It's no secret that our summers are getting hotter and drier. It's also no secret that our history of soil management in urban areas is not good. We are here to help by providing trees with healthy soils and irrigation to help them survive in this new warmer climate. By combining judicious mulching with instillation of drip irrigation systems we believe that we can dramatically extend the lifespan of many trees which are suffering with chronic drought stress.
Before soil improvement, exposed mineral soil more closely resembles a desert soil than the temperate rainforest we live in.
After soil improvement, (drip irrigation is installed below mulch). Coir logs used to prevent erosion (only needed on hillsides).
As our summer drought period has grown longer we now need to consider irrigating our trees. Tree irrigation looks vastly different from irrigating lawn or small plantings so it makes sense to give trees their own systems. Drip irrigation systems are the most efficient water users and they allow us to provide trees with the occasional deep soakings they need. Mulching serves several important purposes:
Helps insulate the soil from extreme temperatures
Helps retain moisture
Feeds the soil microbiome
Recycles nutrients back into the soil for the trees
Creates a more natural surface where additional tree debris can be left to blend in
Not only is this treatment better for the trees, it's also better for you. No more raking or blowing the beds out, now you cal leave all tree debris in place to further augment the soil and help the trees, just like nature intended.