Hello friends! I apologize for the delay in our next installment. Lots going on this summer as we get busier, and Rachel is closer to bringing our son into the world on November 8th.
In order to help your plants beat the heat, I wanted to share some wise irrigation advice. Now this doesn't mean you need an irrigation "system" installed. You can manually irrigate your gardens. My step dad would run manifolds and multiple hoses around the yard and even had a sprinkler mounted to a telephone pole to get it to spray farther. ( I don't recommend this.)
Being water-wise should start at the design phase of your garden. Proper placement of drought resistant plants, when given the opportunity to get established, are the best way to save water. Another thing you can do to preserve water is proper mulching techniques. 2-4 inches of shredded hardwood mulch properly installed will hold water, shade the soil to keep it cooler, and suppress weed growth. Thick ground cover plants can also shade the soil lowering root zone temperatures reducing water loss. Rock is NOT recommended as a mulch as is reflects heat onto the plants, does not retain water, and is harder to keep weeds out of.
Water in the early morning hours while your plants are taking up water to make it through the day. watering later in the day has little benefit as the plants have closed their stoma to preserve water, therefore greatly reducing transpiration.
Water less frequently for longer periods of time, i.e. 3 days a week for 1 hour, as opposed to everyday for 15 minutes. The longer period gets the water deeper which encourages root growth, and therefore drought resistance.
Rain Barrels used to catch storm water attached to a soaker hose is the most efficient as you have a free water source (rain) and the low pressure soaker hose releases the water into your garden at a slow rate, encouraging that root growth.
Good Luck, and keep your garden GREEN!!
Mark Griffith is a Virginia Certified Horticulturist and a lead designer with Nautilus Garden Designs in Hampton Roads www.nautilusgardendesigns.com
In order to help your plants beat the heat, I wanted to share some wise irrigation advice. Now this doesn't mean you need an irrigation "system" installed. You can manually irrigate your gardens. My step dad would run manifolds and multiple hoses around the yard and even had a sprinkler mounted to a telephone pole to get it to spray farther. ( I don't recommend this.)
Being water-wise should start at the design phase of your garden. Proper placement of drought resistant plants, when given the opportunity to get established, are the best way to save water. Another thing you can do to preserve water is proper mulching techniques. 2-4 inches of shredded hardwood mulch properly installed will hold water, shade the soil to keep it cooler, and suppress weed growth. Thick ground cover plants can also shade the soil lowering root zone temperatures reducing water loss. Rock is NOT recommended as a mulch as is reflects heat onto the plants, does not retain water, and is harder to keep weeds out of.
Water in the early morning hours while your plants are taking up water to make it through the day. watering later in the day has little benefit as the plants have closed their stoma to preserve water, therefore greatly reducing transpiration.
Water less frequently for longer periods of time, i.e. 3 days a week for 1 hour, as opposed to everyday for 15 minutes. The longer period gets the water deeper which encourages root growth, and therefore drought resistance.
Rain Barrels used to catch storm water attached to a soaker hose is the most efficient as you have a free water source (rain) and the low pressure soaker hose releases the water into your garden at a slow rate, encouraging that root growth.
Good Luck, and keep your garden GREEN!!
Mark Griffith is a Virginia Certified Horticulturist and a lead designer with Nautilus Garden Designs in Hampton Roads www.nautilusgardendesigns.com
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