I just got my Iro a few days ago, and have been looking into what I have to get/do to give it all of the best data. I looked at buying catch cups and soil sample probes on amazon, called some local garden centers to see if anyone local sells them. Then I remembered that my city does free sprinkler audits, so i thought I’d check with them and see if there was a way to borrow the necessary equipment from them. Lo and behold they actually have self-audit kits!! So if anyone else lives in Ft. Collins, CO the links below are how to sign up for the kit (or have them come do it for you!) and their self audit guide (which might help anyone who wants to get more data). The kit will get you PR, DU, and root depth at the least!
I was so excited when I saw this that I just had to share it with the community! Its probably worth checking to see if your city or water district offers something similar so you don’t have to buy the equipment from Amazon and figure out how to do it all.
I’ve gotten the kit from the city now and am in the middle of gathering all of the data, and I have a root depth question. Does anyone know if the root depth entered should be the depth where there is a strong “web” of roots that are fairly dense, or should it be the deepest single “strand” of root? My soil samples are pulling up between 1" and 3.5" of the web. Some of the samples though have had a single strand that has gone down to about 6".
“Once the core is removed from the probe, look for the small roots to determine the number of inches from the top of the core to the deepest root near the bottom of the core.”
But I’m just looking for confirmation, because most of my samples don’t have that shoot that goes down to 6".
Thanks in advance for any knowledge anyone shares!
