
now.
It
is
becoming
more
popular
at
the
retail
level.
But
if
you
go
to
one
of
the
regular
big-box
stores,
they're,
not
getting
a
northern,
you
know
minnesota
or
aura
northern
United
States,
appropriate
mix.
A
I
would
just
about
that
other
one
I've
had
a
lot
of
good
luck
with
clover
lawn
I've,
never
I've,
not
personally
done
this
I
tried
a
trial
sample
of
it
and
just
in
a
flat
or
in
a
little
tray
and
I,
wasn't
having
good
success,
but
I'd
like
to
see
some
experiment
with
that.
But
some
people
just
have
such
a
negative
reaction
with
clovers
that
could
not
just
wouldn't
be
a
choice
that
they
would
go
for.
A
Other
free
outdoor
water
saving
tips
avoid
morning
during
droughts
like
I
mentioned,
because
you
can
lose
water,
lose
moisture
to
water,
vapor
or
vapor
going
into
the
atmosphere,
keep
the
mowing
blade,
sharp
and
loose
and
compacted
soils
for
irrigation
systems.
Don't
water,
the
road
you
know
an
automatic
irrigation
systems
makes
me
very
sad
to
see
watering
of
the
road,
because
this
water
is
from
deep
aquifers.
You
know
four
hundred
thousand
feet
below
the
surface.
A
It's
treated
drinking
water
and
then
just
getting
wasted
so
very
easy
to
adjust
those
heads
to
prevent
watering
the
road,
don't
water
in
the
rain.
If
you
see
an
irrigation
system
going
off
in
the
rain,
very
sad,
a
16-2.
Fifty
dollar
unit
to
stop
the
irrigation
system
from
watering
when
it's
raining,
but
these
will
then
say
it
rains
in
the
morning
and
the
irrigation
systems
scheduled
to
go
off
in
the
afternoon
rains
in
the
morning
we
get
an
inch.
Sun
comes
out
dries
the
tip
of
this
thing
off
by
the
afternoon.
A
It's
saying
we're
ready
to
go,
that's
water,
so
what
Toro
now
sells
is
called
a
soil
moisture
our
precision,
soil
monitoring
system.
It's
got
six
inch,
long,
probes,
that
push
into
the
ground,
and
then
this
sensor
or
this
receiver
gets
attached
to
the
irrigation
timing
box.
If
the
soil
stays
moist
here,
it
will
override
the
system,
and
so
this
is
a
better
system
than
those
rain
sensors,
but
those
have
just
sort
of
come
on
the
market.
In
the
last
you
know
four
or
five
years
for
the
residential
scale
drip
irrigation
system.
A
If
you're
going
to
be
watering
plants,
you
know
not
your
lawn
but
shrub
beds,
perennial
beds.
Drip
irrigation
is
way
better
than
any
overhead
spray,
because
that
can
lead
to
fungus
issues.
This
puts
the
water
right
on
the
soil
where
it
needs
it,
watching
the
rain
gauge
sing
much
rain,
we've
actually
received.
It
was
a
couple
years
ago
when
we
had
that
super
wet
May
and
June.
We
would
get
an
inch
and
a
quarter
and
then
I
had
a
neighbor
that
the
next
day
he'd
be
watering.
A
His
lawn
and
I'm
like
we
just
got
it
in
terrain,
rodent,
didn't
have
a
rain
gauge,
didn't
really
think
how
much
did
we
get,
but
then
he's
starting
to
dump
on
more
water
again,
we
don't
you
don't
need
it.
So
getting
a
rain
gauge
is
a
good
idea
to
just
keep
track
of
how
much
are
actually
getting
in
your
location
because,
typically
on
average,
so
lawn
needs
a
Kentucky,
bluegrass
lon
one
inch
of
water
per
week
to
stay
alive
or
growing.
A
Excuse
me,
and
on
average,
we're
getting
that
in
May
June
July
in
August
on
average
we
might
have
some,
you
know,
periods
of
dry,
but
then
just
don't
mow
at
those
times
avoid
watering
between
11am
and
4pm.
When
it
gets
really
warm.
That's
when
you
can
lu
and
your
irrigating
in
the
hot
of
the
day,
you're
losing
fifty
percent
of
that
water
to
vapor.
It's
just
going
away
right
away.
A
So
it's
just
a
waste
of
groundwater
of
treated
drinking
water,
avoid
watering
on
windy
days
because
then
that's
more,
it
can
go
to
vapor
or
just
boil
off
target
avoid
over
watering,
because
that
can
cause
shallow
ruts,
because
the
grass
will
just
adapt
to
I,
don't
have
to
go
down
to
search
for
any
moisture.
