It’s easy to ignore garden drought prep in June. The borders look lush, the watering can is keeping up, and a scorching August feels a long way off. But that gap is exactly the opportunity. Plants given a few weeks to settle and root deeply before the heat lands handle it far better than ones thrown into survival mode mid-July. Prep now is slow and almost invisible, but it's extremely effective.

And it’s a completely different game from taking care of plants in a heatwave once it’s already here – by then you’re just bailing water on a sinking boat. The jobs that matter build resilience into the soil and the roots – the parts you can’t see – so plants can ride out a dry spell without you hovering over them with a hose. None of it is hard. Most of it is cheap.

June Watering Essentials

1. Mulch Beds Thickly

A couple of inches of mulch is about the closest thing gardening has to an insurance policy. Spread over bare soil, it shades the surface and slows evaporation quite effectively, and it stops the ground from baking into a hard crust that sheds water rather than soaking it in.

Organic mulches like bark or shredded leaves do double duty, breaking down over time to feed the soil as they go. Aim for 2 to 3 inches (5–8 cm) – thinner won’t hold much moisture; thicker can actually keep rain from reaching the roots.

A bag or two of Back to the Roots Organic Premium Mulch covers a surprising amount of bed, though a chipper or a leaf pile can get you there for free. Just keep it pulled back from stems and trunks, where piled mulch invites rot.

2. Water Deep, Not Often

Daily light sprinklings feel responsible – but they quietly sabotage your plants. Shallow water only ever wets the top inch of soil, so roots stay up near the surface chasing it – right where the sun bakes them hardest the moment you stop. A long, slow soak once or twice a week does the opposite, drawing roots down deep where the soil stays cool and damp far longer.

The aim is to wet the soil 6 to 8 inches (15–20 cm) down, then let the top dry before the next round. These simple soaker hoses from Amazon, snaked through the bed, deliver exactly that without the runoff.

In terms of when to water your garden, early morning is better than evening as the plant drinks before the heat, and the leaves dry off before nightfall.

3. Build Up the Soil

This is the job that works out of sight, and it’s the one with the longest payoff. Soil rich in organic matter behaves like a sponge, soaking up water when it’s around and holding onto it through the dry stretches instead of letting it drain straight past the roots. Working a couple of inches of compost into beds now – or just laying it on top and letting the worms drag it down – steadily builds that water-holding capacity.

Containers benefit even more, since potting mix dries out fast; mixing in compost or a handful of water-retaining granules, like these Miracle-Grow Water Storage Crystals, buys real time between waterings.

The best bit is that improving soil is not just a quick fix. A border improved this June will cope better every summer after, too.

4. Know Which Plants Suffer First

Not every plant is equally at risk, so it pays to know where the heat will bite first:

• Anything planted this spring tops the list – new shrubs and trees haven’t had time to push roots down deep, so they dry out and stall faster than established ones.
• Containers come next, drying from every side and holding only the water their pot can fit.
• Then the genuine water-hogs: hydrangeas can flop by noon, leafy vegetables sulk, and big soft-leaved plants can give up early.
• Established, deep-rooted perennials, on the other hand, can usually fend for themselves.

Sorting plants into rough tiers now means that when water gets tight in August, you already know exactly where to point the hose first.

5. Take the Pressure Off Now

A plant heading into a heatwave already stressed is starting the race ten yards back. Weeds are the obvious thing to clear – each one is drinking water and crowding out root space your plants need, and they multiply fast in warm weather. Pull them while the soil’s still soft. A long-handled weeding tool – like Grampa's Weeder, on Amazon – makes the job easy without straining your back.

A little light pruning helps too: snipping off spent flowers and weak, crowded growth keeps the plant from pouring energy into parts it can’t support once water gets scarce. Don’t get carried away, though – hard pruning in summer forces tender new shoots that scorch in a day.

While you’re in there, scan for early pests or disease, since a colony of aphids or a patch of mildew is a drain the plant really can’t carry into the worst of it.

6. Have Some Shade Ready

Some afternoons the sun just wins out, and even a well-prepped plant can use a break from it. Shade cloth is the simplest answer – a length of this Treevex shade cloth from Amazon rigged over a vegetable bed or a row of pots takes the worst of the midday glare off without cutting the light entirely, and most is rated by how much sun it blocks, so you can match it to what you’re covering.

For containers you don’t even need cloth – just shuffle them. Sliding pots into the shade of a wall or a bigger plant through the hottest hours spares them the brunt at zero cost.

The really sensitive things, newly planted or already showing scorch, are the ones worth fussing over when an actual heatwave is on the forecast.

7. Start Building a Garden That Needs Less

The longest-term move is to quit fighting your conditions and start working with them. Grouping plants by how much they drink – thirsty ones together, tough ones together – lets you water efficiently instead of soaking a drought-lover just to reach the fern beside it. It’s a small change, but it provides real water savings all season.

Every time you replace something or fill a gap, leaning toward plants that shrug off dry spells slowly tilts the whole garden toward looking after itself. Mediterranean herbs and ornamental grasses are easy picks, and deep-rooted natives ask for next to nothing once established.

You don’t have to rip everything out and start fresh. A garden that needs less water gets built one sensible swap at a time.

A week at the beach shouldn’t mean coming home to crispy tomatoes and a hanging basket full of regret. Plenty of low-tech, set-and-forget tricks will keep everything watered while the garden fends for itself, no favors required.

Summer travel and a thriving garden have always pulled in opposite directions. Plants hit their thirstiest stretch in the same weeks most people want to be somewhere else, and the usual answer—handing a neighbor the watering duties—tends to come with its own problems. They overwater, or skip the back corner, or forget altogether. Beds dry out, containers wilt faster, and hanging baskets give up first, since there’s so little soil holding water.

The fix is learning to water your garden on a schedule that can run on its own. The methods range from buried clay pots to gravity-fed barrels, and most don’t require much care whether they’re serving an in-ground bed, a raised one, or a row of baskets. These need no more than a single afternoon of setup before the car pulls out.

7 Ways to Keep Everything Hydrated While You’re Gone

Most of it comes down to matching the method to the container: what suits a raised bed isn’t what a hanging basket needs, and a few of these work better in combination than alone. Running two or three together, in most gardens, beats trusting the whole trip to a single system.

1. Bury an Olla Pot

Unglazed clay has one quality plastic just doesn’t: it sweats. An olla pot puts that to use: a fat-bellied terracotta jar buried up to its neck beside the plants, filled with water and capped. Moisture seeps through the porous walls slowly enough that roots grow toward it and draw only what they need.

A single filling can hold a raised bed a week or more, and longer in mild weather. Ready-made terracotta ollas from Amazon save the trouble, though two unglazed clay pots glued base-to-base do the same job for the DIY-minded. Either way they go in at planting time; top them off the morning you leave and the bed sees to itself.

2. Run a Timed Drip Line

For pure reliability, nothing beats a line that switches itself on while the house sits empty. A battery-powered hose timer from Amazon threads onto the outdoor spigot and runs the whole system to a set schedule, fifteen minutes at dawn every other day being a fair starting point.

Thin tubing carries it into the beds and pots from there, with emitters dripping at the base of each plant, where very little is lost to evaporation. (Editor Kathleen Walters has been using this Rain Bird drip irrigation kit from Amazon for years!) It scales without much thought: the same setup serves in-ground rows about as well as raised beds or a cluster of containers. Set it before leaving, watch one cycle to be sure nothing’s blocked, and it needs nothing else.

3. Snake a Soaker Hose Through Beds

Drip lines get the attention, but a soaker hose covers most of the same ground with less to go wrong. The whole length of it weeps, so instead of individual emitters there’s a continuous band of damp soil over the roots. Laid in a loose S through a vegetable bed and tucked under the mulch, it more or less vanishes.

A soaker hose from Amazon run off that same timer turns one spigot into a hands-off system for the whole back bed. Pressure is the one thing to watch: these prefer it low, and a cheap inline reducer keeps the far end weeping as steadily as the near. Beds and raised beds are its territory; scattered pots, less so.

4. Wicking Water From a Resevoir

Wick watering borrows its mechanism from an oil lamp. A length of absorbent cord—cotton clothesline, or strips off an old t-shirt—runs from a water jug up into the pot’s soil, and capillary action pulls moisture along it as the soil dries, no pump or power involved. Water wicking cord can be found on Amazon or your local hardware store.

One end sits deep in the jug, the other a few inches (5-8cm) down in the root zone. It’s best suited to containers, where a gallon jug tucked behind a pot keeps a single plant going a week, potentially, sometimes longer. More pots just means more wicks. The only real trouble is hiding the jug so the patio doesn’t look like an experiment in progress.

5. Turn Pots Into Self-Watering Containers

Hanging baskets are the prima donnas of the summer garden, holding almost no soil under full sun, so they run dry quite quickly. The answer is a reservoir built into the pot. Self-watering pots, found on Amazon, keep a sealed water chamber in the base, drawn on over days rather than hours, and a self-watering planter globe from Amazon brings the same arrangement to pots already in use.

For baskets, a deep saucer or a cut-down bottle wedged underneath catches the overflow and gives the roots a small reserve. A handful of LECA clay balls like these from Amazon worked into the surface helps too, taking up water and giving it back slowly. None of it is sophisticated; it just buys days plain potting mix can’t.

6. Mulch Like You Mean It

Mulch waters nothing, and that is exactly the point. Two or three inches (5-8 cm) of straw or shredded leaves sits over the soil like a lid and cuts how fast moisture burns off the surface in the heat. Whatever the ollas and drip lines put down then stays down longer. It’s a preventative measure, not a delivery system, and it makes every other method need to work less to maintain moisture.

Lay it over the beds and around the base of larger containers before leaving, pulling back an inch (2-3 cm) or so from the stems so nothing stays wet against the bark. The cooler and shadier the soil underneath, the less the rest of the setup has to do.

7. Let a Rain Barrel Do the Work

Mains water pressure isn’t the only way to move water through a garden. A rain barrel raised on a stand or a few stacked cinder blocks builds enough head of gravity to run a low-pressure drip or soaker line on its own, no spigot involved, useful where the garden sits well away from the house, or the tap can’t be counted on. 50-gallon rain barrel kits can be purchased from the Home Depot and set up quickly and easily.

Height does most of the work here; the higher the barrel, the stronger the flow, so even lifting it a foot (30cm) is worth the effort. Paired with a basic gravity-feed drip kit, a barrel of stored rainwater can keep a bed supplied for days. It’s the most self-contained option of the lot, and probably the most satisfying: free water, no power, nobody standing over a hose.

I've spent years looking for the best slow watering hacks. Like most gardeners, I've experienced that sinking feeling when a heatwave arrives just as I'm heading away for a few days, leaving me wondering whether I'll return to thriving plants or a collection of crispy stems.

Over the years, I've tested all sorts of solutions. Some have come from social media, others from fellow gardeners, and a few have been improvised using whatever I happened to have lying around the house. Most worked to a degree, but very few lived up to the hype of those bold self-watering claims.

My husband, an RHS-trained gardener with more than 20 years of professional experience, is even harder to impress. In his view, a thick layer of mulch and a properly installed irrigation system remain the most effective ways to keep plants watered and healthy when you're not around. That said, even he admits that not everyone has the time, budget, or inclination to install irrigation, and there are situations where a simple slow watering solution makes perfect sense. And, with a super El Niño event predicted by several weather agencies this year, we could all use a little extra help keeping our yards hydrated.

So, which slow watering hacks actually work? And which are the very best?

My Favorite Slow Watering Hacks

After plenty of trial and error, these are the three slow watering hacks I'd actually recommend – including one ancient technique that my husband now can't stop talking about.

Strap in, folks.

3. Plastic Bottles

Look, I love an upcycling project (see my teacup bird feeders if you require proof), so this is probably the slow watering hack I've used most often because it's quick, cheap, and requires almost no preparation.

The basic idea is simple: fill a plastic bottle with water, puncture a small hole in the cap, and place it upside down in the soil near your plant. As the water slowly drains out, it helps keep the surrounding soil moist. I've also experimented with wick systems using cotton and found they can work surprisingly well for small containers.

Check it out:

I have had some luck with this hack in the past. In fact, I would be so bold as to say that, for pots and patio planters, it's a genuinely nifty solution; honestly, f you're heading away for a weekend or simply know you're going to miss a watering session, it can buy you valuable time.

The downside? Bottles tend to empty fairly quickly during hot weather, and they're not particularly effective for larger beds. In my experience, they work best as a temporary fix rather than a long-term watering strategy.

2. Perforated Water Reservoirs

Another clever method? Why, the controversial rain harvesting trend that demands we puncture a container or rain barrel with small holes so that the water inside can seep gradually into the surrounding soil.

According to the RHS, “Irrigation systems and technologies abound, but savvy gardeners might take note from their community-growing counterparts who are known to puncture small holes in water butts strategically placed to provide a slow-flow of water into the soil for storage and free up capacity for the next rain event, helping to minimize mains water use.'

It feels almost sacrilegious to puncture a water barrel, but it is cheap, simple, and surprisingly effective... so long as, you know, it actually rains.

1. Olla Pots

Of all the slow watering methods I've tried, olla pots are the ones I've been most impressed by. An olla (pronounced "oy-ya") is an unglazed terracotta vessel that's buried in the soil with only the neck visible above ground. Once filled with water, the porous clay slowly releases moisture into the surrounding soil as plants need it.

What I love about this system is that it doesn't feel like a gardening hack at all. It's an ancient irrigation technique that's been used for thousands of years in regions including China, North Africa, and Central and South America. Long before timers and drip lines existed, growers understood that buried clay pots could provide a steady supply of water directly to plant roots.

The science behind them is surprisingly simple. As the soil around the pot dries, water naturally moves through the terracotta walls. When the soil is already moist, the flow slows down. The result is a self-regulating system that delivers water where it's needed most while reducing waste.

