Summer dry spells are a given for gardeners. But with a little help, flowers and vegetables can thrive in hot weather, even when rain doesn't fall.
A heat wave has forced communities throughout the nation to restrict outdoor watering.
For gardeners, correct watering and ample mulch are the keys to plant survival.
First, timing is important in conserving water and keeping plants healthy. Garden wisdom says to water flowers and vegetables early in the morning, but that might not always be practical for people who leave in the morning for work. You can water in the evening, but don't get the foliage wet.
Experienced gardener Iva Dell Hart in Lexington, Ky., uses a homemade watering wand of PVC pipe with a shut-off valve to reach around plants. She waters only the roots, keeping water off the leaves. Water on the leaves overnight can promote disease.
Ron Short of Lexintgon conserves by soaking 20 pots and hanging baskets of flowers in his garden every 36 hours, using a hose without the nozzle. The water is turned on at little more than a trickle.
In large beds where hand-watering is too time consuming, Hart said "the best, easiest way" to water is with a soaker hose that oozes water right over the root zone of plants and avoids wasteful runoff.
She has 10 soaker hoses, each 50 feet long, that snake through two long beds in front of her house. "They're on top of the ground, and I mulched over them so they don't show," she said.
Water should reach about 5 inches deep for optimum root growth.
"One good soaking benefits your plants more than just a quick sprinkling," she said.
Mulch is also a key to using water wisely. In hot weather, mulch helps healthier plants and increases productivity.
Three inches of compost, hay or shredded leaves will do the trick. John Cullen in Lexington recommends several sheets of newspaper as mulch. Wet it thoroughly first, then sprinkle with soil to secure it in place.
Cullen's priority goes to vegetable plants in bloom. If sweet corn that has silks and tassels goes dry for too long, the cob will be gnarly and have malformed kernels. Beans, tomatoes and peppers, too, need water most critically when in bloom and fruit is forming.
Trees, especially newly planted ones, are also suffering. Spring-planted trees might be under stress and losing their leaves because the hot, dry weather arrived before roots got established.
The first two to three years are critical for a young tree. Plan to water when it doesn't rain 1 inch a week. Large, established trees are also thirsty.
Don't think that just because you've sprinkled the ground around the tree that the roots are well-watered. Pull back the mulch and dig down to make sure the soil is moist several inches down. Most of a tree's roots are in the top 12 inches of soil.
© 2017. All Rights Reserved. | Contact Us