Inside Scoop

February 2023
In This Issue

Kristin Gallego
Artistic Landscape

February is upon us and it’s already been a busy year for our industry. No matter how prepared we think we are, when we get unpredictable storms like we did last month, the infrastructure we’ve built here in California is sometimes just not enough. I know we personally, as a company, have seen mudslides and flooding like never before. And, has anyone else had to chase the cleaning of v-ditches ten times over from the recent rains? Thank God for sandbags and wattles.

On a happy note, our hills are green and the air is fresh. We’re still enjoying the bit of chilly weather of winter, knowing that Spring will be upon us before we know it. If I haven’t met you yet (or even if I have), I’d LOVE to see you at one of our upcoming events. So, mark your calendars and join us for one or both of the following:

March 2nd – Board of Directors Meeting (via Zoom) – Yes, you are welcome to attend and see what’s going on in our chapter!!

March 16th – Electric Power Equipment Event

Next month I will be touching on getting involved in this year’s Landscape Awards and prepare you for a couple awesome events we have coming up in April. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me kristin@artisticturf.com if you have any questions or are looking at how you can get involved. Have a wonderful rest of your February! I look forward to seeing you all in March.

Kristin Gallego
2023 East Bay Chapter President

DIG Corp - Drip Irrigation Systems

Leadership Conference 2023

CLCA Chapter leaders rallied together at the Leadership Conference January 24th and 25th to discuss how we can build an even stronger CLCA in 2023 with VISION, PLAN and ACTION!

Everde
Todd Gerrow - A-G Sod Farms

How Much Oxygen

By Frank Niccoli

In reading our white paper on the CLCA website regarding water conservation I was struck by the phrase that plants provide oxygen for us to breathe.  A simple thought, isn’t it? We breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide.  Have you ever wondered how much oxygen is supplied by plants and how much oxygen do we as human beings need?  I decided to find out. 

First, how much oxygen does the average Joe or Jill need to breathe in an hour?  And let’s assume for this discussion that Mr. Average is sitting in an easy chair watching the Discovery channel, drinking a beer, and not expending a lot of energy.    Well, it turns out the Mr. Average takes in about 500mL per breath and takes about 12 breathes a minute.  The lungs have a dead space in them that store 75mL per breath per lung.  So, we multiply the 75mL times 2 for 2 lungs per person, and we have 150mL.  Subtract that 150mL from the 500 mL, and we end up with a total of 350mL per breath.  Multiply that by 12 breaths per minute and the total is 4,200 mL of breath per minute. In one hour Mr. Average Joe needs about 53 Liters of oxygen.  Multiply that by 24 hours in a day, and each of us consumes 1272 liters of oxygen a day. 

Let’s talk about plants now.  Most of you know that a plant leaf produces 5mL of oxygen an hour.  If you didn’t know that, then you do now.  There will be a small quiz on this later, so pay attention.  Let’s say that I just finished counting the leaves on my Myrica californica in my front yard and found out that it has 300 leaves.  5mL times 300 equals 1500mL (or 1.5 liters) of oxygen that this plant produces in an hour.  Mr. Average sitting in his easy chair needs 53 liters per hour.  Now you can see that my Myrica does not produce enough air for Mr. Average to breath for an hour.  We need about 36 Myrica to produce enough air for Mr. Average for 1 hour.  Well, the population of the entire world is 6,446,131,400 people and growing by the second.  This does not include animals, bugs, combustion engines and other oxygen-consuming beasts.  This is just people. We would need 232,060,730,400 Myrica to provide oxygen for 6,446,131,400 Average Joes and Jills per hour. Since we have 24 hours in a day and plants only work half time (most plants don’t photosynthesize at night), that means that we need 11,138,915,059,200 Myrica to make it through a day.  That number is 11 trillion, 138 billion, 131 million, 59 thousand and 200 Myrica.  Think about that next time you take a breath.  And remember that quiz I spoke about at the beginning of this article?  Well, here it is.  How many garden janitors does it take to lollipop 11,138,915,059,200 Myrica, and how many licensed CLCA contractors would it take to replace the dead lollipopped Myrica? I would prefer your answer in an essay format please.

