Are Deer Munching Your Landscaping?

2 years ago I planted about 2 dozen red and white pine trees around my yard.  The were great look trees.  That winter was pretty brutal and the deer were puched into the area big time by marauding packs of coyotes.

We had big bucks cruising around our yard even in the middle of the day.  Many were monster bucks that would spar in the afternoon.  At night though, they would munch on my poor pine trees!  Not the red pines though.  They didn't touch the reds, but the white pines must taste like candy to them because they munched them like mad.

So the moral of this story is if you live in deer country and plant pines you might wanna go with reds or at least plan on guarding the white pines from the deer in some manner.

Beware! Jack Frost Has Your backflow In His Cross-Hairs!

Fall is almost here and quite shortly Jack Frost will be traveling all-around making things cold!  He loves to target irrigation components!

All it takes is a little little bit of icy cold to freeze up these backflow prevention components.  If you've ever opened one up they are full of seals, o-rings, gaskets and little springs and orifices that just beg for freeze damage.  When water sits stationary inside and is frozen by the surrounding metal it expands and does all sorts of bad things to the internal parts.

This problem with pipes freeze makes irrigation insulation extremely important.  A backflow insulation blanket adds r-value to the backflow and helps to trap in heat.  They also provide wind protection which is extremely important.  So if you haven't put polar parkas on your weekend shopping list you might want to!

Backflow Parts & Repair Kits: Tips On Healthy Backflows!

Backflow Parts & Repair Kits: Tips On Healthy Backflows!

If you're a homeowner living in the United States and your home is under 10 years old there's a good chance when it was built an underground lawn irrigation system was installed.  When these automatic irrigation units started coming down in price many contractors and builders started including them with newly built homes and condos.

The in-ground lawn irrigation systems offer a ton of convenience, especially during very dry and drought conditions.  A lush, green lawn is literally as easys as programming the lawn irrigation controller to fire up at night for a couple hours each day and you are good to go.

Well, almost!  Most of the lawn irrigation installations feature some kind of backflow prevention device which is designed to prevent contaminated water from flowing backwards into the potable water supply.  These backflows are usually made of brass.  FEBCO, WATTS, WILKINS, ZURN, AMES, CONBRACO, and APOLLO ar all popular manufacturers.  The problem with these RPZ devices is that they contain backflow parts made of rubber that are prone to wear.  And if a backflow preventer is left outside during freezing cold conditions well then you may need to buy a bushel basket of backflow parts or a complete backflow repair kit because the freezing water expands and will totally demolish the innards of the backflow prevention device.

It can get pretty ugly!  The best thing to do is to have the backflows tested every year by a certified backflow tester, just to make sure that now backflow parts are necessary to provide proper backflow protection.

Look at my new blogpost - Backflow Preventer Enclosures

Need to hide that ugly backflow prevention valve sitting out in the yard?  Even if you don’t think it’s ugly, it’s still a good idea to enclose or cover it so evil minded thieves don’t target it for scrap metal cash and give it a little bit of hack saw loving!  Here’s some Backflow Device Enclosures.

Backflow Preventer Enclosures

Look at my new post - Backflow Freeze Protection

Good write up here on backflow freeze protection and how to prevent damage to backflow preventers when it gets chilly outside.

Backflow Freeze Protection

Look at my new blogpost - Easily Cover Your Water Well Pump With This Artificial Rock!

The DekoRRa Model 101 Artificial Rock has always been a top contender in the fight against ugly water well risers in the yard or garden.  These well caps are notorious ugly marks on the face of many a front yard landscaping project.

Unfortunately for homeowners the wells cannot be simply moved or buried with soil or mulch.  This is where the DekoRRa Model 101 Artificial Rock comes in and saves the day!  It’s uber realistic and super easy to use.  Just throw it over that ugly water well, stomp the ground stakes in through the flanges, and walk away smiling!  No more ugly water well on your turf!

Here’s a video with more details:

Easily Cover Your Water Well Pump With This Artificial Rock!

Look at my new article - Fast & Easy Faux Stone Border Edging That Looks Like Real Edgers!

Up until now faux stone border edging has been notoriously cheap looking.  Peruse the aisles of your local Garden Depot McFunsters and you’ll see those shiny, cheap plastic faux rock garden border stones on the shelves.  You know, the ones that look fake from a long way off and are so thinly molded and brittle that they crack at the mere sound of an approaching weed-wacker.

Well DekoRRa decided to do something different when they developed this faux rock border edging.  It’s super durable, easy to instal and incredibly realistic!  Check it out:




Fast & Easy Faux Stone Border Edging That Looks Like Real Edgers!