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Help with watering
SteveB wrote:
I live in a basically high desert community of 3500' elevation. We get our ag water for $100 a year. I have a sprinkler system, but the garden is off one station, the rest go to trees and the yard. I can't really program a lot of separate times on these timers, so I think that my garden perhaps gets watered more than it should. I am not a morning person. Nor am I heat tolerant. So, sometimes my garden gets neglected. I know that a big key of gardening is frequent checking to catch things before they get bad. What are some insights into basic watering? Spray, or ditch? Top water? Water just those that need it with a hose? Let it get dry between watering? What is the trick? Steve sw utah, 5a zone In general there is no best way. You need to adapt to your limits and objectives. If your water is expensive or very limited or you just want to conserve it use drip irrigation. Flood and spray irrigation both lose much water to evaporation and to flowing places that don't need it. But installing a dripper system takes time and money. I would think that in sandy soil flood irrigation would be woefully inefficient under any circumstances. Using a hose is quite efficient but very time consuming. It depends on the area to be watered, 100sq metres (1000sq ft) would be fine, 1 hectare (2 1/2 acres) and you would be there in the heat all day. I suggest putting effort into both improving the water holding capacity of the soil and heavy mulch would both be important as these will save water overall and the number of times you have to water. Also grouping your plants according to water need is important, this will allow you to set a schedule of watering that suits the group and not over or under watering a mixed bag. Also schedule fewer deeper waterings rather than many shallow ones, this will encourage the plants to develop deeper root systems which will support them in dry conditions better. If you cannot water in the morning then water in the late afternoon or even at night, watering in hot dry conditions in the heat of the day will lose much to evaporation. Fungus is not likely to be a problem with night watering and drippers don't wet the folliage anyway like overhead watering. D |
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