INSIDE

Tired of watering that old lawn?

By Meg Olson

Want your lawn to look as good as a putting green this summer? Hire the same guy the golf course does to put in a system that conserves water while giving lawns and landscaping just what they need for peak performance.

Reicher Oesterle, irrigation engineer at the Point Roberts golf course, has started his own company, Bayside Sprinklers and Landscaping. The venture is a return to his roots in Colorado Springs where he learned his trade seven years ago working for a home irrigation installer.

One of the first employees of the golf course, Oesterle started his own company two years ago and has installed a dozen automatic irrigation systems on the Point, from a few sprinklers on a patch of lawn to over an acre property combining lawns, vegetable gardens, landscaping and trees.

He starts by walking the property with the owner. “Once I get an idea of what they want I can come back with a design, give them a bid and see what they think,” he said.

Oesterle said he designs his systems to be seamless and invisible. Timers turn the water on and off at night, so there is minimal loss to evaporation. Different zones are set to give plants the water they need, when they need it, from a quick daily sprinkle to a weekly soak.

Rain gauges automatically shut the system down if it isn’t needed. With his special equipment he can run lines under established turf and leave nothing more than a slice in your lawn. “I do all the installation, all the programming, and there’s a warranty on everything I touch,” he said.
A small system runs close to $1,000 and the price goes up from there. “The parts are most expensive and it adds up,” Oesterle said, adding his discounts with suppliers do give his customers a break over putting together a system on their own.

Oeasterle can be reached at 945-0703.