Water early in the morning or early evening.
Avoid the heat of the day as the water evaporates quickly when it’s so hot. Plants that are wet overnight can lead to disease problems, especially in the veggie garden.
Raise your lawn mower so the grass is at least 4” long AFTER mowing. Longer grass shades the ground keeping it cooler which means less watering.
Don’t wait until plants are wilted before watering. Be preemptive with watering. Keep in mind that during the heat of the day, even well-watered plants can wilt as they can’t take moisture up fast enough.
Don’t fertilize wilted plants. Come back after they are fully hydrated and fertilize.
Use soaker or drip hoses in your veggie garden. Deliver the water right to the roots of the plants.
If you water your container gardens and water immediately runs through it, it generally means the soil has separated from the sides of the container. Come back in 15 minutes and water again.
Lawns, perennial gardens, shrubs and veggies need about 1” of water per week, which should be delivered all at once to anything growing in the ground as it helps create deep roots. That being said when it’s this hot AND windy you may have to do the 1” say every 5 days. Raised and elevated beds should be treated more like a container garden with more frequent waterings.
Adding a 3” layer of wood mulch around your trees, shrubs, perennials and in-ground annual beds will help keep the soil cooler and retain soil moisture so you have to water less frequently. Mulching also helps reduce weeds.
Adding a thin layer of straw around your vegetable plants like tomatoes and peppers will also help keep the soil cooler and retain moisture. It’s very important that your veggies have consistent moisture.
Keep your birdbaths filled as our feathered friends are looking for water too. The same holds true for hummingbird feeders as they are looking for food and water.
Invest in water timers for sprinklers and soaker hoses. They make your life a bit easier.
Yes, you can still plant trees, shrubs, perennials veggie plants and seeds in this heat, you just have to stay on top of watering.
Make your day a good one.
#GetGrowing. #GetGrowingMN
