Using just the right amount of water is important no matter what the situation whether it’s watering a football field or providing for your patio planters and container gardens. The keys to success are 2 fold:
1. Watering to the bottom of the roots
2. Keep the roots moist, not soggy or dry.
In summer, it’s easy to forget about the needs of patio planters and houseplants moved outside for the summer. There are 5 areas to focus on to keep them thriving, beginning with watering.
If damage from voles, skunks, ice, cold temperatures or other factors have left your lawn a bit on the thin side, mid-spring is a good time to thicken up the stand. Likewise, if your landscape has a bare area due to construction or a major change, turf establishment is probably on the agenda.
After the soil temperature has warmed to 50-55 degrees F for several days, been prepared with a power rake or core cultivator, the seeds dropped onto the bare soil or opened up turf stand and raked lightly with an upturned leaf rake, the next step is water to start the germination process.
Many new trees and shrubs are planted in April, May and June. By far, the two most important considerations are implementing the proper techniques for planting and watering.
The past 22 months have brought a tremendous burden to the U.S. and other countries around the globe due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the unforeseen issues is the spillover effects that the supply chain problems and worker shortages have had on the lawn and landscape industries. While this post is not intended to encourage hoarding of products along the lines of buying up all the toilet paper in sight, it is helpful to be aware of potential price increases and product shortages at the garden center in 2022.
All lawn sprinkler systems, whether they are in-ground or above ground, have flaws. Some of the biggest are gaps and overlaps.
Actually, a well designed irrigation system, or the use of above ground spray heads utilizes overlaps in the form of “head-to-head coverage”. This involves water from one head spraying all the way to the adjacent head and vice versa. Since twice as much water is applied near the head as is at the end of the water stream, an even amount is applied if the system has good head-to-head coverage.
One of the most important factors in getting plants off to a good start is watering. Overall, the best guidance is to water to the bottom of the roots and to keep the roots of new plants moist, not soggy or dry. Inserting a screwdriver into the soil will help with determining the moisture content by gaining a sense required to push it in and also to feel the soil particles that stick to the blade. If they feel muddy, then water is likely being applied too often; if it’s dry and powdery, then it needs to be applied more frequently.