Shop Olla Pots:

As water is released below the soil surface, far less is lost to evaporation, which means you don't just save on water; plants develop deeper root systems, too. And they're also surprisingly affordable, as you can buy ready-made olla pots for under $10 (or even make your own using two inexpensive terracotta pots sealed together).

Perhaps the biggest endorsement comes from my husband. He's spent more than two decades working professionally in horticulture and is boringly, infuriatingly quick to dismiss any and all gardening shortcuts that promise too much. Yet whenever the topic of watering comes up, he finds himself recommending olla pots left, right, and center.

That doesn't mean they're a replacement for mulching or a well-designed irrigation system. But if you're looking for a simple, low-maintenance way to keep plants hydrated during summer, they're one of the few slow watering solutions that genuinely live up to the hype.

After years of experimenting with different watering tricks, they're the method I'd reach for first. Give it a go, and see if you wind up feeling the same way!

If you find watering your garden a never-ending chore in summer, then you should acquaint yourself with the ancient science of using ollas. Pronounced ‘oh-yah’, an olla or oya is a terracotta pot that’s buried in the ground and filled with water that slowly seeps into the soil. Sound simple? It is, and incredibly effective too.

My garden faces directly south and I live in one of the driest parts of the country so, as you can imagine, most of my mornings begin with watering the garden. Last summer was so hot and dry, I felt like I was spending half my life with a hosepipe in my hand so, with the super El Niño event predicted by several weather agencies this year, I’ve been searching for ways to cut the time I spend watering. Adding ingredients that hold onto moisture in hanging baskets made a big difference, and topping my patio pots with clay LECA pebbles drastically reduced how often I need to water them. And now I’ve added DIY olla pots to my raised beds and veggie patch, too, my watering time has halved.

But the best thing? My plants will stay hydrated while I'm on vacation, without me having to ask my neighbor for another favor.

How Do Ollas Work?

Because unglazed terracotta is porous, water can seep through the walls of ollas very, very slowly. Can you still remember that science lesson on osmosis? Well, when the soil outside the olla is dry, water is pulled through the terracotta to balance out the moisture levels. However, once the soil is saturated, the water stays in the pot.

Traditionally, an olla has a narrow neck, which sits just above ground level, and a bulbous body to create a large surface area for water to seep through. A removable lid prevents evaporation and garden critters falling in.

Do Ollas Reduce Water Use?

An olla not only acts as a moisture reservoir for a plant, it ensures water is used far more efficiently. When you irrigate your garden on a hot day, between 20% and 50% of the moisture is lost through evaporation. By storing water underground, ollas cut evaporation to almost zero.

Proof of an olla’s effectiveness lies in the millenia these terracotta vessels have existed for. Written evidence survives of unglazed clay pots being used to aid irrigation around 2,000 years ago, and terracotta fragments show ollas were commonplace among farming communities in arid climates where rainfall was scarce.

Are Ollas Good For Plants?

Ollas not only deliver moisture straight to a plant’s roots, but plants are clever enough to grow their roots towards the ollas! The underground terracotta reservoir also helps to maintain more consistent levels of moisture in the soil, which is far less stressful for plants than the rollercoaster of drought-to-flood conditions created by occasional watering with a hosepipe or can. For growing veggies and fruit, regular moisture encourages abundant, healthy harvests and reduces cracking, too. Well hydrated ornamental plants grow more flowers, with more nectar to feed pollinators, too.

Because you’ll reduce how much water gets splashed onto leaves when you irrigate using ollas, conditions will be far less favorable for fungal diseases to multiply.

Can I DIY an Olla?

It’s simple to make your own ollas if you have some terracotta pots such as these from Amazon. The bigger the pots, the longer they’ll last between filling. Seal the drainage hole with an exterior silicone sealant such as this from Amazon, then bury the pot in the soil with the rim just above the surface. For thirsty plants – for example, if you’re growing pumpkins for Halloween – use one olla for each plant.

Fashion some sort of a lid (a plant saucer is perfect), and weight it down if needs be. Then simply top up your ollas when you water.

Do Ollas Work With Potted Plants?

Ollas work in exactly the same way for plants in containers. However, in smaller pots, they take up valuable root space and reduce the volume of potting soil. In a pot, a better solution that works on the same principles is a terracotta watering spike. These are unglazed clay stakes that are sunk into the compost and hold the neck of an upturned bottle of water. Various sizes are available to suit different pot sizes and bottles.

Underwatering is one of the more common ways a garden falls apart in summer. It usually isn't that the garden is neglected, so much as your watering schedule doesn’t account for how fast things dry out in the summer heat.

Drip irrigation sidesteps the problem by taking the decision out of the equation. Water delivers slowly and directly to the root zone, which is more efficient than overhead watering and does a better job of keeping foliage dry — which cuts down on fungal issues through the hot months.

A good watering system doesn't have to be complicated or expensive to make a real difference. There's a range of systems worth knowing about, from simple container setups to fully automated kits that cover an entire bed.

6 Drip Irrigation Systems Worth Considering

These six options span across different garden situations — container setups, open beds, and full automated kits.

1. For Container Gardens

2. For Garden Beds

3. Smart Timer Included

4. For Raised Beds

5. Drip Tape for Row Crops

6. Gravity-Fed Kit for Off-Grid Use

With Memorial Day behind us, the summer season has begun. The last few years in Ohio have seen some major droughts and I am not looking forward to the possibility of another drought this year. Unfortunately, it has meant lots of money spent on watering my gardens. This year, I am taking a tool I commonly use indoors with my houseplant collection outside to put it to work in my pollinator and vegetable gardens.

Testing soil moisture is a great way to narrow in on the water needs of your plants without the guesswork. I’ve used this long probe soil moisture meter from Amazon for years to quickly check the soil moisture of my houseplants and I suspect it can help me outside this summer, too.

Let’s dig in and see how a moisture meter can help you water your garden efficiently, save your plants and save on your water bill this season.

Benefits of Using a Moisture Meter Outside

Testing soil moisture by hand works well when you are just checking a houseplant pot or two, but it doesn’t give you a full picture of soil moisture levels across a wider garden bed. This is where a soil moisture meter comes in handy. Just stick it in the soil, check the reading, wipe it off, and move to the next spot. You can quickly see if one part of your garden bed is soggy and map the parts where the soil dries too fast.

Measuring your soil moisture means you can pinpoint exactly where the bed needs to be watered and where it needs to dry out. This knowledge will help you save your plants from over-watering or under-watering and save you money on your water bill.

You can set up fancy smart irrigation systems, but they won’t be able to tell you the conditions on the ground. A simple soil moisture meter can tell you a lot. I like that the XLUX soil moisture meter from Amazon has a long probe at almost 16 inches (40 cm). This gives you a soil moisture reading even through deep layers of mulch, compost, and soil so you can get an accurate picture of what your garden needs.

How to Save Money on Water

Now that you know what your soil moisture is, what can you do to keep your garden properly watered and save money while doing it? Here are a few methods to pair with your soil moisture meter.

Mulching

Generally speaking, one of the best ways to maintain proper soil conditions for your plants is to apply mulch. A good layer of mulch will retain moisture, keep plant roots cool even during heat waves, and also suppress weeds. A good organic mulch like Miracle-Gro’s All Natural Mulch, available from Home Depot, is dye-free and safe to use around edible plants.

Collecting Water

Another way to reduce the amount of municipal water you use on your garden is to install a rain barrel. You might be able to purchase a rain barrel from your local soil and water conservation district office or you can find a 50 gal. rain barrel at the Home Depot.

Rain barrels can hook up to or sit under a downspout to collect rain water. The rain water can then be accessed via a spigot towards the bottom of the barrel. You can then use a watering can to transport the rain water or you can hook up a hose to easily water your beds. You can even try the punctured rain barrel hack that has become popular with gardeners in the UK. A few small holes allows strategic release of water directly from the barrel into your garden.

Smart Irrigation

Using your soil moisture meter will help you better utilize an irrigation system. A smart hose timer like the Orbit B-Hyve XD, available from Amazon, is a great way to manage your water usage and keep plants happy. Instead of just setting a timer for irrigation, the B-Hyve has an app that allows you to control the system remotely, set schedules, skip watering when rain is in the forecast, and fine tune your garden irrigation.

I wish you a drought-free summer and happy gardening!

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Drip, drip, drop, little April showers don’t have to go to waste. In fact, with water bills rising and more parts of the US facing unpredictable weather patterns, finding simple ways to make the most of rainfall has never felt more relevant – which is why so many people are obsessed with this $20 Walmart rain chain.

Yes, even small changes can have a surprisingly big impact, and the rain chain is a genuinely beautiful alternative to traditional gutter downspouts , guiding rainwater down in a controlled, visible flow. Not only does it help direct water where you actually want it (like flower beds or rain barrels) but it also turns a purely functional feature into something genuinely enjoyable to watch.

Right now, one budget-friendly option from Walmart is getting a lot of attention from shoppers who say it’s as effective as it is eye-catching.

The $20 Walmart Rain Chain Worth Buying

The bird-shaped rain chain from Walmart has been designed to hang from your existing downspout, creating a gentle, cascading flow that can be directed into a barrel, planter, or drainage area below.

Beyond its practical benefits, it’s also designed to be a visual feature. The delicate bird details and dark metal finish give it a slightly rustic, ornamental feel, which means it looks just as good on a porch or patio as it does during a downpour.

It's not just a pretty face, though; shoppers are particularly impressed with how well it performs for the price.

'I had the opportunity to watch it in action as the rain trickle through and it worked. Perfect. I actually purchased two, well worth the money,' reads one review.

Another adds a more dramatic endorsement, joking, 'I waited for 4 months before buying this rain chain… hung it up about 2 days later and then, whammo! Thunder, lightning and RAIN for 2 days straight… I love it.'

There’s also plenty of praise for the design and durability, with one customer noting, 'Beautiful bird design, quality heavy weight rain chain at a great price. Would highly recommend!'

At just $20, it’s an affordable way to dip your toe into rainwater harvesting without sacrificing style, but it's not the only one out there. Far from it, actually.

Below, we’ve rounded up a few more rain catchers to help you make the most of April showers and start saving water like a pro.

You're welcome.

The Best Rain Catchers to Shop Now:

As more homeowners look for simple ways to save water, rain catchers are quickly becoming a go-to solution. And the best part? You don’t need a full garden overhaul to see the benefits.

Honestly, all it takes is a well-chosen rain catcher to instantly upgrade your outdoor space , while turning even the greyest, rainiest days into something genuinely useful.

Race you to the checkouts, then?

Knowing how to water seedlings correctly is the difference between a tray full of healthy starts and a tray full of heartbreak. The method matters as much as the moisture—and the right tool for each stage makes both a lot easier to get right.

Most seedling failures come down to water. Too much and the stems rot at the soil line—a fungal condition called damping off that can wipe out an entire tray overnight. Too little and the roots never establish properly, leaving plants that look fine until they suddenly don’t. The frustrating part is that both problems often come from well-meaning watering rather than neglect. A heavy pour from the wrong can. A missed day under a dome that dried out too fast. The excitement of watching something germinate can turn to heartbreak faster than most gardeners expect.

The good news is that damping off prevention and consistent moisture aren’t complicated once you match the method to the growth stage. Pre-germination, germination, and true-leaf growth each have different needs—and each has a tool built for the job. A solid seed starting kit covers most of it, but knowing why each method works is what keeps seedlings alive when things don’t go exactly to plan. Here’s how to water seedlings at every stage, and what’s worth having to do it properly.

Method 1: The Humidity Dome – For Consistent Moisture Pre-Germination

Before anything germinates, the job isn’t really watering—it’s moisture maintenance. Seeds need consistent humidity around them to germinate reliably, and an open tray loses that moisture fast under grow lights or in a warm room. A humidity dome traps ambient moisture and helps recirculate it, dramatically reducing how often the tray needs attention and creating a stable microclimate that speeds germination.

The risk is the same as any enclosed humid space: tip too far and fungal problems follow. Vented domes solve this—adjustable vents let you dial humidity back as germination starts, transitioning seedlings gradually from enclosed to open air. Leave vents closed pre-germination, crack them once green appears, remove the dome entirely once true leaves develop.

Method 2: Bottom Watering Seeds – The Gold Standard

Bottom watering is considered one of the most effective methods for seed starting, and the reason is simple: it keeps the soil surface dry. Damping off is a soil fungus that shows up at the surface—it thrives where the top layer stays wet and moisture sits against young stems.

Bottom watering seeds means filling the outer tray and letting capillary action pull moisture upward through the drainage holes in the cell tray. The roots find water from below and the surface stays dry. The fungal conditions that kill seedlings never get the environment they need, and roots grow downward toward the moisture rather than clustering near the surface. Sturdier plants, better transplant outcomes, less babysitting.

Method 3: The Gentle Shower – For Established Seedlings

Once true leaves appear, seedlings need more water than a reservoir alone can deliver through capillary action. Top watering becomes appropriate at this stage—but the wrong can will flatten a seedling in one pour. The goal is a fine, even shower that moistens the whole surface without any force against the stem.

The "rose" head on a watering can does this work: it breaks the flow into dozens of fine streams that fall like light rain rather than a stream. Applied from 8 to 10 inches (20 to 25 cm) above the cells, a good rose produces exactly the coverage seedlings need without disturbing the soil or knocking stems sideways.

As World Water Day approaches on March 22, sustainable watering tricks are firmly back in the spotlight. And while smart irrigation tech is making headlines, a surprisingly low-tech DIY rainwater hack is quietly trending among gardeners: the punctured rain barrel.

We know drilling holes in a rain barrel sounds like a mistake (surely that’ll just waste the water you've so carefully harvested, right?), but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the punctured water butt is fast becoming the hottest watering trick across the pond, and it’s about to make a splash in American gardens this spring.

