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By Kathy Conner Cornell, VCE Southside Master Gardener
When
thinking about writing about watering plants, I thought you can’t do a good job
unless you understand how plants work.
Contrary to popular opinion, plants DO NOT take up water through their
leaves. Think about silver maples, as a
friend once said, they turn over their scotchguard side when it rains. Indeed they do, the leaves turn over so the
water sheds off their leaves easily.
Plants only take up water through their roots, water that is in the
soil.
To be
effective, water must be applied to the soil.
This is best accomplished through drip irrigation. Water is sent through hoses that are placed
right at the soil level near the plant roots.
Think of this as micro-irrigation because the holes or emitters in the
hoses apply the water slowly so there is no loss to runoff or evaporation. This is the best way to water your vegetable
garden. Early next year, the Master
Gardeners will offer an educational program that will include where to purchase
the equipment and how to setup a drip system.
Generally vegetable gardens need an inch of water a week. Your supplier will provide information on how
to achieve this amount depending on what was purchased. If a drip irrigation system is not in your
future, it is better to use the hose to water at the root zone and avoid
overhead sprinklers. Always water early
in the day so any water on the leaves has time to evaporate before night.
A common practice is what Steve Good, of Good’s Power and Hearth Center, called Budweiser Watering when he taught my Turf class. As pictured, the guy comes home and grabs a beer and the hose and waters his garden. It is in the evening, the worst possible time to water. With this overhead watering, the water isn’t getting to the plant roots. An prime example of a poor watering technique.
As for
lawns, get over the idea that lawns should always be green. We live smack dab in Turf Area 6 where
neither cool season or warm season grasses are happy. Most people in Southside have fescue lawns
which are cool season. So, it is normal
for the grass to look brown in hot weather.
It is not dead but merely dormant. It will green up when cooler weather
comes and we are all ready for that. In
contrast, Bermudagrass is a warm season grass and most often used on golf
courses. Look at most courses in the
winter and you will see brown grass. Consider that water is a limited resource
and reserve it for more important things like drinking and bathing. But if you absolutely must water your lawn at
least do it early in the morning where there will be less water loss to
evaporation and less chance of fungal diseases.
Plants really don’t like going to bed with wet leaves. No matter how much you water the driveway or
the walkway, they won’t grow. Water
spreads out, not directly down so it isn’t necessary to overshoot to cover the
edges.
My
philosophy with flower garden beds is the same as I think of children. If you start spoiling them early, they expect
it forever. I suggest applying water to the
newly planted for a few weeks. After
that let them learn to survive on what comes from the heavens. Back when I had some decent flower beds, we
had no rain from June 3 to sometime in October.
I didn’t lose one plant. I admit
I have a lot of drought tolerant herbs and native plants in my gardens but I
also have roses and lots of daylilies. A
2” layer of organic mulch helps to hold moisture in plus, it feeds the soil as
the mulch breaks down.
As for
houseplants, please know that the most common mistake is overwatering. In the summer, houseplants should be watered
once a week. I’m talking about a good healthy
splash not a steady glug, glug, glug. Never
let water sit in the saucer. In the
winter, a week and a half is enough. If
your plants look stressed, the common urge is to add more water. The symptoms of underwatering and
overwatering are the same. Best to stick
your finger in the soil about 2” down.
If it is bone dry, add some. If
not, hold off and look for other issues like placing the plant in a draft or
too little/too much light.
If you have
gardening related questions, call the Master Gardener Help Desk at 434-830-3383
or email ask@ssmga.org. Someone will get
back to you. Look for upcoming information
on the Landscape Design program on October 23 at the Museum.