Horizon - Irrigation | Outdoor Living | Landscape | Power Equipment

Upcoming Events

CLCA East Bay Chapter Events for 2023
  • Board of Directors Meeting
    March 2 (via Zoom)
  • Save the Date
    March 2 – Drip Irrigation with Fertigation
    Lunch Meeting Details Announced Soon
  • Save the Date
    March 16th 11am-12:30 – Electrical Equipment Demo
    Lunch Meeting Details announced soon
View Our Calendar
Landscape Contractors Insurance Services, Inc.
Monarch Truck Center
West Coast Turf

Partner Spotlight

Delta Bluegrass Company
Delta Bluegrass Co.

Please feel free to contact your local Rep Jeff Henninger:

925-698-8295
jhenninger@deltabluegrass.com

Jeff Henninger

Delta Bluegrass Company, established in 1978, is located in the heart of the San Joaquin Delta Region. Delta Bluegrass Company is a full-line Sod Company, one of the few in the industry supplying a complete product line of Commercial, Residential, Sports Turf, California Native Grasses, and Kurapia Ground Cover. Our market spans the entire state of California and is headquartered in Stockton.

At its inception, the company President, Ed Zuckerman has always been thinking of the big picture with an emphasis on water sensitive landscape options. Delta Bluegrass Company’s vision is to be the customers First Choice for Sod! Our mission is to partner with our customers to provide knowledge, excellent service and innovative, quality products that benefit our environment. Delta Bluegrass Company takes pride in growing and providing top quality sod to our customers. We know that when you choose our sod, you expect exceptional delivery service and the best value for your investment.

 Our Sales Team and Customer Service Department are recognized as leaders in the turf industry. Our Team is always available to discuss our full portfolio of products and help you understand how we can maximize your sods potential. Delta Bluegrass Company has an in-house Research and Development Program that ensures our sod offerings are always progressive and on the cutting edge of the most improved varieties to benefit our industry. We remain committed to our leadership role in the environmental stewardship of our community and the world.

Eddie Zuckerman owner of Delta Bluegrass Co.

Partners for Success

CLCA East Bay Chapter Invites you to become a partner

Download the flier below for the 2023 Partners for Success Program and mail your payment today. 

Become a Partner
Become a CLCA Member

Industry Training for the Latino Community

Entrenamiento en Paisaje en Español

The National Association of Landscape Professionals’ Latino Landscape Network connects landscape professionals from Coast to Coast. LLN grew out of the National Hispanic Landscape Alliance, which was founded in 2011 to empower the community of more than 500,000 Hispanic-Americans employed in the landscape industry in the United States. In April of 2020, NHLA became part of NALP, ensuring a strong voice for Hispanic landscapers in the industry’s national trade organization.

The National Association of Landscape Professionals knows how valuable proper education and training is to professional landscapes companies.  So they now offer some of their most popular landscape certificate courses and certification programs and resources in Spanish. 

Latino Landscape Network Landscape Training in Spanish
https://clca.org/member-resources/member-benefits/
L.H. Voss Materials, Inc.

State of the Industry Report: Path to success in 2023

By landscapemanagement.net

During the Supply Chain Hacks seminar at Equip Expo 2022, panelists were asked for their forecast for 2023. How much longer would there be supply chain interruptions? How will the market react to inflation? Will the industry keep chugging along like it has these last few years?

“If we had a really good answer to what you’re asking, a perfect answer?” George Kinkead, president of Turfco, responded, “We probably wouldn’t be on this panel, because we’d be in the investment banking world.”

While the future is difficult to predict, one thing we learned after asking dozens of experts — including boots-on-the-ground landscape and lawn care business owners, industry suppliers and consultants — though the market is volatile, the need and appreciation for the industry remains high.

Read Full Article
Pacific Nurseries
California Truck Centers
Delta Bluegrass - Jeff Henninger