The idea is beautifully simple. Rather than letting rainwater collect and sit unused, small holes strategically placed at the base of a barrel or large container allow water to slowly seep into the soil and give your plants the chance to drink slow and steady... all while reducing their reliance on tap water.

Neat, huh?

The Punctured Rain Barrel

According to the RHS, “Irrigation systems and technologies abound, but savvy gardeners might take note from their community-growing counterparts who are known to puncture small holes in water butts strategically placed to provide a slow-flow of water into the soil for storage and free up capacity for the next rain event, helping to minimise mains water use.'

In short: your plants get a steady drink, your barrel doesn’t overflow, and you’re doing your bit for the planet.

It's one of those super-easy DIY rainwater hacks that feels almost too straightforward when it comes to setting up. All you have to do is pick a sturdy barrel (something as simple as Amazon's Recycled Plastic Rain Barrel will do), drill a few 1–2 mm holes near the bottom, and place it on level ground in your garden. Done!

So long as you position it near flower beds, vegetable plots, or trees that could use a deep, slow drink, it'll work is magic. Because, as rain fills the barrel, the water will trickle gently into the soil, encouraging strong roots and more resilient plants.

Unlike high-tech solutions (yes, there are AI-enabled barrels that self-empty based on forecasts, but they don't exactly come at wallet-friendly prices), this low-tech method is cheap, simple, and surprisingly effective. Plus, it saves mains water, reduces runoff, and gives your spring garden a healthy start.

Rainwater Harvesting Essentials:

As World Water Day rolls around, it’s a helpful reminder that small changes at home can make a meaningful difference to how we use water. And the beauty of this DIY rain barrel trick is just how simple it is: even a basic plastic bin or sturdy container placed beneath a downspout can collect valuable rainwater, and a few small holes allow it to seep gently back into the soil where your plants need it most.

In other words, it’s an easy, low-cost way to let nature do the watering for you. Come early spring, when young shoots are waking from dormancy and rainfall is sporadic, a punctured water butt can be a game-changer for keeping soil hydrated without overwatering. It’s perfect for US gardeners across planting zones 4–10 who want to maximize rainfall naturally and sustainably.

Want to try it? Grab a barrel, drill a few small holes, and watch your garden thank you... one slow drip at a time.

Pasta water as plant food keeps popping up on social media. The idea makes sense at first. Why dump nutrient-rich water down the drain when plants could use it? Seems pretty resourceful and eco-friendly. But the reality isn't quite as clear.

Most pasta water contains way too much salt for plants to handle. Even a teaspoon of salt per gallon builds up in potting soil over time, eventually killing plants as concentrations reach toxic levels. The starch from pasta can create problems, too. It sits on the soil surface and grows fuzzy mold that looks gross and attracts fungus gnats.

Following basic garden watering principles means avoiding salty water, regardless of any other potentially beneficial nutrients dissolved in it. Instead of following this less-than-ideal online hack, I'll share three alternative types of cooking water you can use to give plants a boost.

Why Pasta Water Isn't Good for Plants

Salt is the main issue here. Most people salt pasta water heavily – the classic Italian instruction is to make it "taste like the sea." That's perfect for pasta, but terrible for plants. Salt doesn't break down in the pasta water or your soil. When salt accumulates in the soil, eventually concentrations can get high enough to burn roots and block water absorption.

Starch creates surface issues, too. As pasta water cools and sits on the soil, the starch from the pasta forms a film that dries into a crusty layer. This layer feeds mold and bacteria, creating fuzzy white or gray growth. The crust blocks water penetration as well. Even unsalted pasta water has enough starch to cause these issues over repeated use. So skip the pasta water when it comes to plants.

Pasta Water Alternatives

Plain tap water or rain water works fine for most plants. The benefits from cooking water are minimal. You're not going to see dramatic growth differences compared to regular watering.

If you really want to boost plant health, use actual fertilizer at the proper dilution rates rather than relying on cooking water to do the job. And use a fine tip spout watering can, like this one from Amazon, to make applying any water easier without spills.

The cooking water trend is more about reducing waste than revolutionizing plant care. If it makes you feel better about dumping less waste water down the drain, go ahead and try one of the following alternatives. Just don't expect miracles. And definitely skip the pasta water, regardless of what the latest social media gardening trends and your favorite PlantTok videos say.

1. Unsalted Vegetable Water

Leftover water from boiling unsalted vegetables outperforms pasta water easily. Potatoes, carrots, spinach, broccoli – nearly any vegetable releases water-soluble vitamins and minerals during cooking. Plants absorb these readily without salt complications. Beans, peas, corn, and asparagus add their own traces, too, broadening the nutrient mix.

Cool cooking water fully to room temperature before applying to plants. Hot liquid scalds roots. Nutrient profiles vary depending on the vegetable. Leafy greens contribute nitrogen for foliage. Root crops add potassium and other trace nutrients for overall vigor. Starchy veggies, like corn, release small carbs plants use for trace organic compounds and minerals.

Benefits are modest compared to fertilizer, yet this kind of cooking water is an improvement over plain tap and reduces kitchen waste at the same time. Apply within a day or two after cooking. Longer storage risks bacterial growth and bad odors. Strain out solids if chunks remain to avoid clogging drainage in potted plants.

2. Egg Water

Water used to boil eggs picks up trace calcium that's leached from shells. Calcium strengthens cell walls in plants and supports structural health. The actual amounts of calcium are small – and insufficient for major deficiencies – but egg water can provide a gentle supplement that plain water can't. Hard-boiled or soft, the calcium leach happens either way when boiling eggs.

Cool water completely before use. The advantage is subtle yet worthwhile, repurposing water that would otherwise be discarded. Egg water benefits calcium-sensitive crops like tomatoes and peppers, which are prone to blossom end rot.

Most houseplants require less calcium, but still benefit from occasional additions of this nutrient. Combine with vegetable water for broader feeding, if using it on multiple plants. Use a plant food like this balanced fertilizer from Amazon for more consistent nutrition.

3. Rice Water

Rice rinsing water – the cloudy liquid that comes from pre-cook washing – differs from rice boiling water. It holds proteins, lighter starches, and minerals without heavy residue. Brown rice rinse water adds extra bran nutrients compared to white rice.

Some people ferment it a day or two at room temperature to enhance the availability of nutrients, though evidence of the benefits of this practice are limited. Fresh rinse water performs adequately without fermentation. Apply immediately to plants or refrigerate to maintain quality. Dilute if cloudy and thick to avoid temporary soil clouding.

How to Use Cooking Water on Plants

Cool all cooking water to room temperature first before pouring it on plants. Hot water damages roots severely and cold water stresses tropical houseplants that are accustomed to warmer soil.

Treat cooking waters as enhanced regular watering, not fertilizer substitutes. Nutrients are light relative to dedicated fertilizers. Water plants thoroughly until it flows out of the drainage holes, then empty saucers after 30 minutes to prevent root rot. Rotate cooking water types to vary nutrients.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Avoid salted cooking water entirely. Salt accumulates steadily regardless of the initial amount added when cooking. Discard water from salted vegetables or pasta.

Pass on pasta water, even unsalted pasta water. The starch from pasta promotes mold and pests in potted plants. Skip broths or flavored liquids with herbs and spices that might imbalance soil microbes, too. Reserve those for drain disposal. Limit to unsalted vegetable, egg, or rice rinse waters for safe, effective recycling on your plants.

Do you water plants in winter? For many gardeners, the answer is no. But should you add winter irrigation to your to-do list? It depends. You may think of winter as a season full of precipitation, often filled with wet weather from rain or snow or both. So why on earth would garden plants need extra winter irrigation?

The question of whether you should be watering plants in winter depends on many factors, including the species of plant, how recently your planted it, where you live, and what the winter weather is like.

I'll provide some basics about winter watering that will help you decide whether or not you need to irrigate. I'll also share the three types of plants I found out need regular winter irrigation to thrive. An extra drink or two this chilly season is sure to help them thrive!

Winter Watering Basics

Let’s start with some basic rules about watering plants during the colder months, including when (and when not) to water plants in winter.

Don't water established plants that are dormant, e.g. deciduous plants that have lost all their leaves. Never water outdoor plants when the ground is frozen or when the air temperature is below freezing.

If none of the above rules are applicable, it may be necessary to water certain plants in winter. But how often you water is important.

Plants don’t lose moisture in winter as fast as they do in warmer weather. That means that you don’t have to water them as often. Give them a thorough soaking every month or so, depending on the rainfall.

Since many gardeners in colder USDA hardiness zones have to drain their irrigation systems before the first freeze, use a watering can to water by hand. There are tons of affordable cans on Amazon or you splurge on a beautiful and high-quality watering can from Haws, a British heritage brand that's been beloved by serious gardeners for almost 150 years. Christmas gift idea, anyone?

Now that you understand the basics of winter watering, let's take a look at the plants that benefit from winter irrigation.

Plants You Should Water in Winter

There are the three primary categories of plants that require water in winter. I'll walk you through the reasons why these particular types of plants need a little extra water during the cold months. Plus, I'll share my top tips to keep your plants hydrated this winter.

1. Evergreens

A plant that is not dormant will take in water through its roots then lose the water through openings in its leaves called stomata. The process is called transpiration.

Deciduous plants lose their leaves and go dormant in winter, halting transpiration during the cold season, but evergreen plants hold onto their leaves all year long. That means you may need to irrigate them. But there are a few guidelines to follow.

If the ground is frozen or the air temperature stays below freezing, do not water evergreens. If it rains regularly, do not water evergreens either. If it is sunny with high temperatures and there is no rain or little rain, then you can water your evergreen plants.

There are three primary types of landscape evergreen that may need water:

• Conifers - Conifers are evergreens that grow their seeds in cones. This includes all types of Christmas trees, like pine and spruce. Conifers also include some evergreen trees and shrubs like arborvitae that have scale-like leaves arranged in flat sprays.
• Broadleaf Evergreens - Not every tree with regular leaves is deciduous. Some are evergreens and hold onto their leaves all year long. These are termed broadleaf evergreens and include trees and shrubs like holly, boxwood, rhododendron, camellia, and mountain laurel.
• Ground Covers - Low-growing shrubs that are used like grass to cover bare dirt are termed ground covers. Some ground covers, like English ivy and periwinkle, are also broadleaf evergreens.

2. New Transplants

Anything you plant will need extra water until it gets established. That’s why any newly planted trees, recently transplanted plants, or freshly seeded areas should get occasional water in winter. However, you should never water if the ground is frozen or air temperatures are below freezing.

• Trees & Shrubs Planted in the Last Year - Have you planted any trees or shrubs during the last 12 months? If so, offer these plants water when the ground isn’t frozen and temperatures rise above freezing. These plants must establish a root system in order to survive. That means that they are more at risk than other outdoor plants and require extra irrigation.
• Late-Planted Perennials & Bulbs - The same rules apply to newly planted perennials and bulbs for the same reasons. They have work to do to establish themselves as healthy, vital plants. Put them on the “water occasionally” list in winter.
• Newly Laid Sod & Seeded Areas - Both new sod and newly seeded grass require water. Don’t irrigate if the ground is frozen or if the temperatures drop below freezing. But when temperatures rise, get out the hose and give these areas a drink.

3. Potted Plants

If you grow a container garden, keep in mind that these plants dry out faster than ones growing in the ground. If the plants are deciduous and dormant, there is no need to water them since they will not take up any water during dormancy.

If plants are not dormant, it’s important to keep checking the soil throughout the winter. When the soil feels dry, give the plants a drink.

• Containerized Dormant Shrubs - If your potted shrubs are not dormant, you will need to water them when the weather gets warm. Container plants dry out faster than bedded plants, so you’ll need to keep a closer eye on them in the winter. If the soil is dry, give plants a good soak.
• Window Boxes & Hanging Baskets - Plants in window boxes and hanging baskets are also container plants. They dry out quickly and will need water during winter whenever the weather gets above freezing.
• Raised Beds - Raised beds dry out faster than in-ground beds. That’s because soil in raised beds is more exposed to air and has better drainage compared to in-ground gardens. It’s important to water any perennials in raised beds when temperatures rise above freezing.

The humble watering can is one of the most useful items in a gardener’s tool shed. While a hose, sprinkler, and in-ground system can all cover wider areas of the garden faster, a watering can is inexpensive and perfect for watering small areas and container gardens. When just one or two plants need an extra drink, it helps you avoid wasting water. It’s one of your best friends when you are looking to water garden flower beds, borders and containers.

As with all gardening tools, though, proper maintenance and storage is needed to keep your watering can in good shape. If you’ve been inadvertently keeping any water in a watering can, think on – you could be storing up problems. One of the most important things you can do after using your watering can is to empty it. Yes, it might be tempting to leave extra water there for the next round, but resist the urge. Here are 4 reasons why you need to keep on top of this to avoid watering can problems – plus, how you can keep yours in good working order for as long as possible.

Why You Shouldn’t Leave Water in a Watering Can

While you may not be regularly guilty of keeping water in your watering can when not in use, it doesn’t take long for problems to start building up. Whether it’s because of disease, cold damage, or potential injury to visiting wildlife, there are some very real reasons to keep your watering can empty – to preserve the longevity of your can, and your garden health. Here are the main reasons you need to take care.

1. Stagnant Water Breeds Unhealthy Growth

The garden is for growing, but you don’t want to grow everything. Stagnant, still water can be a breeding ground for all kinds of unwanted growth, even some that can be harmful. For example, mosquitoes, which carry diseases that can affect you, your family, and your pets, lay eggs in still water. A few days or a week of letting water sit is a big watering mistake, as it is long enough for mosquitoes to start breeding and hatching.

