Tips for Summer Watering

by Patricia Diaz, from the June 2001 Newsletter

With the potential for a drought looming in our forecast, I thought an article about summer watering might be welcomed.

Rather than just spraying everything with the hose, it makes not only economical sense but also environmental sense to conserve water.

This month's article will discuss watering aids as well as correct watering methods.

It is very easy to waste water by incorrectly watering different types of soils or by watering on windy days. So much of the soil in this area is clay soil and it is very easy to water this type of soil faster than it can be absorbed. And many parts of the Palouse are windy, as many of you know, and if you're irrigating by overhead watering the water just blows away on the wind.

Different types of plants need different types of watering. The best kind of watering method for lawns is an in-ground sprinkler system, but for small lawns you can use hose-end sprinkling or some kind of oscillating sprinkler. Vegetables do best planted in rows with built-in soil basins placed around them to hold water. The best watering methods for vegetable gardens are hand-watering or soaker hoses laid flat on the ground. Plants that are setting fruit and seedlings need more water than mature ones. Annuals and perennials like to be watered with soaker hoses or hoses dripping slowly over their root zones. Trees and shrubs do best with basins of soil built around their bases also. One of the best ways to water these plants is to attach a deep-root irrigator to your hose and inject water into the root zone (inquire at your local nursery or garden center for this great tool). You can also use soaker hoses by laying them on flat ground and wrapping them around the tree several times, starting a few feet out from the trunk and ending just beyond the drip line.

Native and unestablished drought-adapted plants have special needs. What they don't want is a warm, moist soil-environment. If plantings are less than a year old, use ooze-type soaker hoses at low pressure either very early or late in the day when the soil is cool. After the first year, these types of plants need little to no water beyond rainfall. (If we do encounter a drought this summer, you may want to supply additional water occasionally.)

Container plants can be hand-watered gently by using a hose fitted with a wide nozzle. If you have hanging baskets or small pots, you can submerse these in tubs of water for about half an hour to saturate the soil. You can also install drip tubing to water pots for 2-5 minutes several times a day or you can buy simple drip-irrigation kits for container plantings at garden centers and nurseries.

Watering correctly means applying enough water to wet the entire root zone and to encourage deep rooting. Plants with a deeper root system better withstand periods of drought. Roots of lawn grasses grow about 6" deep, shrubs roots are about 12-18" deep, and most tree feeder roots are within the top two feet of soil. Tree roots also extend way beyond the drip line, especially those of mature trees. To tell if you're watering deeply enough, push a stiff metal rod into the soil after watering. It will move easily through wet soil and stop when it hits dry soil. In heavy clay soils you may have to pulse-irrigate or water until puddling occurs then stop until the water is absorbed, then repeat watering again. This will avoid wasteful runoff.

Applying a layer of mulch to your soil will reduce evaporation. You will want a 1-2" thick layer around annuals, perennials, and vegetables and a 3" thick layer around trees and shrubs.

Another thing to remember is that windy days will dry out your soil faster and you'll need to water more often.

The best kind of hose to use is one that incorporates multiple layers of reinforcing fabrics (nylon or rayon) and has strong, thick brass couplings with quality swivels. The larger the hose diameter the greater the volume of water it will deliver. You can get hose-end nozzles for a variety of sprays and it's nice to get ones with built-in shutoff valves. Another nice tool to have for lawn watering is a sprinkler and there are many kinds—impulse, oscillating, rotating, stationary, or traveling ones. You'll want to choose a sprinkler pattern that matches the lawn area you are watering.

Deep-root irrigators are attached to hoses and can inject water 18 inches down into tree root zones. You can also get on-off timers that fit between the faucet and hose. You set the dial and the timer turns off the water at the designated time. Hose Y's turn one faucet into two or more and you can get shutoff valves for each of them so you can use them separately. Soaker hoses are a really neat watering aid and you can hold them in place with U-shaped pins and let the water just ooze out of all the little holes, doing a nice job of soaking the root zones of your plants.

I hope that the watering suggestions and tool-talk will help you get the optimum benefit from your watering efforts this summer. Happy gardening and healthy eating this summer!

Pat Diaz lives near Dworshak Reservoir with her husband, Tom, and schnauzer Gus, where everything is a beautiful neon green right now from the gentle spring rains.

 

© Copyright on articles, recipes and images are jointly held by the Moscow Food Co-op and the respective contributors, except were otherwise noted.

Return to Resource Page

For additions or corrections to this page, please contact the Webmaster.