I
can
stay
really
shallow.
It
also
leads
to
stress
and
diseases
if
it's
just
watered
too
much
and
maintain
that
rain
gauge
keep
an
eye
on
that
rainwater
harvesting.
A
There's
a
lot
of
opportunities
to
harvest
water
off
the
rooftop
to
reuse,
for
landscape
watering.
So
again
you
know
in
a
one
inch
rain
event,
there's
17
hundred
gallons
of
water
coming
off
a
typical
rooftop.
You
look
at
your
at
the
individual
like
downspout
areas
and
there's
a
lot
of
volume
coming
off,
so
this
typical
front
corner
of
a
house
555
gallons
coming
off.
A
So
this
is
a
rain
barrel.
It
at
my
house,
I
have
some
I
downspout
here.
I
put
in
it's
called
a
downspout
diverter,
so
it
takes
the
first
part
or
takes
rain
and
through
this
little
hole
fills
the
rain
barrel.
Once
the
rain
barrels
full,
it
won't.
Let
any
more
water
go
into
that
hose
and
then
everything
else
goes
past
it.
It's
got
a
little
leaf
filter
inside
of
it
so
then
leaves
and
other
junk
doesn't
get
in
there,
but
a
slick
little
outfit.
A
But
here's
where
the
water
comes
in,
so
the
critical
components,
the
inlet
how
the
water
gets
in
the
overflow,
how
the
water
gets
out
when
it's
full
this
with
the
diverters,
then
when
the
barrels
full
it's
just
taking
everything
past
it.
You
know
down
the
downspout
rather
than
if
you
hook
the
downspout
write
it
on
the
top
of
the
rain
barrel,
and
you
have
500
gallons
of
water
coming
out
and
a
1
inch
rain
event
out
of
one
corner
of
the
house.
A
This
is
50
gallons,
it's
going
to
fill
up
really
fast
and
then
how's
that
water
get
out.
Sometimes
they'll
just
have
a
little
hoes
like
a
garden
hose
overflow
on
the
side.
That
will
be
too
small
to
move
out
that
volume
of
water,
so
you
can
cause
water
issues
in
this
case
is
right
by
my
little
half
basement
area.
I!
Don't
want
any
water
problems
by
that.
So
this
is
my.
This
diverter
is
my
insurance
policy
that
this
is
not
going
to
be
spilling
over
right
by
my
house.
A
Your
primary
outlet
so
down
here
I've
got
a
little
valve.
That
then,
is
hooked
to
an
soaker
hose
so
that
I
just
weave
around
my
landscape
plants
when
I
want
a
water,
I
flipped,
this
valve
I
walk
away.
I
come
back
30
minutes
later,
it's
drained
it
down,
I
shut
off
the
valve
and
it's
empty
ready
for
an
ex
rainfall,
and
then
your
storage.
So
this
is
one
type.
I
got
this
as
a
Father's
Day
present.
This
is
from
menards.
It
was
on
sale
around
fathers
day.
They
always
have
good
rain
barrel
sales.
A
That
they're
usually
like
you
know
at
least
twenty
five
percent
off,
but
this
I
think
my
wife
got
it
for
fifty
five
bucks,
something
like
that.
It's
pretty
nice
when
it's
got
a
flat
back,
so
it
can
tuck
right
up
against
the
house
tight
and
then
there's
a
little
stand.
This
is
a
separate,
but
this
is
another
like
15
bucks
that
just
lifts
it
up
gives
it
a
little
bit
more
head
pressure
there.
It
is
here
sort
of
tucked
back
behind
the
shrub.
It
just
sort
of
blends
in
I.
A
Think
you
can
so
there's
the
diverter.
This
one's
got
a
low
plastic
cover
on
it.
You
pop
that
off
and
then
check
every
once
in
a
while
on
the
little
leaf
filter
to
see
if
that's
getting
plugged
up
I've
got
a
big
silver
maple
tree,
a
female
that
dumps
a
lot
of
seeds
and
stuff
that
gets
in
to
the
system.
So
occasionally
during
that
seed
drop,
that
I
have
to
go
in
and
flowerdrop
pop
out
that
dump
it
I.
But
it's
like
10
seconds
of
maintenance,
another
type
of
diverter.
A
This
is
a
homeowner
that
had
five
rain
barrels
back
here
painted
on
the
color
of
his
house
because
he
didn't
want
his
neighbor
to
like
go.
Oh,
those
are
an
eyesore.
He
just
wanted
it
to
blend.
In
put
it
behind
a
row
of
shrubs
that
he
already
had
going
on
here,
but
here
he's
got
250
gallons
of
storage
connected
to
one
valve,
turns
it
on
and
then
uses
that
to
water
a
garden.