Standing water in your watering can also promote the growth of algae and mold, which might be harmful to your plants. If you’ve left water too long, you should clean and disinfect the watering can before using it on healthy garden plants. You can also use mosquito dunk chunks to help reduce the risks in any standing water in bird baths nearby. Try Summit Dunk Chunks from Amazon.

2. Standing Water Can Harm Other Wildlife

The standing water in your watering can might generate some living things you don’t want. It might also drown some that you do want around, such as any beneficial insects you are looking to attract to a pollinator garden. Your local pollinating bees can easily drown in deep standing water. Even small mammals can fall in and drown.

While a bird bath can be a great way to provide water for your garden’s wildlife, a watering can presents a deadly hazard. Bees and small animals cannot get back out of a steep-sided container of water, like a bucket or watering can, once they go in. So always empty your watering can. You’ll be saving countless little lives that can then spread the love elsewhere in your yard.

3. Minerals Build Up Over Time

Another good reason to always empty and rinse your watering can is that it can develop a mineral crust on the inside over time. Water from the tap contains minerals, even soft water. This isn’t necessarily bad, but the minerals can build up on the inside of the can over time, stockpiling another problem.

While plants need all kinds of micronutrients, including those minerals, too many can be harmful. Also, the minerals can form a crust over the holes in the spout, also known as a rose, impeding water flow. If this has already happened to your can, clean or soak the can and spout with an appropriate cleaner to dissolve the minerals. Use a gentle cleaner like Mrs Meyer’s Clean Day All-Purpose Cleaner Spray from Amazon.

4. Freezing and Rusting

If you have a metal watering can, rust is an obvious issue. Leave water too long and too often in a metal can when you aren’t watering plants, especially if the water has a lot of minerals, and it will rust and eventually become useless. If you’re using the can in cold temperatures, the water might freeze inside of it. As water expands as it freezes, this can actually rupture a watering can, especially less sturdily constructed plastic cans. To ensure the long life of your can, this one is a no-brainer.

How to Use and Maintain a Watering Can

Most watering cans are inexpensive, but why be wasteful? If you take good care of your watering can, it will reward you with years of service, and your plants will thank you for watering them correctly. Empty out any excess water after every use, even if you use rainwater. Here are a few more things you can do to extend the life of your watering can and make sure you aren’t transferring any problems onto your plants and your garden.

• Rinse the watering can with fresh water after using it, with a liquid or water-soluble fertilizer. Fertilizers and plant foods can contribute to mineral buildup.
• Store your watering can upside down or on its side to keep it from collecting rainwater and debris.
• Clean it regularly with soapy water and a good scrub brush. Even when you empty it, the watering can retain some moisture and might begin to grow some algae. Use an eco-friendly brush like the Naturolic Store’s All Natural Wooden Scrub Brush Set from Amazon.
• Thoroughly clean and dry your watering can before you put it away for the season. Remove the spout to clean, dry, and store separately.
• Look for any signs of damage, rust, or cracks before storing your watering can and before using it in spring.
• Store your watering can indoors for winter to protect it from cold and fluctuating temperatures. Keep it in a location that stays dry.
• If your watering can is made of metal, consider applying a little rust-resistant spray to protect it over the winter. Use the highly rated Jenolite Rust Shield Aerosol Anti-Rust Spray from Amazon for metal cans.

Your handy little gardening tool will last for years if you take care of it. And your garden will thank you for never leaving water standing in it when your watering can is in regular use.

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It can be hard to tell when tomatoes and other vegetables need water. The dead giveaway is when you start to see your plants wilt, but if you let them get to that point you’ve already waited too long.

You’ve probably heard of the finger test—you know, when you stick your index finger about an inch (2.5 cm) into the soil near the base of a plant to see if it’s damp or dry. But if you’re looking for an even easier way to tell when it’s time to water, then indicator plants are a simple solution that can also add beauty to your garden beds.

There are certain flowers to plant with tomatoes that tell you when it’s time to water before your veggies ever start to wilt, and there’s one common flower that works especially well. Let’s take a look at this easy-to-grow indicator plant that will help you keep veggies hydrated and add pretty pastel blooms to your landscape.

The Ultimate Indicator Plant for Veggies

There are a lot of tomato companion plants that serve a variety of purposes. Some help repel pests, like marigolds, and others can even improve the flavor of your fruits, like basil. However, there’s one often overlooked annual flower that can tell you exactly when to water your tomatoes: impatiens.

Impatiens are lovely, low-maintenance annuals that thrive in shade. These easy-care annuals are available just about anywhere during the spring and summer months. They are classic container plants that add charm to windowboxes, hanging baskets, and porch pots, but they look beautiful in garden borders as well.

Though people typically grow impatiens for their cheery, colorful blooms, these tropical flowers have a secret power. If you plant impatiens in a pot or out in your vegetable garden or in a raised bed with your tomatoes, they will let you know when it’s time to give your veggies a drink.

Tomatoes and many other vegetables need to dry out almost to the point of no return before they ever show signs of wilting. However, impatiens wilt as soon as the soil starts to dry out and perk up quickly once you water them. That’s what makes them the ideal indicator plant.

How to Use Impatiens as Indicator Plants

To use impatiens as indicator plants that tell you when to water your vegetable garden, plant one at the base of your tomatoes or other vegetables. There are tons of stunning impatiens you can buy from just about any big box store or nursery. Home Depot has a great selection of impatiens, including a gorgeous double bloom cultivar called ‘Rockapulco Red’ that almost looks like a mini rose bush.

You can grow impatiens in an in-ground vegetable garden, raised beds, or a container garden. Just make sure to plant the impatiens close enough to your tomatoes or other vegetables, so they will receive some shade from the larger plant.

Most vegetables, like tomatoes, need full sun to thrive. That means 6-8 hours of direct light per day. Impatiens, however, prefer shady conditions. They need only 2-6 hours of sun or dappled light throughout the day.

If you’re worried about impatiens receiving too much sun in your vegetable garden, there is a sun-loving hybrid variety called SunPatiens you can try. This purple SunPatiens 3-pack from Home Depot would provide a truly wow-worthy pop of color against all the green of the vegetable garden.

As you check on your garden or container plants, look for signs of wilting in your impatiens. If the flowers’ leaves or blooms look like they are starting to droop, then it’s time to water. It’s really as easy as that! I’ve loved impatiens for a long time and grow them in my windowboxes every year, so I’m excited to find a new way to use these amazing annual flowers.

Other Indicator Plants for Tomatoes

If you’re not a fan of impatiens, there are a couple other indicator plants you can use to tell when to water tomatoes and other vegetables. Coleus is another annual plant that droops easily and then quickly recovers after watering. Like impatiens, coleus prefers shade so you will need to grow it close enough to tomatoes to provide your indicator plant with some sun protection.

Ajuga is another option, though this ground cover plant is a perennial. It also has a tendency to become invasive. It’s an aggressive grower that can take over your garden, so it’s not the best option as a companion plant.

You may not be aware, but there is a best time to water plants. There are several reasons that timing is important. The most obvious is to avoid evaporation, allowing the plant to access the moisture before the warm air removes it from the soil.

Selecting the best time to water the garden can also help prevent certain diseases. It can also minimize stress on your plants. There are other basic rules such as avoiding overhead watering and in certain cases, the type of water to use depending upon the plant.

But as an overarching concept, there is a best time to water outdoor plants for maximum effectiveness.

When Is The Best Time To Water Plants?

The worst time to water plants is in the mid-day. You can do it if the plant has been sorely neglected or if you need to cool the soil in extreme high temperatures. You must avoid getting water on the leaves as the droplets act like little magnifying glasses and can scorch the leaves.

The second worst time is in the evening. Plant leaves don’t have time to dry before the night arrives and can become prey to fungal diseases. So when is the best time to water plants?

The best time of day to water plants is as early as possible. Many gardeners use timers on their sprinkler or drip set ups to make sure they are irrigating early while still staying in their cozy beds with smart irrigation systems. These are excellent solutions since they also can control the duration of the irrigation, are relatively inexpensive, and customizable.

Ideally, target between 5:00 - 9:00 a.m. to start and finish watering all your garden plants.

Why Timing Matters

In the summer, the timing matters most because the sun is up early and temperatures start to rise quickly. If you wait too long to water, the moisture will just evaporate in the hot sun, leaving the soil dry. If evaporation happens too quickly, none of the water can penetrate the soil to get to the roots, where plants uptake the majority of their moisture. Up to 50 percent of the water delivered to the garden is lost in evaporation, as well as wind.

It is estimated that homeowners use between 30-70 percent of their water in the summer. This varies by location. And in most regions, water rates go up in summer. The extra water used is costly. Using a rain barrel to collect water from your downspouts is a great way to save money.

Watering at the correct time can also prevent the waste of water and save on your bill. Avoiding garden watering mistakes will keep you plants healthier, too. If you give your plants water when there is time to absorb it, they are much more prepared for the stress of the day.

Plants perform transpiration in the heat of the day, the same time the soil is evaporating. If the plant was not able to uptake sufficient moisture earlier, it will not have the moisture necessary to transpirate. This is the process where plants move water through their different parts and then expel some through their leaves. Without sufficient moisture already in the body of the plant, it cannot perform this important process.

How Much Water Do Plants Need?

The amount of water a plant needs will vary on its site, the variety of plant, the soil, time of year, and other factors. For instance, most plants will get sufficient water with spring rains and only need irrigation during periods without rainfall. Then when summer comes, they might need a lot of water depending on the temperatures.

New plants require more water than established specimens, while those in containers need more than in-ground plants. A plant on a slope will dry out faster than one in a depressed location. How much to water during a heat wave also differs based on how humid it is outside.

There are many factors that go into the exact amount of water. The average is 1 inch (2.54 cm.) of water per week in the garden. In a 10x10 foot (3x3 m.) garden that means 62 gallons (234.7 L). Plants in sandy or rocky soils may need even more and the watering should be spaced out over the week and not delivered all at once.

Watering Considerations

What works best for tomatoes might not work for azaleas. Let's explore water needs for specific types of gardens and plantings in more depth.

Vegetable Gardens And Flower Beds

When watering a vegetable garden, you may need more water depending upon the types of plants you are growing. Leafy greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, watermelons, and beans need to be kept evenly moist.

Flower beds with perennials that are established will produce beautifully with the 1 inch (2.54 cm.) per week. They may even do well with less, especially if you have native species. Annual plants will need the average garden water delivery.

Raised Beds And Containers

Raised beds and containers dry out more quickly than plants in a flat site. Using drip irrigation for raised beds is an efficient way to water. Containers, especially, evaporate quickly and their low volume of soil means there is less space to store moisture and the plant roots cannot spread out to seek more.

Trees And Shrubs

Again, the water needs of trees and shrubs can vary. Drought tolerant species that are well established need less than newly installed plants. These should be kept moist and the soil never allowed to dry completely.

New Plants

Little baby seedlings or plants that have just been installed outdoors need to be kept moist. They have not yet developed sufficient root systems to gather water from deeper in the soil. They are tender and cannot withstand drying out. It is important to water new plants deeply to help them adjust to the transplantation.

Grass

The best time to water grass is also in the early morning. Grass has high water needs at 1-2 inches (2.54-5.08 cm.) per week. This will vary by species, site, soil type, and sun exposure. Sandy soils need more water, while clay soils need less. Turfgrass in hot, dry climates will need more frequent watering than grass in milder or humid climates.

Frequently Asked Questions

Temperatures are dipping fast – should you water plants before a freeze? You may have heard that you should, but is it true? After all, watering plants before a freeze seems counterintuitive. So what’s the truth?

Should I water my plants before a freeze? Find out if you can protect your plants in a freeze by watering them.

Should You Water Plants Before a Freeze?

Whether you should or should not water plants before a freeze depends on a couple of things. First, recognizing the difference between a frost and a freeze and second, the type of plant(s) you wish to protect.

Most of us assume that temperatures below 32 F (0 C) can result in damage to plants, and that the words frost and freeze are interchangeable. Frost forms when air temperatures fall below 36 F (2 C), while freezes occur when that air temp drops below 32 F (0 C). The difference between the two terms means the difference in whether you should water plants before the temperature drops or not.

Difference Between Frost and Freeze

Frost occurs when winds are calm, the air is dry and there is no cloud cover. Frost is essentially frozen dew that tends to last only minutes to a few hours.

A freeze means there is a strong cold air mass covering an area combined with winds that are at least 5 mph. A freeze warning is put into effect when there is an 80% chance that temperatures will dip below 32 F (0 C) or lower. Freezes usually last all night long.

When a frost is imminent, growers can usually protect plants by covering them. When a freeze warning is in effect, watering plants is a better way to protect them from longer-term low temperatures.

Another thing to keep in mind is the type of plants you want to protect. Some plants sail through multiple frosts with no protection at all, provided they don’t turn into long-term freezes. Other plants are not frost-hardy and should be protected in some manner.

Why Watering Protects Plants From Cold

Drought-stressed plants are more prone to cold damage; plants that are really stressed in general are even more susceptible to damage from cold.

Watering just before a freeze helps the plant by creating warmth. Yes, it seems odd that water on plants can help them survive a freeze but think back to your physics classes.

When water changes form, from a liquid to a frozen solid or vice versa, it either requires or gives off energy. When water freezes, it releases energy in the form of heat. Surprisingly, the heat released as the water freezes does indeed protect the plants from cold injury. Especially if you cover the plants as well as water them before a freeze.

Watering Plants After a Freeze

Water plants 24-48 hours before a frost is predicted. The moist soil will hold 4x more heat than dry soil! Even though commercial growers do it, do not run your irrigation system during a freeze. You’ll likely end up with sodden soil and unhappy plants prone to fungal disease

If you didn’t pay heed to the weatherman or a freeze came out of nowhere, after a freeze can be also a good time to water plants. It can help them recover from any frost damage and dehydration. No need to water, however, if the soil is already wet.

