Tools & Tech
Air Spade
Tree Shaker
Nuisance fruit and seeds on a tree can create trip hazards, stain sidewalks and pavers, as well as attract wildlife. We have experimented with a variety of ways to eliminate fruit and seeds in a single instance. One such tool we prefer to use is a tree shaker.
Tree shakers have been used for over 40 years in the groves of the Central Valley to harvest nut crops. We decided to try it out shaking ornamental trees and found a tree shaker is very effective with certain varieties. In just one or two visits, nearly all the fruit and seeds can be dropped to the ground and cleaned up.
You should ask us to demonstrate you the potential of this machine. It is quite an experience.
Drones
At Green Perspectives, we are experimenting with drone technology to give us better understanding of the landscapes we manage. For example, when assessing the health of a tree from the ground, one can almost never get an overall picture of what is happening in the canopy of the tree. Drones alleviate the need to climb the tree or use a boom lift to get a better look. They can provide us a quicker, more complete view of the tree’s canopy with less risk to an employee.
We also see potential for drones to be used for plant health care. Drones can be used to make more precise, and therefore safer, pesticide applications.
The potential also exists for drones to prune trees. This would again reduces the danger of climbing trees.
Fertigation
Fertigation is the process of introducing minute amounts of fertilizer into the water stream of an irrigation system. This method of micro-fertilization has been in practice in agriculture for decades and has recently become more popular for commercial landscapes recently.
This method of fertilization is very effective because it allows for regular, consistent feeding utilizing fertilizer that plants to absorb immediately, using the irrigation system already in place as the delivery method.
Dog Damage Solutions
As more and more apartment and home dwellers become dog owners, the issue of dog damage in turf continues to worsen. We have seen no difference between female and male dogs in terms of damage to turf. There is no chemical that “neutralizes” urine that we know of (if you have one that works, we can make you a millionaire!). There currently isn’t a type of turf grass that is resistant to the damage that urine causes.
With decades of thought and working with the issue, we have determined two methods of at least dealing with the issue. The first one is to consider weekly re-sodding of the area if it is an important area such as near a building entrance, along a main drive isle, or highly visible walk path. A second method would be to consider converting the area from turf or grass to shrubs or ground cover. An alternative to this is to surround a turf area heavily used by dogs with taller shrubs effectively screening the area from view.
