|
Rob asked me to talk about the importance of watering your garden properly. We have noticed so many shrubs in town, particularly the hydrangeas, wilting from dryness. I know many people are on wells and fear them running dry. Others live in town and have to pay for their water usage. So the following tips may help conserve water and save your garden.
Here's a few tips to help survive the drought:
1. Water early in the morning. It is less stressful on your plants and lawn and is also less likely to burn the foliage.
If you do not have time in the morning then early evening is fine: just make sure the foliage does not go into the night wet as this can cause fungus and blight problems. Soaker hoses are great!
2. Water well and long less often rather than a little every night. This means putting out a sprinkler for at least 20-30 minutes in each area. If you do this at least twice a week you'll be helping your garden much more than by standing over it with a hose-end sprayer for 5 minutes every night. Deep watering encourages longer roots and healthier plants. Just because the soil is wet on top does NOT mean the water is getting down to the roots.
3. If you are having trouble keeping your garden wet then maybe consider mulch. It preserves the moisture in the soil therefore requiring less water. Keeps the weeds down too!
4.Add manure, compost, peat moss to your existing beds if the soil is drying out too fast. These help build high-quality rich soil that won't dry out as quickly.
5. Choose tough drought-tolerant plants if your garden is in hot full sun. There are plenty of beautiful perennials that can tolerate dry conditions.
| 