More Ways to Protect Plants From Freezing

Beyond watering plants, there are other ways you can protect plants from a freeze. If possible you can bring them inside or into an attached garage or unheated basement. If that’s not an option, move them to the east or south side of a structure or beneath a tree. Keep all the plants grouped closely together to benefit from the others’ heat.

You can also wrap plants with insulation, old blankets, newspapers, burlap, or even bubble wrap. Remember to unwrap after the freeze to allow the sunlight to reach the plants.

Some people also festoon at-risk trees or shrubbery with electric lights. Be sure to turn these off when temperatures warm.

Additional Ways to Protect Plants from Freezes

Prepare your plants for imminent freezes. Quit fertilizing them with nitrogen-rich food in the late summer and reduce irrigation in the fall.

If you really want to think ahead, where you put your plants in the landscape can protect them from freezes. Plants that are not frost-hardy should be planted in the highest area of the yard since cold pockets form in the lowest areas. The north side of the house is the best geographical location for tender plants.

Situate plants against a cold hardy evergreen hedge or dense area of trees and shrubs to further provide protection from the cold.

Tender plants should also be located in partially shaded areas if possible since a slow that damages them the least. Shaded exposures also retard new spring growth which is at risk of cold injury from late spring frosts.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you’re a plant parent planning a vacation, you should know about the water wick for plants. What is a plant watering wick? Watering wicks for plants are pretty much what they sound like; it's a watering system that draws moisture to a plant's root systems using a porous material. You can purchase a water wick, or create a DIY plant watering wick.

What Is a Water Wick?

Water wicking is an age-old watering system from India wherein a porous line of fabric or rope is used to carry water to plants from a pipe or reservoir. This method may deliver water either quickly using gravity or slowly via capillary action. Sometimes both methods are employed to deliver a hybrid of both slow and rapid water delivery.

A more modern approach uses a used 2-liter plastic soda bottle but delivers the exact same results. Or, you can create a DIY water delivery system using the same ancient process but using a large container, PVC piping, landscape fabric and gravel.

Benefits of a Water Wick

A water wicking system has many benefits, the biggest of which, as mentioned, is there’s no need to hire a plant sitter water plants while you're on vacation, because the plants will water themselves.

Larger constructs like the DIY mentioned above are raised, making the planter easier to maintain and harvest. The reservoir from this DIY also captures rainwater for use and reduces runoff and nutrient loss. Plus, it saves space for those with limited garden space. As a container garden, this DIY project can be started earlier than in ground beds.

Surface soil stays dry since the water is wicking from the bottom at the root system which deters fungal gnats and other pests as well as diseases. It is also a more efficient way to water and will likely use less water than watering at the surface of the plant which loses water through evaporation.

How to Use a Water Wick for Plants

All you need to do to use a water wick is place a length of synthetic yarn cut twice the length of your plant container, through one of the drainage holes at the bottom of the container.

Then pull it through and up until it reaches the surface of the pot. Grasp the center of the yarn piece and hold it at the top of the pot while you thread the other loose end down and through a different drainage hole.

Place some pebbles in the bottom of a saucer that fits the plant container. Fill the saucer with water and set the pot in it, making sure the ends of the yarn are dangling into the water filled saucer. Voila. The yarn ends will wick water up and through the pot to the root system of the plant.

DIY Water Wick Ideas

One simple water wick idea is using an empty 2-liter soda bottle.

1. Cut the bottle 8 inches (20 cm) from the top and cover the cut edges with duct tape.
2. Spray paint the bottle black and allow it to dry.
3. Cut a hole in the bottle cap large enough to thread a wick through. You can use nylon rope, felt, old fabric or blanket strips, yarn, etc as a wick.
4. Thread the wick through the hole with half below and half above the hole.
5. Fill the base of the cut soda bottle up to 4 inches (10 cm) below the top with water.
6. Invert the top of the bottle with the threaded wick, cap side down into the bottom of the cut bottle. The wick should be in contact with the water.
7. Fill the inverted top of the bottle with a potting medium and your plant.

Another idea for a water wicking system is a bit more complex but it has numerous benefits and is better fit for multiple or larger plants that obviously a 2-liter Coke bottle can’t accommodate.

In this scenario you will be using a large plastic container, a muck tub is perfect. Along with this you will need perforated pipe for use as a false bottom, 1.5-2 inch (4-5 cm) PVC pipe as a fill tube, peat moss will act as your wicking material, compost and potting soil, landscape fabric and gravel.

The idea is to create a ring of perforated pipe to be placed at the bottom of the muck tub out from which the PVC fill tube will protrude to the surface of the container. The landscape fabric is used to seal off the cut ends of the ends of the perforated pipe or false bottom.

A 4 inch (10 cm) layer of damp peat moss should then be added, topped by a mix of damp compost and potting soil.

To water the container, fill the fill tube with water. When the reservoir is full the water will run out of the drain hole.

Frequently Asked Questions

With sustainable gardening becoming more important than ever, rainwater harvesting is one of the easiest ways to get more environmentally friendly whilst taking care of your own little piece of heaven on earth. It’s well worth investing in a rain-saving system such as a water butt or a rain barrel, and once they are set up they don’t require much maintenance. But what are the main water butt and rain barrel benefits, you might be wondering?

From boosting natural water reserves during dry weather to preventing runoff when the rains come, we round up the main reasons why water butts and rain barrels can help you to become more sustainably smart.

How Rain Barrels and Water Butts Work

Some gardeners who are keen to be more sustainable may well be asking, ‘What is a water butt?’ Put simply, a water butt is a container used to collect rainwater. The term is used more commonly in the United Kingdom than in the US. In the States, most people call this kind of device a rain barrel. It does not have to be a barrel, though. Any container designed and used to gather rainwater is good for harvesting rainwater, and you can make rain barrels or buy them.

In its simplest form, these large containers collect water from the downspout of your home. A spigot at the bottom of the barrel allows you to draw water as you need it. These containers can be more sophisticated, depending on your needs, garden size and budget, but even the simplest containers do the job.

Benefits of Using Rain Barrels and Water Butts

Obviously, one of the key benefits of rainwater harvesting is the chance to create a more sustainable outdoor space. But it can help to break this down a little, to see some of the specific water butt and rain barrel environmental benefits. Here are five positive reasons why a sustainable garden can benefit from using water butts and rain barrels. Just keep in mind that collected rainwater is not considered safe to drink!

1. Reduce Runoff

Most rainwater is runoff in urban and suburban areas. The sealed surfaces of roads, driveways and parking lots cause water to run into the sewer system rather than soak into the ground. As much as 90% of rainwater becomes runoff. Excessive runoff washes contaminants (like fertilizer and pesticides) into the sewer system and overburdens it, which can lead to pollution issues. Being able to redirect water runoff is therefore very important. Collecting rainwater allows you to use it more efficiently, reducing runoff.

2. Reduce Emissions

An overburdened sewer system means that a lot of water needs to be treated. This requires energy and contributes directly to carbon emissions. If you can reduce the burden on the system, you will also be reducing your carbon footprint.

3. Reduce Erosion and Flooding

Rainwater runoff is a powerful force, especially after a heavy storm or rainfall. Even small amounts of rain over time can increase erosion. Runoff increases soil erosion, and erosion controls are therefore highly advantageous. Using water butts and rain barrels means you can capture some of that rainfall, therefore reducing the risks.

Obviously, heavy rainfalls with a lot of runoff also have the potential to produce damaging floods. All efforts to reduce runoff can reduce the severity of floods.

4. Support Groundwater

Many municipal water systems often overdraw on groundwater, depleting important reservoirs. By using rainwater, you reduce this burden. Using what you collect from water butts and rain barrels to water your yard and garden also replenishes those reservoirs.

5. Keep Plants Healthy

Watering your plants with rainwater is better for them. It is the natural way they get water after all. Most rainwater has a balanced pH that plants prefer. It’s also free of chemicals found in tap water that were used to treat it. Using readily stored rainwater means you can keep plants well hydrated during draughts and dry spells, helping to keep things balanced in a more natural way.

Frequently Asked Questions

We all know plants need water, but working out how much, how often, and when to water them causes confusion. Even the most seasoned gardener can make errors when watering the garden.

Multiple factors have an impact that makes it difficult to provide specific answers. Drying winds, a full sun or partial sun location, in-ground or container plants, the type of soil, and the variety of plants will all dictate the best watering method.

However, there are a few basic rules to follow that will ensure plants are getting the moisture they need to thrive.

Where possible, try to collect and use rainwater to irrigate the garden. This saves precious natural resources but is also better for plants as rainwater is chemical-free and has the ideal pH.

1. Too Much – Or Too Little – Water

It might seem like a good idea to keep a diligent pace on watering, ensuring the soil is wet at all times. However, many plants are damaged by excess moisture in the soil, especially when it is soggy.

Plants uptake water primarily through their roots, although some enters through the leaves. This uptake is fairly slow and the plant only takes what it needs. So if the soil is soggy, the roots are just sitting in moisture.

The wet soil activates a variety of pathogens which can then attack the roots. As a result, root rot and other issues may ensue.

Look out for signs of overwatering such as yellow leaves, wilting, and algae growth.

Similarly, underwatering can damage plants. When a plant lacks water it cannot produce new cells and sustain the existing plant material. The cells will shrivel leading to limp, wrinkled plant material.

If the condition persists, the plant will die. Even succulent plants need moisture with a brief period of dryness to thrive.

2. Watering At The Wrong Time

Timing is everything, and this holds true with watering practices. If you water at the height of the day when the sun's rays are strongest, evaporation will take away some of that water. This is a waste of water and the moisture doesn’t have time to penetrate soil.

Watering during high heat can also damage plants. Any water that gets on the plant acts like a mini magnifying glass, enhancing solar heat and burning the plant.

The best time to water is in the morning when it is cooler and plants can absorb moisture. This also prevents leaves from remaining wet, which can promote fungal issues.

3. Splashing The Plant

Many bacteria and soil-borne diseases lurk in the soil. When we irrigate too rapidly, the muddy water splashes on the leaves. Damping off, vascular wilt, and root rot are a few of the potential consequences.

If possible, avoid overhead watering, and instead deliver moisture directly to the base of the plant. Soaker hoses or drip systems are effective ways of preventing fungal and other diseases on the plant material.

4. Not Watering Deeply

Deeply and infrequently is a good model for most plants. When we water deeply, the moisture gets to the roots.

Watering too shallow will just allow for evaporation while failing to get moisture to the roots for uptake. It also produces a shallow and weak root system that is close to the surface of the soil. This is destabilizing for the plant and the roots may be harmed when we cultivate around the plant.

When you water deeply, the roots grow better and more deeply.

5. Treating All Plants The Same

Every plant has individual care needs. While you could lump together all succulents or all forest plants with similar care, the garden is often diverse. You may have hens and chicks nestled against an ornamental plant that needs more water.

Giving all the plants in a certain bed the same water may not be good for some of those species. The most sensible practice is to only install plants with the same watering needs in a site, but sometimes this doesn’t happen.

Know your plants and treat them like individuals when it comes to watering.

6. Watering On A Schedule

We live busy lives and it's easy to forget daily details. So for this reason we often do a watering schedule using an automated irrigation system. This is fine for the lawn, but in mixed garden beds, it can do more harm than good.

Instead of giving the plants water at a predetermined time, just manually check them to see if they need water. Slope, drainage, sun exposure, wind, and other factors will change the soil moisture.

If necessary use a soil moisture meter to determine if adequate moisture remains in the soil.

7. Not Using Mulch

If you have bare soil around your plants, the moisture will evaporate rapidly in the sun. Mulching will keep the moisture in while also helping to cool the soil in summer, and keep it warmer in the winter.

There are both organic and inorganic mulches. Organic mulches include leaf litter, bark pieces, and straw. Inorganic mulches may be recycled tire bits, rocks, or gravel. Both work to protect soil and conserve moisture, while also preventing some weeds.

Most of us are aware that many of the planet's environmental problems are caused by human activities on the land. This is a matter every gardener should consider - how can we change our habits in the landscape to avoid polluting our environment? Each individual can make a positive impact by following sustainable gardening practices.

Are you wondering how gardening affects the water supply? Read on for information on making water conservation a goal in gardening.

How Do Gardening Practices Impact Our Water?

Water is found in our atmosphere, in snow and ice, in ponds, lakes and oceans, but also in plants and animals and soil. There is a cycle to water: it rains down from the sky, soaks into or runs off the soil into nearby lakes or rivers.

That means that all of our gardening practices can impact the global water supply. While it’s easy to think that the garden water you use in one backyard will not have much of an effect, it all adds up. The cumulative effect of everyone’s actions becomes significant. Each of us must acknowledge that our activities can present a risk to the environment.

Can Plant & Lawn Fertilizers Pollute Water Supply?

The water cycle is a very delicate system, and how we manage our landscape has a dramatic effect on that system. Since rainwater or water for irrigation flows through your garden, it will carry both yard waste and chemicals like excess fertilizer and pesticides. If the water soaks into the soil, those chemicals can mix with the groundwater that is used in the future in the garden. When the water runs off the landscape, these toxins can contaminate nearby coastal waters or rivers and streams.

Think about fertilizing your backyard. While some fertilizer goes into the soil, some may land on the driveway and be washed away. The same thing may happen in the yard’s of your neighbors up and down the street. All of that excess fertilizer flows into a small stream that joins a larger one and ends up in the ocean. A septic system that’s not properly maintained can also add to the groundwater flow.

An important step is to determine only use the fertilizer your plants require in your landscape. If you aren’t sure what you need, get your soil tested. Repeat the testing every few years. You will also want to avoid applying the fertilizer right before a rainfall. It is best to use a slow-release fertilizer rather than a fast-release product, since the latter is potentially the most damaging.

