It’s almost time for the dog days: hot sun, warm evenings, little rain – and a thirsty garden.
Whether you’re growing a green lawn, tending to colorful flowers or nurturing a veggie garden, your yard is soon going to need water that isn’t falling from the sky. Don’t wait until your plants start showing the signs of thirst to figure out your watering plan. Follow these steps to prevent your garden from suffering from drought stress.
Mulch
Mulching flower beds and edible gardens helps soil hold moisture better. It also suppresses weeds and prevents erosion, which protects our waterways from polluting runoff. Turn your lawn clippings into mulch by mowing often and leaving the clippings on the grass rather than collecting them.
Dust off the sprinklers
Don’t wait until your plants have turned yellow to start digging around the garage looking for the sprinklers. Pull them out now and make sure they are still working properly. Fix clogs and replace ones that leak.
If you’ve got drip or installed irrigation, test out the system. Any leaks? Setting up now will save your plants – and water – later.
Don’t underwater, don’t over-water
When the dry season comes, remember these tips:
- Don’t let your soil get bone dry unless you are growing drought-tolerant plants. Pests and disease love thirsty plants.
- If you want green grass all summer, water regularly. How much you water depends on the type of soil you have, but an inch a week is a good rule of thumb. Place a tuna can or some other inch-deep container in the middle of your lawn and turn on the sprinkler. When it's full, you're done. (If you have hard clay soil, you may need to split your inch into two waterings, with time in between for soaking in.)
- Veggie gardens and some flowers may need as much water as the lawn. But established trees and shrubs and many drought-tolerant plants likely need little or no water in the summer months.
- Should summer rain fall, be sure to decrease your scheduled waterings. Over-watering makes your plants more susceptible to fungus and other disease.