Castle Rock Teach by Example Final Report

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TOWN OF CASTLE ROCK "Teach By Example" Program Summary Page 6 preliminary planning would have benefitted the program. Landscape designs were agreed upon prior to retrofit, however in this case items were uncovered as we proceeded, like allergies to specific plant materials and mulches. This doubled work efforts on the part of the homeowners and Town staff. The basis of the situation at this address was that the homeowner had the impression that all exterior work would be performed as it would if one retained a private landscape contractor. The chaos this created was debilitating to the project and to all of those involved. We did manage to make it through the problems by development of punch lists, where individual items were completed and signed off to the satisfaction of the Town and the homeowner. More thorough pre.liminary explanation and investigation into the homeowner's actual program commitment and concept as to what the Town and homeowner could actually accomplish in the exterior retrofit process may have revealed these discrepancies prior to selection as a model home, and could have relieved some of the difficulties encountered. Turf alternatives, mulches, plant zoning and efficient irrigation were considered and implemented. Soil conditions were reviewed and dealt with at each individual site. This was a beneficial factor in the program as it illustrated the extreme differences in soil types throughout Castle Rock. We subscribed to the kill and till theory, where existing grass was killed, and an attempt was made to till the material into the soil, as organic soil augmentation material. This was attempted in each location. We discovered that this was not a time efficient alternative within the scope of the program. The root zones at each address were extremely shallow, and when we attempted to till the dried vegetation, the material peeled up to reveal a damp zone where water was retained, but not available to plant material. We could have waited and allowed the areas to dry out prior to further tilling, but this would have required a great deal of time. Therefore, we brought in equipment and removed the top layer of thatched grass. We then added varying degrees of compost, tilled, and re-tilled several areas. This was done to allow for better water absorption and holding capacity of the soil, as well as aerate, to ensure that the soil could support deeper root zones. These deeper root zones allow for more efficient uptake of water and nutrients by the plants, thus reducing the amount of additional water application required to support vegetation. Attempting such a broad scale effort at a home where heavy equipment is not at easy disposal might not be feasible. It would probably be more practical to designate a very small area, and spray it with a weed and grass killer, probably two to three times, then till, then kill, then till again. This helps to eliminate the return of unwanted weeds or grasses from seed or shoots. ~.;-.,;../ A thorough investigation into each homeowner's needs and desires for the areas