How Garden Polluters Impact the Environment

Other types of polluters can also impact the pollution of our environment. The equipment we use to care for our lawns, like gas-operated lawnmowers and leaf-blowers are good examples. We may not think of these machines as climate priorities but they are in fact a major pollution source, causing air pollution, climate change and health issues.

The 2020 Environmental Protection Agency’s report on emissions finds that lawn equipment releases as much smog-forming nitrous oxide as that released by 30 million vehicles. It also releases 30 million tons annually of climate-warming carbon dioxide. This is more than the total air emissions released by Los Angeles.

How Improper Lawn Mowing Impacts Water Quality

So it’s easy to see how our garden chemicals can impact the quality of water. But did you know that cutting your lawn can also significantly deteriorate our water supplies? If you handle lawn clippings carelessly, you can introduce nutrients into the water source. Yes, they are only grass clippings but they act as a slow-release fertilizer.

The leaf blades and stems contain within themselves all the nutrients needed for plant growth. On average, they contain 4% nitrogen, 0.5 to 1% phosphorus, and 1 to 2 % potassium by weight. Both nitrogen and phosphorus are problematic since they can cause eutrophication of water sources, causing prolific algal blooms that use up the oxygen in the water. Because of this eutrophication, many native plants and animals die off.

Best Ways to Reduce Water Consumption

Practices such as mulching and collecting rainwater are good ways to use less water in your garden. I think of mulch as a blanket of protection you place on the soil surface. It helps regulate the soil temperature, cooling the roots in summer and warming them in winter. It also reduces your water usage by limiting water evaporation from the soil and preventing weed growth that can hog the available rainwater.

You can also reduce your garden water use by using drip irrigation for your garden. This type of irrigation system only allows slow, controlled release of water to the soil through holes in a pipe or hose stretched along a row of plants. The water drops out slowly from the holes and is immediately absorbed into the soil. Using a drip irrigation system reduces your water loss by up to 60 percent over traditional watering methods.

Many homeowners are opting against traditional turf lawns to reduce their water consumption. But it’s more than just getting an efficient lawn watering system. If you still want a traditional lawn, take care in selecting the type of turf you plant, since water usage varies considerably among the turfgrasses. For example, pick buffalo-grass, one of the common turfgrasses that requires the least amount of water, over tall fescue, which requires the most water.

Drought-Resistant Plants To Help Conserve Water Supply

Building a garden from drought-tolerant or drought-resistant plants is known as xeriscaping. This helps to conserve water since the plants are either able to make do with available rainwater once they are mature, or else they require only occasional irrigation.

Why do these plants require less water? They are often native plants that have developed special characteristics that allow them to do with less water. They may have deep root systems that allow them to dig deep for soil in the water, or smaller leaves for reduced evaporation. Some have leaves protected by tiny hair or a wax-coating, which also limit evaporation.

To that end, consider these five drought-resistant superstars:

• Purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum Rubrum)
• Kangaroo paw (Anigozanthos flavidus)
• Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
• Palo verde (Parkinsonia florida)
• California lilac (Ceanothus spp)

Frequently Asked Questions

Overwinter ollas properly, and you can keep these watering pots from cracking in cold or fluctuating winter temperatures. An olla watering pot is a unique irrigation system that efficiently distributes water to plant roots in the soil. When you bury an olla pot in the ground and fill it with water, dry soil draws water from the pot, keeping plant roots hydrated.

Efficient and eco-friendly, ollas conserve water and reduce the time you need to spend watering, providing only as many fluids as your plants need. But if you don't take care during the winter months, these pots might fail or break. Find out how to overwinter ollas so they last for longer.

Can You Leave Olla Pots in the Ground Over Winter?

Burying a large olla in the garden takes some effort, so it would be nice if you could leave it in place for the dormant season. However, during the cold weather, olla watering systems might crack. The freeze-thaw cycle that is common in many regions is damaging to clay and terracotta.

Ollas are designed to be sturdy and durable, with thick walls. But because they are made of terracotta, they are vulnerable to changing temperatures. They are designed to withstand cold climates, but they are not completely invulnerable – so it's important that you take some precautions ahead of winter.

How to Overwinter Ollas The Right Way

Cold weather olla irrigation below certain temperatures isn't recommended. For most plants, winter watering is less of a regular requirement, anyway. The most important thing you can do to keep the pot safe over winter for use again in spring is to remove the water. Empty the olla about two weeks before the first frost of the season to be safe. Water that freezes in the pot will likely crack it.

The next step in helping to overwinter ollas is to provide some insulating cover to protect the pots from the coldest temperatures. Place a layer of straw over the top of it, or invert a bucket over it to keep some heat in the soil around the pot. If you have very cold winters, you should use both straw and a bucket.

It's also important to know your local climate. If you live somewhere with sudden changes in temperature, such as rapid freezing right after a rain, you should consider digging up your olla for winter. Taking steps to store containers for winter is the best way to ensure they will survive for the following year. Store ollas in a dry spot with temperatures that will remain above freezing.

How Long Do Olla Pots Last?

If you take good care of an olla pot, it should work for years. They are made with thick, durable walls. The trick is to make sure you have created safeguards for any sudden or dramatic dips in temperatures. So taking time to overwinter ollas will directly extend their life span and keep them functioning at their best.

To ensure these pots last as long as possible, you also need to keep them clean. Use the lid to keep debris out and remove anything that does fall into the pot. If it gets very dirty, and you can’t easily remove debris, dig out the olla and use a hose and scrub brush to clean it. If you have hard water, it's important to clean out the olla regularly to remove mineral buildup:

• Dig out your pot and fill it with a mixture of equal parts water and vinegar for cleaning.
• Let it sit with the solution inside, long enough for it to penetrate the walls of the olla. In low-humidity conditions, this might take a few hours. In high humidity, let it sit up to 24 hours.
• When you're happy the solution has had time to work its magic, scrub the inside and rinse the pot.
• Refill the pot with plain water, and let it sit for a few hours to a day. Once the walls have saturated with plain water to remove the vinegar, the olla is ready to go back into the ground.

An olla can be an efficient, easy way to water vegetable and flower beds. You can use these irrigation systems for xeriscape gardens, and you can use small ollas in container gardens. In many locations, you can leave the pots in place in winter, but apply common sense. Lifting and storing is best if your winters are very cold or if drastic temperature changes are forecast. This way, your ollas will still be at their best for next year's crops and ornamentals.

Is watering your garden one of your most time consuming chores? Do you wish you had a more efficient watering strategy that would save time? Ditch your old strategy and consider how to create hydrozones for smarter, more efficient irrigation.

What Is Hydrozoning?

Hydrozoning is grouping plants with similar water needs into the same area of the garden or bed. Different types of plants have different watering needs. For instance, shrubs and new trees need less frequent, deeper watering than turf grass, which needs water more regularly.

Most irrigation systems are set up to water everything in the garden the same way. This is inefficient and wastes water. It can even negatively affect some plants that get too much or too little water. By keeping plants with similar needs together as much as possible, you can use resources more efficiently and effectively.

How to Create Hydrozones

If you are starting with a blank slate or making some big changes in the garden, consider creating hydrozones for better water use. You can also tackle just one bed or area for hydrozoning. Creating hydrozones is more challenging in a well-developed garden, but you can still work with what you have. Follow a few basic steps to plan the space.

Map Out Your Yard

Create an accurate map of your garden and draw circles around plants that have similar water needs. You will probably find that you already have some spaces that are well zoned, with plants you can water together. For example, the grass would be one zone. A perennial bed is another zone.

Divide Into Irrigation Zones

Consider the different levels of irrigation the plants in your garden need. If you are starting from scratch, you’ll also want to be aware of these zones so you can group plants more effectively:

1. High Irrigation

Pants like tropical annuals, vegetables, and turf grass belong in a high irrigation zone, needing water several times a week if not daily.

2. Moderate Irrigation

These areas contain some ornamental trees, shrubs, or fruit trees.

3. Low Irrigation

Perennials generally need very little irrigation and rely mostly on rainwater.

4. No Irrigation

Plants that do not require intervention are generally native species and shade trees. Exceptions include when you are just establishing these plants and need to water them regularly to develop strong root systems.

Group Plants with Similar Water Needs

As much as possible, group plants by their irrigation zones. For instance, you might want to use annuals to line the edges of beds and turf grass but reserve the interior areas of beds or those most distant from the house for perennials and native plants.

Set Up Irrigation

Once you have plants zoned according to their watering needs, you can set up appropriate irrigation. The highest irrigation areas could benefit from drip hoses so you don’t need to hand water them every day during the summer.

Sprinklers that reach turf grass and annuals are also useful for these high-water areas. You can set them up to hit only the high-irrigation plants and turn them on daily or several times per week.

You probably do not need to set up any kind of formal irrigation for perennial beds and native plantings. Watering occasionally with the hose or a movable sprinkler should be adequate.

Gardening to Save Water

Hydrozoning is a great way to make gardening easier and to make more efficient use of an important natural resource. Another way to save water is to choose plants that match your environment. Native plants are adapted to your local climate and rarely need watering after establishment. Choose native plants whenever possible and reduce turf grass for an easier, more natural garden that saves water.

In these days of drought, heat spells, and water wise gardens, many gardeners are interested in efficiency when it comes to irrigation. Drip irrigation is commonly considered to be the most efficient way to water plants. But there’s something even better now: subsurface drip irrigation. It’s one step up - or, rather, one step down, providing low pressure water directly to each plant’s roots beneath the soil.

Underground Drip Irrigation

Subsurface drip irrigation - known as SDI - is an irrigation system that places a dripline of polyethylene tubing under the soil to release water to a plant’s root zone. Why is this good? The primary advantage of SDI is that the gardener is able to manage root zone irrigation more precisely. That means less evaporation loss and the possibility to spoon-feed nutrients.

An underground drip irrigation system also permits underground watering in fields that are shaped irregularly. In addition, it lets the gardener to meet the different water needs of different soils and crops.

How SDIs Work

The basic structure of an underground irrigation system is the dripline, buried in the soil. It must be placed below aeration depth, at least 6 to 12 inches below grade. An SDI dripline will have small holes called emitters spaced evenly along its length. The pressure of the water inside the tubing forces water out of the emitters drop by drop. Spacing between emitters depends on the type of soil and how it holds water.

The amount of water is regulated by the thickness of the dripline and the intervals of the emitters, usually placed every 8 to 24 inches (20-60 cm). You determine the appropriate spacing between by the soil’s water holding capacity.

The soil surface itself stays dry with subsurface drip irrigation, which means that neither the heat of the sun nor the wind will cause water loss. An SDI system that is properly installed, maintained and managed will be the most efficient irrigation system currently available.

Subsurface Drip Irrigation for Lawns

Subsurface irrigation systems are regularly used for agricultural crops, like corn, but what about plantings in a home landscape? Studies suggest that underground irrigation systems can work very well for turfgrass, one of the primary water guzzlers in American homes.

Every homeowner is well aware that their lush green lawn uses much more than its fair share of water. This is equally true for the grass on sports fields and golf courses. Installing an underground drip irrigation system can cut down on water use.

But note that this won’t be a great idea for renters. The SDI infrastructure is considered permanent, placed in the soil and used in place for years, even decades if properly maintained. Given the relatively high cost of the system, subsurface drip irrigation may not be economical to install for rented or leased residences.

Installation of SDI for Lawns

If you are wondering how to install subsurface drip irrigation for lawns, the best tip is to call in the specialists. In order to properly install a subsurface irrigation system, you need both specialized equipment and know-how.

Hiring a profession is expensive, but proper installation is critical to the effectiveness of the system. And there are many different steps to keep in mind that a DIY homeowner might miss, including calculating appropriate diameter of the dripline, distance between emitters, and proper procedures.

For example, you have to run water through the driplines very quickly after installing them. This is done to fully open the flow path to the soil. Failing this, soil can consolidate around the collapsed driplines, limiting water flow. And while installation is fairly quick in soil without rocks, rocky soil can make installation extremely difficult.

When it comes to irrigating your garden, a drip irrigation system can’t be beat. You can purchase a kit, buy separate pieces to assemble or try your hand at DIY drip irrigation for the garden. There are several types of DIY drip irrigation systems, none particularly challenging to assemble. Keep reading to learn how to make your own homemade slow drip irrigation system.

What is a Drip Irrigation System?

Drip irrigation consists of tubing placed above the ground with emitters that slowly drip water into the root system of a plant. The system can get more complex, but the general idea is incredibly simple.

Benefits to Drip Irrigation

There are a number of benefits to a drip or slow irrigation system. Only drip irrigation is 90% efficient compared to sprinklers which run at 65-75% efficiency. Certainly soaker hoses are also a method of delivering irrigation slowly, but the amount of water they deliver is unregulated.

Drip irrigation systems are efficient vehicles for providing water to plants, which means they save time, money and water. They water at the base allowing the rest of the plant to stay dry, which is important since wet plants foster diseases. Because the water only targets the roots of the plants, pathways between plants remain dry effectively suppressing weed growth. Drip systems also reduce runoff and evaporation.

Cons of Drip Systems

Drip irrigation systems do have some down sides. They generally require maintenance, emitters can become clogged using water high in minerals, and insects and rodents can nibble through the tubing, resulting in leaks.

The Simplest DIY Watering System

The simplest system to set up involves a 2 liter soda bottle and a drill. That’s it. This type of system is great as a temporary watering system if you are going on vacation. Use a clean, 2 liter soda bottle with the label removed. Upend the bottle and drill 5 small holes into the bottom of the bottle. Fill the bottle with water, cap it, and then place the drilled end atop the soil in a plant container.

