HOT HOT HOT

 

from https://weather.com/  7/27/21

Dear Central Virginians,

That recent reprieve from the hot weather was great, but, sadly, it is not going to last. More days in the 90's are ahead, plus limited chance for rain.  

This is a "do what I say..." post. For a number of years, I have occasionally used soaker hoses.  But, because I was leaving a fairly newly planted vegetable garden for over 3 weeks in June (what was I thinking!??!?) I set up a series of soaker hoses on a timer and I am glad I did! For shorter vacations, I often asked kind neighbors and friends to water my garden by turning on sprinklers for a couple hours every few days.  I was never gone for long, so did not worry about the water wastage and inefficiency of this watering. I just needed a way for friends to do this easily and it was sort of ok.  And I was too lazy to set up soakers and timers. BUT I KNEW BETTER!  High, overhead sprinkling wastes up to 90% of the water to evaporation. The higher the arc of the spray and the more fine the spray, the greater the waste. Try an experiment: set up an overhead sprinkler for an hour, then dig into the soil after it turns off.  You will see that the water did not penetrate far.  This encourages shallow roots which cannot support healthy plants.

My setup is not the greatest. I have hoses that cross the brick paths between the beds, that wasted water partly reclaimed by buckets to be used later.  I need a better solution.  But my plants are lush and healthier than usual, despite the hot, dry conditions. Typically by this time of year my tomatoes have leaf spot diseases, caused by overhead watering splashing fungal spores from the soil to the leaves, but not this year so far (compost mulch helps with this, too).

I am going to find a solution to the lost water, and really set up a great system next spring!

A Sprinkle a Day...Kills your Garden

As I write this in August, I have been spending hours every day moving soaker hoses, also known as drip irrigation hoses, and low flowing sprinklers from garden bed to garden bed, as well as hand watering. I won't use sprinklers that spray out a mist, or droplets, nor will I use the ones that spray water in an arc above the garden (oscillating sprinklers). Why?

Over half the water you use from a sprinkler is wasted because it evaporates before it hits the ground. Add to this water lost from a poorly aimed sprinkler hitting sidewalks driveways, curbs and other non-garden areas. In addition, time of day makes a big difference. You're likely to lose 70 to 90% of the water from the sprinkler by watering during the day or during the hot hours. Irrigation systems are a little bit better, but must properly maintained in order to work well. Irrigation systems are notorious for leaks.

Don't believe me? Try an experiment. Next time you use a sprinkler to water your garden, use your sprinkler as you usually do for the length of time you usually do it. Turn off the sprinkler, then go to the garden and dig into the soil. You'll probably see a half an inch or so of damp ground and the rest of the ground will be dry. This encourages roots to stay in the damp zone and the plant never develops a strong root system, which is necessary for its life in the long-term.

There are a few things you can do about this. First, invest in a soaker hose and set it up in the garden at the beginning of the garden season. You can also buy soaker hoses in various sizes and shapes, like a circle for watering a newly planted tree or shrub. Use it. Or, put a sprinkler (not the oscillating kind which sprays water into a huge, aerial arc) on the ground and turn it on very low so the water simply leaks out to the soil, and leave it for a few hours to soak deeply. Yes, you will cover less area this way, but you will water far more deeply. Having a lot of organic matter worked into your garden soil also help it retain moisture. So consider composting and adding leaves to the top of the garden bed for the winter.