Landscape Designer Long Beach – Jesus Arizaga of Arrizaga Landscape Design

Jesus Arizaga
Arizaga Landscape Design
562-858-7416
jyjarizaga@verizon.net

Jesus: So, good morning everybody. I’m Jesus Arrizaga. We do landscape and today I just want to talk about a little bit about our problem with the water. We need water. We haven’t rained for a long time and 60% of the water that we are using is going to grass, and that 60%, only 20 probably goes real to the grass and the rest goes to the ocean, on the streets, because our sprinkler system is not the right type of sprinkler system or it’s not designed right. That is the main reason we have all this running off of water.

Another reason, we don’t need that much grass because California doesn’t really have grasses, I mean native grasses. We have native grasses but not the type we have. All those Bermudas and all those grasses are not for America, are not from this area, so they require a lot of water that we don’t have. We need to save water. Again the way to save this water is by adjusting our sprinkler systems, don’t water too much. Any grass that we’ve cut already doesn’t need that much water, like every other day. We don’t need that much water that we’re spending. With one time a week, like a good soaking, that’s enough.

If our sprinkler system is more than eight years old, it needs to be fixed. It needs to be updated. Basically… or the main part is using the right size of nozzles on the sprinkler system. All the time you see all this running water because we have a 5 feet wide sideway and using 20 feet radius sprinkler system or nozzles, so guess what? If we have only 5 feet and we have 20 feet long, so we are spending 15 feet of radius water on the concrete, having our cars washed every morning. Very clean cars, our neighbors, our visitors, but we spent all that water, and it’s only one side of the car that’s clean, the other side is still dirty.

Let’s fix our sprinkler system. It’s not hard. There’s different manufacturers that manufactures nozzles that can be used in any other brands or the major brands. Any stores who sell irrigation supplies will have all those nozzles. The brands are Toro for example or Rainbird, but are the top of the line. They call it smart watering because it’s really smart the way it waters. They’re trying to mimic the rain, a slow rain or a slow watering flow so that gives time for the soil to absorb it and not running by putting a lot of water in a short period of time.

For example, we water 10 minutes or 12 minutes, it’s just a little bit of that water that goes on the grass, on the soil and the rest goes on the street because it’s too much water at once in 10 minutes. If we have a different type of nozzle that requires less flow or less pressure and give 20 minutes, you say “Well how can we save water, we are running our sprinkler system 20 minutes instead of 10?” Because it’s a low flow. It gives time for the soil to absorb it so the water goes through the soil and not to the street. That’s how it works. Giving time to soak the soil instead of 10 minutes, 20 minutes and less water because it’s not shooting a lot of water in a short period of time.

I’ve been doing the sprinkler system or working landscape for a long time total, probably like 20, 25 years. Been doing… own my own business for the last 12 years and I used to work in different companies. Always the same problem with companies. They used to send me to fix something and some sprinkler systems “Use whatever you have. We don’t have this nozzle. Just fix it. Just put something but just go fast. Run.” We have to take the time and have the right supplies to do the job.

I am always concerned to preserve our environment. To leave something to my boy. Save the world and save our environment so that we can leave something to our kids. We are using everything and what about our future generations? We need to save water. I probably sound like “Why is this guy talking about all this saving, saving, saving water?” Because we really need it.

Again back to the sprinkler systems. It’s very easy to retrofit. You can go to any website, Toro or Rainbird, and you can find all the nozzles they have, the smart system. It comes with colors so that gives you… like the blue top is 10 feet, brown is 12 feet, black 15 feet, green is 8 feet. It depends on the size or the color of the top of your nozzle, so just get the same color, using the smart system with smart watering. Then you just [inaudible 00:07:11] screw it out, screw in the new one, and it’s very easy. It’s done.

Measure. You know, you have 5 feet so look at the top. If it’s not red, it’s not 5 feet, it’s more than 5 feet. If there’s a strip and it’s only three feet and it has any color on the top, it’s not the right size, so you need a strip nozzle to water a strip. There’s different sizes. 4 feet, 9 feet wide, 20 by 30, it depends on your needs but use the right size. That will save a lot of water. Just the nozzle itself guarantees to use 45% less water. Just the nozzle and that’s a guarantee, and they say they can use either all the way to 60% less water and it’s true. I’ve been using those for a long time.

In my house I have like… well Jennifer says “You have your laboratory here. Why we don’t have grass like normal people?” Because we are not normal. We don’t have really grass in my house, and the space that we do have grass I use it for test. Whatever they sell, I test if first before I can put it in your house. Everything, everything. She says “Why have that obsession? You’re obsessed.” No, let’s do something, let’s do something, plus my son has fun all the time when I do this. Put it together and take everything out and put it back. It’s something we can help. Questions, we have a little bit of time? Yes.

Male 1: So the main… You know, remember my house when you came out. It’s like that soil’s so crap and then I try to water it and it doesn’t get into the soil but [inaudible 00:09:21] do it a little bit lower. The grass is always changing. What grass do you like? Artificial?

Jesus: That is a very… the easiest way is artificial grass. The only thing is it’s expensive for the first time. If it’s a small area, I would go with artificial grass. Like in your house in the front? That’s a small area. Now there’s a lot of different types that looks real. You have to touch it to know that it’s not real. From here you see it and it’s “that is real” until you touch it. Because even if you have… It’s not like a carpet. Remember 10 years ago? It was like a carpet, like this thick and carpet like. “Why you put this carpet in your front yard?” Now it’s not. It’s thick and it’s green and there’s different types of greens on the same spot. Even brown, so it’s like a dry grass, already dead.

Male 2: Can you change [inaudible 00:10:23] paint that?

Jesus: Yeah. No, that doesn’t change color. Your last question?

Male 3: So a lot of people… I mean everybody has sprinkler systems. Do you have an introductory offer or an assessment that you do for people, like “Hey I can come out and look and make sure that everything’s working.” Check out all the nozzles and I mean I don’t know… is it free or does it involve… you give a proposal? How does that work?

Jesus: Well I think for the people here, for us, I can go for free. For us, because it requires time.

Male 3: Yes.

Jesus: Time and transportation. Gasoline and everything, but if you have time, you give me a time, two or three weeks so then I can schedule, because I have a lot of work. A lot more than I can handle but I can fit you in… us for free. For outside, yes I will charge to go and visit and then to do the retrofit or if they don’t… Like I said, it’s so easy. I can just go and okay, “just call this store, here’s the place, go get it and just take it off and put the new one.” It’s very easy and I can do that. That’s not a problem. Thank you very much.