A
These
are
tanks
that
then
lay
flat
250
gallons
of
capacity
here,
underneath
this
deck,
which
is
sort
of
a
cool
idea,
it
just
has
one
valve
over
on
the
side.
You
open
it
up.
Why
does
the
plants
shut
it
off
when
it's
empty
ready
to
go?
And
you
don't
see
anything?
This
is
just
a
cool
one.
I
thought
of
a
target
store.
This
is
in
Michigan.
A
We
put
in
a
30,000,
gallons
cistern
right
next
to
the
store,
takes
all
the
rooftop
run
off,
and
then
they
use
that
for
irrigation
outside,
but
then
also
for
flushing,
toilets
and
stuff
inside
any
non
drinking
water
use.
That
was
it
during
construction.
Then
they
added
stone
facing
on
the
whole
thing
to
to
make
it
look
very
nice,
but
at
the
maplewood
mall
they
just
added
one
of
these
in
the
last
maybe
three
years
ago
now
they
got
a
big
sister.
I'll
buy
that
store,
but
for
water
harvesting
tips
are
using
rain
barrels.
A
I
recommend
placing
the
rain
barrel
close
to
the
area,
we're
going
to
use
the
water.
You
know
try
to
get
a
void
having
to
fill
up
the
rain
barrel
with
watering
cans
and
taking
that
someplace
as
much
as
you
can,
because
then
just
it's
going
to
be
a
lot
of
work
than
doing
that,
because
you're
filling
up
a
gallon
watering.
Can
it's
got
50
gallons
in
it?
It's
a
lot
of
trips
I,
just
like
putting
it
at
some
place
where
I
know
I
can
have
it.
A
I
have
a
need
to
do
you
put
a
soaker
hose
in
or
something
you
want
to
keep
it
up
hill
of
areas
to
be
watered,
keep
inlets
cleared
and
secured
that
my
brain
barrel
and
all
the
rain
barrels
now
that
are
promoted?
Are
there
sealed
up
or
they
don't
have
a
physical
way
for
mosquitoes
to
get
into
them?
So
you
want
it,
don't
want
it
to
become
a
mosquito
issue.
If
you
have
an
open-top
rain
barrel,
that's
prime
mosquito
habitat,
so
keep
them
sealed
up.
A
They've
got
tight
screens
over
them
or
just
sealed
drums
with
the
diverters
keeps
mosquitoes
out
and
winterize
appropriately
and
so
for
mine
to
winterize.
It
I
disconnect
a
little
hose
that
goes
in
there
and
put
them
at
the
diverter.
Kit
comes
with
a
little
plug
and
you
put
that
over
the
hose
and
then
that's
it.
You
don't
have
to
take
the
rain
barrel
inside
you
don't
turn
the
rain
barrel
upside
down.
You
know
none
of
that
stuff
with
the
diverter
kits
so
again.
Those
tips
build
healthy
soil
use.
A
Water
wisely,
select
proper
plants,
backyard
wildlife,
habitat
planting
to
attract
caterpillars
monarch
caterpillars
need
our
help.
They
need
more
milkweed
family
plants
out
there
to
eat
on,
to
go
from
caterpillars
to
butterflies,
so
highly
encourage
planting,
there's
butterfly
milkweed,
there's
Marsh
milkweed
common
milkweed.
There
are
plants
that
then
are
useful
to
them
for
food
source,
both
the
milkweeds
during
their
butterfly
stage,
but
then
also,
this
is
a
type
of
blazing
star
and
a
whole
bunch
of
other
plants
that
are
good
for
monarchs.
But
then
there's
a
lot
of
other
butterflies.
A
A
Chipmunks
I
have
ones
that
they
live
under
my
steps,
you
know,
but
I,
could
they
they're
just
looking
for
a
protected
little
place
to
burrow
into
and
have
their
little
nest
a
little
cavity
pile
of
rocks?
That's
what
some
people
do
pilar
ox
out
away
from
the
house
they're
going
to
head
to
that.
You
know
that
be
their
preference
anyway,
but
this
sort
of
work
with
them
on
that
that
is
it
there's
good
playing
catalogs
out
there.
A
I've
got
these
at
our
little
display
again
it's
down
at
the
south
end
of
the
building
that
I've
got
handouts
and
there's
also,
let's
see
our
email.
Our
our
website
address
that
has
more
information,
is
bush
lake
ike,
so
r
g,
and
that's
also
on
the
handout
downstairs
so
afterwards
or
after
when
you
get
a
chance.
If
you
want
to
mosey
on
down
to
that
south
end,
I'd
love
to
talk
with
you
further
all
right,
that's
it!
Thank
you
very
much.