You may also drill additional holes around the bottom half of the bottle which will allow this simple homemade slow drip system to provide more water to plants. In this case, bury the bottle halfway into the soil after filling it with water.

Bucket DIY Irrigation System

Another incredibly simple DIY watering system involves a 5 gallon bucket (19 L) along with ½ inch (1 cm) tubing, grommet, cinder blocks, stones or lumber, ⅝ inch (1.5 cm) valved coupler, cotton cloth or mesh screen, barbed ⅝ (1.5 cm) inch tee and a cord or sturdy string. Tools you will need are a drill, knife or box cutter.

Drill a hole in the bottom of the bucket large enough for the grommet to slide into but not so large it will leak. Insert the grommet, and then the coupler into the grommet. They should fit snugly.

Using the cinder blocks, stones or lumber, make a stand for the bucket. It should be around 40 inches (1 m) tall. Place the bucket atop the structure. Attach the tubing to the coupler, allowing the tubing to reach almost to the ground.

Attach the tee to the open end of the tubing. Up to 48 feet (14.6 m) of tubing can be attached per tee. Lay the tubing along the ground where you intend to irrigate plants. Secure the tubing with fabric staples so it doesn’t curl. Crimp the open ends of the tubing and tie off with rope or sturdy string.

Punch holes in the tubing: about 15 inches (38 cm) apart. Insert the emitters into these holes. Fill the bucket with water. Cover the bucket with cotton cloth or mesh screen and secure it with cord. This will keep the bucket free from detritus that can clog the system.

If an emitter seems to be clogged, open the tied end of the tubing and allow water to wash any debris out, then close the end again.

DIY Irrigation System Using Gravity

If you are living off the grid and have no access to piped water, then you likely already collect rainwater from the roof of your home. This water will be collected in rain barrels, large outdoor garbage cans or even buckets, often to then be stored in a larger storage tank.

Once you have stored water, all you will need is gravity and a few simple parts. Kits are available for the novice or you can choose to try your hand at a rain-fed irrigation system on your own. Ideally your storage tank will be situated on a slight slope above the garden area or you can build a stand.

At the very least you will need male/female connector, tubing, emitter, filter, drip tape, and plumber’s clay.

Additional DIY Irrigation System Ideas

Another way of creating a simple irrigation system is using PVC piping which can be used in raised beds, greenhouses, orchards, and the home garden. Life expectancy using PVC piping is 10-12 years, fertilizer can be introduced by using an injector, and the entire structure is sturdy. The only caveat is that the ground must be fairly flat for a PVC irrigation system to work.

If you want to create a DIY irrigation system using drip system components, it is best to map out exactly what you want the system to cover. This will help you with measurements for the drip lines themselves as well as how many emitters, connectors, end caps, etc you may need.

• Other than tubing or hose, you will need a leader hose, or non-perforated hose that will connect the system to the water faucet.
• You will also need a splitter. This attaches to the faucet allowing it to switch from the irrigation system to regular hose use.
• A timer is also a handy addition to a DIY irrigation system. They are inexpensive and can be found easily. They can even be run off your smartphone.
• Teflon tape is a must. It seals leaky connections.
• Lastly, you will need to plan to purchase enough mulch to lay 3 inches (7.6 cm) to help retain moisture at the drip line.

Every thoughtful gardener is concerned about water conservation. Although this is a global issue, the best place for each of us to start is in our own garden and in the landscape. A water saving garden design benefits both the environment and the household since it reduces water usage and cuts down on water bills.

How to use less water in the garden? Reducing the water you use doesn’t have to be to the detriment of the plants, either. The key to saving water in the garden is using water smarter. Here are 6 easy but effective ideas to start saving water in your own backyard.

1. Select drought-tolerant plants

If your plants naturally require less water to thrive, you can meet their needs without exceeding your water limit. This is more a matter of being thoughtful when selecting plants than restricting what you grow. Native plants are usually a good bet when it comes to requiring less water, but you can usually find drought-resistant options to almost any type of plant.

If you don’t know whether a certain plant is water wise, ask at your garden center. Alternatively, look for these characteristics that indicate that a plant is drought-tolerant:

• fuzzy or hairy leaves;
• plump succulent leaves;
• leaves with a waxy coating;
• long taproots.

2. Add Compost to Your Soil

Organic matter builds soil that will retain water, which cuts down on water requirements, so blend in compost regularly. This is cheap and easy if you set up compost in the backyard. The ideal garden soil is 5 percent organic matter -- this is important in flower beds but even moreso in the vegetable garden. Adding organic mulches like straw or chopped dead leaves also adds organic matter.

3. Water Wisely

There are a few essential rules to watering wisely for water conservation purposes. These are ways to save water outside with a few simple changes in routine.

• Water early in the morning. When you give your plants a drink in the morning, the water doesn’t evaporate quickly in the sun, meaning that there is more for the plants to absorb.
• Focus the water on the plant by using a watering can, soaker hoses, or drip irrigation to saturate the soil around the plant roots while leaving the foliage dry.
• Water deeply but less frequently. When you sprinkle a little water on the soil often, the plant roots don’t get the chance to use it.

4. Capture Rainwater

When it rains, capturing some of it for later use in the garden is not just fair, it’s also a great idea. You can do this with simple rain barrels that collect rainwater, or you can buy and install a water saving device for the garden that connects your home’s downspouts to containers for later use.

5. Rethink Your Lawn

Few plantings are thirstier than the classic American lawn, and many gardeners are reconsidering the wisdom of the vast expanse of green turf in these days of drought. There are a host of excellent, drought-resistant lawn alternatives including native grasses.

If you can’t live without the lawn, there are still alterations you can make to cut water loss. For example, mowing the lawn causes water loss, so mow during the cool of the day, raise the mowing height to provide more shade to the soil, and leave the grass clippings in place to return some moisture to the lawn. And allow the grass to go dormant during the summer heat. It will turn brown but will green up again quickly as the air cools in autumn.

6. Mulch All Landscape and Garden Plants

The use of organic mulch is great in the garden since, as it breaks down, it adds organic material to the soil. But it’s also a great idea since a 2- to 3-inch layer of shredded leaves, bark or compost will shade and cool the soil, slowing water evaporation. Mulch shrubs, trees, and perennial plantings as well as the flower and vegetable gardens.

Utility costs are on the rise, so conservation can really impact the bills. Using available water to irrigate the landscape is an attractive option, but there are some considerations. Pumping water from a lake for irrigation may not be allowed in some regions. Every locality has its own rules, so it is important to check with authorities to determine if you can pump water from lake to garden. 

Riparian laws, or those that govern natural bodies of water, are determined by state government. Even if you are using a body of water on your property such as a pond, there are other concerns. Bacteria and pathogens have been found to contaminate produce, livestock, and vegetation. Very dangerous diseases may occur if you pump water from a pond to a garden. It is crucial to have a water sample tested to determine if it is safe to use. 

Can I Use Pond Water to Water My Garden? 

Plants need water, and deciding what to use to irrigate is up to individual gardeners. Municipal water is generally safe to use, but it comes at a cost. A pond located on the property or a well are potential water sources. In many areas, if a property touches a lake or other freshwater source, the water supply may be used in reasonable amounts, but a permit may be required. 

Any water that is used from the land will require a pump. These may be electric or gas powered, and should be sufficiently strong to easily drive water to the area. Many ponds are designed as run-off catchments. These might be contaminated by road water that could have oil or other contaminants. A natural pond is often host to water fowl, which have the potential to spread diseases like Avian flu. Using fish pond water for gardens may also have harmful algae growth and disease. 

Wild Water Irrigation Concerns

In addition to the legal questions of irrigating with nearby ponds or lakes, there are a multitude of water borne pathogens. Salmonella, Giardia, E. coli, and several viruses such as Hepatitis could be present in wild waters. Surface waters like ponds and lakes are open to contamination by animals, run-off, and other actions. Be aware of what industries share the water, since contamination by certain productions is a common occurrence. Recreational lakes often have a slick of oil from boating activities that is not good for plants. 

How to Test Wild Water

The best way to ensure the water is safe to use on your property is through a water test. The Department of Public Health or Land Management can point a property owner in the right direction. Make sure the sample is sent to a reputable laboratory. 

In the case of a fish pond, an aquarium supply store can provide test kits for certain levels of minerals but is not adequate to detect fecal contamination or pathogens. Many colleges and universities have extension centers which may have water test kits and instructions on how to interpret them. Once the water is deemed safe, follow all local rules and laws and ensure you do your part to keep the water clean. 

A drip irrigation system is the most efficient way to get water where it needs to be, as well as to reduce runoff. How long to water with drip irrigation though? It depends on whether you are watering trees, shrubs, annuals, or perennials. Also consider whether they are xeric or native plants, which will require less water. Here are tips on how often and how long to run your drip irrigation system. 

Learn How Long to Water Plants with Drip Irrigation

Once your system is set up, you can use these general guidelines to water your new and established plantings. Always check the soil to see if you are watering enough or too much. 

The question, “how often should I run drip irrigation,” is often asked. Newcomers to drip irrigation often overwater. Typically drip irrigation systems are set up to run one hour per week. Plants needing a moister soil may need to be watered twice per week. Porous soils such as sandy soils will also need more frequent watering because the water flows through the soil quickly. Xeric or native plants, which consume less water, may only need to be watered every two weeks. 

How Often and How Long to Run Drip Irrigation

How long to run drip irrigation for trees

A newly planted “whip” may require only 1 to 2 gallons (3.78 to 7.57 l.) per week, whereas a 2 inch (5 cm.) caliper newly planted tree may need 10 to 12 gallons (37.8 to 45 l.) per week. You can figure the amount for an established tree by multiplying its trunk diameter by 10 gallons (37.8 l.). For example, a tree with a 2 inch (5 cm.) diameter trunk will need approximately 20 gallons (75.7 l.) of water per week. 

How long to run drip irrigation for shrubs

A medium sized shrub, for example, one growing in a 5 gallon (18.9 l.) nursery pot, could use about 6 gallons weekly. A large sized shrub may need 12 gallons (45 l.) of water per week. If the shrub needs moister soil, you can add more emitters around the plant. Conversely, if the shrub is xeric, you can reduce the emitter flow size.

How long to run drip irrigation for vegetables

Start with 2 gallons (7.57 l.) per week and adjust if needed. 

How long to run drip irrigation for flowers

Initially, start with 2 gallons (7.57 l.) per week for annuals and perennials. Xeric perennials can be started with 1 gallon (3.78 l.) per week. 

It’s important to keep an eye on how well the plants are being watered and to the correct depth. Adjust the emitter sizes and number if needed, as well as the time watering. 

It is a common rule in gardening to avoid watering plants in the sunniest and hottest part of the day. It’s understandable that even seasoned gardeners might wonder, is watering plants in the sun bad? It turns out that the idea that midday watering can cause leaf scorch is a myth. 

What is Leaf Scorch? 

Leaf scorch is a physiological condition that results from poor environmental conditions. It is not an infectious disease. Leaf scorch looks like burned, brown, and dead areas of leaf tissue. 

Does Watering Grass in the Sun Burn it?

This is an extremely persistent myth. There is no evidence that water on a leaf surface in the sun and heat will burn or scorch it. And yet, people notice a correlation, but it is coincidental or indirect. 

The underlying cause of leaf scorch is inadequate moisture in the leaves. This can result from a host of poor conditions, particularly those that reduce root function, which limits uptake of water: 

• Excess salt from ocean spray, road de-icing salt, fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides
• Wind stress
• High temperatures
• Soil compaction
• Inadequate potassium

When people water plants during the day when they’re already damaged and the damage gets worse, they might associate it with the sun. But it is not sunlight on wet leaves that causes scorch. 

Is it Okay to Water Plants in the Afternoon? 

Watering plants in the heat of the day is not ideal, but not because the water and sun together will scorch the leaves. The main reason not to water when the sun is high in the sky and temperatures soar is because of evaporation. The heat from the sun evaporates a significant amount of the water you apply to the plants, which makes it an inefficient time to do it. 

The ideal time to water is first thing in the morning before it’s too hot and the plants have time to dry out. Watering in the evening limits immediate evaporation, but it also limits evaporation period. The lingering water is conducive to fungal infections. 

Often people see plants wilting in the hot, sunny weather in the middle of the day and avoid watering to prevent leaf scorch. But, once foliage shows signs of damage, delaying watering only makes it worse. If your plants are stressed, no matter what time of day, water them right away. 

Preserving a natural water source's integrity and health is a priority in confronting pollution. A stormwater planter is a fairly easy way to redirect run-off and filter it before returning it to wild water sources. Storm water can contain chemicals and toxins that harm aquatic animals and the animals that rely on wild sources for drinking water. By using a stormwater planter design, the contaminated water is captured and cleansed before returning to the water supply. 

What is a Bioretention System?

Rain gardens are an important part of channeling and managing rain water. A bioretention system or stormwater planter is an innovative way of not only holding that water but allowing it to be purified before it is allowed to return to ground water or piped to main wild water sources. A bioretention planter also adds lively appeal to landscaping when appropriate filtering plants are present. 

A bioretention planter is a contained area with a flat bottom that is filled with plants. The run-off is collected in the area and the layers of mulch, soil, and plant roots, filter out impurities. 

While rain gardens are considered bioretention systems, stormwater planters go a step further. Rain gardens do not have a physical barrier outside of soil, rock, or sod to contain the water. In a bioretention system, there is generally a concrete or cement box built that does not allow water to percolate through the sides. Instead, the water must seep through the layers at the bottom, which capture impurities. There may be an infiltration system where the cleansed water seeps into native soil, or a filtration system, where the water is piped to natural water sources. 

Using Native Plants for Stormwater Management

There are a variety of plants that are suitable for stormwater planters, but native plants fit the bill in a unique way. Selecting wild, native plants provides options that are adapted to the region, requiring less special care. 

Native aquatic and riparian plants thrive in moist conditions and often have broad root systems, useful for filtering the water. In addition, such specimens provide habitat and food for native birds and animals. These plants are as appealing as ornamental species, but increase biodiversity and native flora. Select plants with matching cultural requirements and those that require minimal upkeep. 

A Basic Stormwater Planter

There are many guidelines and requirements for the optimal size of the planter, but most experts suggest at least an 18 inch (46 cm.) wide container. 

The layered substrate is crucial to the removal of toxins. This needs to be installed at an 18 inch (46 cm.) depth, at minimum. The base is native soil, topped by rock, sand, and pea gravel. This is followed by compost amended soil, and topped with top soil. The retaining area for ponding at the top should be 6-12 inches (15-30 cm). 

Finally plants can be installed. If the goal is to filtrate only, a storm drain discharge pipe must be installed to direct water out to its goal source. In infiltrated systems, the water will simply eventually mingle with the base native soil. 

There is some debate as to whether tap water is safe to use on our houseplants. Every municipality has slightly different components in its tap water, which means the safety levels depend upon locality. Rain water for plants is touted as the best route for hydrating flora, but some collection vessels may not be the best option. Continue reading to see if tap water for plants is okay, and what benefit or disadvantage of rain water exists. 

Using rainwater to irrigate can save money on your water bill, but in some areas rainwater collection is actually illegal. This is due to drought conditions where the water needs to percolate naturally to irrigate wild flora. But where the practice is legal, is rain water good for plants? The answer is complex, with several factors affecting outcomes. 

Should You Use Tap Water?

Concerns over levels of lead, chlorine, and other compounds in water have raised questions about the use of tap water on our plants. In most cases, tap water is safe because it is tested and regulated to conform to safety standards in drinking water. Using tap water on plants should therefore be safe, except in the cases of very sensitive species and certain edibles. If you are concerned about your tap water, it may be boiled or simply left out for several hours to off-gas certain compounds. Then the tap water will be pure enough to irrigate plants. 

Is Rain Water Good for Plants? 

As with nearly everything, there are pros and cons to using rain water for plants. The benefits of rain water encompass conservation, cost, and ease of collection. It may also be higher in nitrogen with a more elevated pH than tap water. The chlorine and fluoride levels in most tap water can actually stop plants from effectively taking up nitrogen. Some drinking water also contains harmful levels of sodium. Rain water that has been exposed to lightning is particularly beneficial. The benefits of rainwater exposed to lightning are higher levels of nitrogen and ammonium. These are transformed into available supplies by beneficial microbes, fungi, and bacteria for easy uptake by plant roots. 

Disadvantage of Rain Water

In the end, rain water has certain advantages over tap water. But the manner in which it is harvested can affect those positives. Water should be caught in containers which are clean and covered to prevent debris and mosquito colonies. Certain plastics give off potentially harmful gases. Metal containers are generally appropriate. Rain water run-off from roof areas poses some concern. Roof run-off may contain high levels of zinc, copper, lead, and bacteria such as E. coli. Treating the barrel with a small amount of household bleach once per month can also reduce levels of bad bacteria. Experts suggest using roof water only on the roots of plants but never on leafy edibles.

Preparing drip irrigation for winter is important to avoid damage to the system. You risk losing your investment in this handy gardening tool by letting it freeze and burst. Drip irrigation basics for winterizing are simple and worth the hour or so of your time to get the chore done. 

Step-By-Step Drip Irrigation System Winterization

Less than an hour of drip irrigation winter care is usually all it takes to ensure your system will be clean, intact, and ready to use again in spring. Ideally, you should go through these steps before the first frost. 

1. Flush the system with pressurized water to remove any debris. You may also want to flush it with chlorine to keep the system clean and kill and remove any algae buildup. You can flush again with water to remove the chlorine. 
2. Remove the drain plugs from the lowest points in the system to allow any remaining water to drain from the tubing.
3. If you suspect any water remains in lines or other components, use compressed air to blow it out. Remove end fittings first to avoid damaging them. 
4. If your system has control valves, remove them and store inside. They will not tolerate freezing. For other types of valves, you can keep them in place and open to drain. It’s best to keep them open during the winter but cover them with something to prevent critters from entering. 
5. Drain any pumps attached to the system that are above ground. These can hold on to water in low points and freeze.
6. You can leave any non-electrical components outside for winter, but for the best results, store everything inside in a safe place. Keep ends covered and tubing protected from rodents. 

Draining drip irrigation systems is another chore for the garden, but it’s an important maintenance step. If you do nothing else to protect your irrigation system, do this. Leaving water in it can lead to freezing and ruptures not just in the irrigation components, but also in main water lines. Take time to do this important chore. You’ll be glad you did come spring.

There are several different types of irrigation systems suitable for residential property, each with its own pros and cons. If you're a homeowner looking to install a new system or replace an existing one, it's important to consider the type of plants you wish to water and the composition of your soil. It's also prudent to review any local ordinances which may regulate your irrigation system design or use.

Residential Irrigation System Examples

The different irrigation types can be divided into two broad categories: Those which send water droplets into the air and those which deliver at ground level. Within each category, an irrigation system design can be simple or complex, manual or automatic and can be quite affordable or more costly. Here are several basic irrigation system examples:

Above-Ground Sprinklers – Perhaps the least expensive and easiest to set-up, these sprinklers are the type you attach to the end of a hose and drag to the area you wish to water. They are versatile and can effectively water lawns, groundcover or a densely planted garden area. Above-ground sprinklers are best suited for climates which only experience periodic dry spells. 

Con: Water wastage is the major drawback to those types of irrigation systems which deliver airborne water. These systems lose efficiency due to evaporation and droplets landing on hard surfaces. 

In-Ground Sprinklers – This irrigation system designed for delivering airborne water relies on underground pipes and may require professional installation. Most of these systems are totally automated and can be programmed to water where, when and how much the homeowner desires. An automated in-ground sprinkler system may be a good choice for watering lawns in drought-prone regions.

Con: In addition to water wastage, in-ground sprinkler systems can be fairly expensive to install and repair. They also require routine maintenance, particularly in climates where winter temps drop below freezing. 

Drip – With this irrigation system design, solid hose or underground pipe is connected to a series of emitters which deliver a slow trickle of water to precise locations at the base of plants. This can be a healthier method of water delivery, as it doesn't wet the foliage or splash soil-borne pathogens onto the plant. Of the different irrigation types, drip systems are the most water conservative. 

Cons: Like in-ground sprinklers, drip irrigation is more costly to install. These systems do require maintenance. A clean water supply is also essential to avoid clogging the emitters. 

Soaker Hose – Another one of the ground-delivery types of irrigation, soaker hoses are both versatile and economical. These perforated sections of flexible hose can be place on top of the ground or buried under the mulch. Soaker hoses can be used temporarily in the vegetable garden or around a newly planted tree. In water-regulated municipalities, the perforated hose can also be cut into sections and connected with standard garden hose to deliver a more precise watering solution. 

Cons: A soaker hose seeps water along its entire length, including the spaces between plants. This can encourage weeds and wastes water. Creating a more permanent, water-conserving irrigation system using sections of perforated hose alternated with solid hose can solve these problems, but it’s time-consuming and costly to set up. Soaker hoses also tend to lose pressure near the end of the run and they often distribute water unevenly on slopes.

Watering is one of the most, if not the most, important chores in the garden. You likely do it every day, so why not spend some time and a little money to get the best watering system for plants in your garden? 

Why Use Garden Watering Systems

Of course, you can always simply use the hose and a watering can to take care of your garden, but unless you have just a small balcony container garden, this labor-intensive method gets old fast. Choosing a better watering system is important for several reasons: 

• It will save you time on this daily or near daily chore. 
• The right system may save you money too, by watering more efficiently. 
• You can stop breaking your back moving a hose around the garden. 
• An irrigation system can be customized to match your garden’s exact water needs. 

How to Choose an Irrigation System

The best watering method for your garden is one that balances cost, efficiency, and effectiveness. It needs to water your plants without wasting water and without costing more than you can afford. Here are some options: 

Sprinklers. For the low-budget garden, a sprinkler is a cheap and easy solution. You’ll still need to lug it around the yard, but it’s still easier and faster than spending time standing with a hose. 

In-ground sprinklers. If you have the budget for it, in-ground sprinklers make watering easy. Turn the system on and off when you want or put it on a timer. A downside to this option is that it doesn’t allow much flexibility in making landscaping changes without an expensive rearrangement of the system. 

Soaker hoses. This is another lower-budget option. A soaker hose has little holes in it. You lay the hose strategically in beds and the water drips out and soaks the soil. This is a good choice if you are interested in saving water. You won’t lose a lot to evaporation. 

Drip irrigation. A drip irrigation system is similar to soaker hoses but is a more permanent installation. It costs more than soaker hoses but less than an in-ground sprinkler system.

Rain barrels. For the most eco-friendly watering, try a rain barrel. It allows you to collect and use rainwater, saving on city or well water. You will still need a method for using that water to irrigate your garden, though.

Growing a healthy, thriving garden can require a lot of effort. From planting to harvest, knowing how to meet the needs of your plants is essential. As gardeners learn to amend the soil, correctly fertilize their plantings, and manage diseases and pests, one extremely important aspect is often overlooked - watering.

While learning to water the garden may seem simple, there is actually much to consider, including both quantity and frequency. One technique, called deep watering, can be quite beneficial for a wide range of plant types. But what is deep watering?

What Is Deep Watering?

While it is certainly no secret that plants often need additional water to survive the warmest portions of the growing season, many gardeners question exactly how much water is needed. General guidance can often be found, but ideal conditions may vary dramatically from one plant type to another. 

Many gardeners use rain gauges to monitor plants and make better-informed decisions about supplemental watering. Deep watering is a strategy incorporated by savvy growers to ensure that garden beds are supplied with consistent and even moisture, without water waste.

Watering Deeply

Watering deeply refers to watering in a manner which allows the soil to be soaked several inches (7-10 cm) deep. Deep watering helps to make water more readily available to plants, and it allows for more efficient use of water in the event of prolonged periods without rain. Deep watering trees, shrubs, and other plants is also believed to aid in the development of strong roots. For instance, deep watering grass is popular among those who work to maintain lush manicured lawns throughout the summer months, as well. 

Slow Delivery

When deep watering plants, always avoid any rapid delivery of water. This can lead to standing water and soggy soil which will not absorb well. Watering deeply can be better achieved through the use of a timed drip irrigation, soaker hoses, or even sprinklers, but it must be done carefully. 

Not Too Often

Though a slower rate of delivery is ideal, infrequent watering is essential when using this method. Watering too often can lead to the development of more shallow root systems. Plants with shallow root systems may become much more susceptible to drought, as the upper portion of soil dries much more quickly.

Several garden characteristics can impact the overall success of deep-watering plants. Watering deeply greatly depends upon your own soil's composition. Amending the soil frequently with high-quality organic matter is a great way to help the soil better retain moisture and can make deep watering techniques more effective.

An irrigation system helps to conserve water which, in turn, saves you money. Installing an irrigation system also results in healthier plants by allowing the gardener to water deeply and less often, which encourages plant growth. What are some ways to put in irrigation? Irrigation installation can be done by the pros or do it yourself. It may be a sprinkler or drip irrigation system or a combination. Read on to learn how to install garden irrigation.

Drip Irrigation Installation

Drip or micro-irrigation is an irrigation method that applies water slowly to individual plants. Drip systems are fairly easy to set up yourself and require four easy steps: laying out the irrigation grid, assembling the hoses, installing tees, and then installing emitters and feed lines.

When installing a drip irrigation system, the first thing to do is lay out a grid with the hoses so you can get an idea of how far apart they need to be. Each hose gets an emitter that is attached to plastic tubing that runs from the main hose to the plants. Emitters should be a foot apart (31 cm.) in sandy soil, 18 inches (46 cm.) apart in loamy, and 24 inches (61 cm.) in clay soils.

To keep groundwater from backing up into your tap water, install a backflow preventer valve. Also, attach a hose adapter to fit the diameter of the hose. Connect the main line to the backflow preventer and run it to the garden.

Punch holes according to the above lengths in the line and place the emitters in position. Plug the ends of the lines with caps and band clamps.

That’s how to install drip irrigation, and it’s really quite simple to do yourself.

How to Install Garden Irrigation Sprinkler System

If you want to put in irrigation to cover the entire landscape including turf, installing an irrigation system gets a bit more complex. First, you need a schematic of the landscape. You can either draw one yourself or have a pro do it. Include trees and other obstacles.

Check your water pressure by attaching a pressure gauge to the outdoor faucet. Then remove the gauge and fill an empty 5-gallon (19 L.) bucket using the faucet. Time how long it takes for the bucket to fill and then calculate the flow rate in gallons per minute. This will tell you what type of sprinkler heads you will need. Be sure to look at coverage options (spray pattern) as you choose.

Using your map, plot the course of the irrigation system using as few turns as possible. Extra turns reduce the water pressure. For large areas, use multiple loops instead of a single stretch. Mark the placement of the sprinkler heads on your map making sure to allow a bit of overlap to ensure the radius of each head covers the full area. Using spray paint or flags, mark the location of the system in your yard or garden.

Assemble the zone valve based on the number of loops you have incorporated in your irrigation installation. Consult the instructions to ensure the valves are facing the correct way. The valve assembly will connect to a timer and pipes that connect to each valve.

Now it’s time to dig. Dig trenches that are deep enough that the sprinkler heads will be flush with the ground. Also, dig an area near the water faucet for the zone valve assembly. Lay the pipe or hoses for the system and install the sprinkler heads according to your plant.

Shut both the water and power off to your home if you want to connect the faucet and connecting pipe to the valve assembly. Install an external control box for the irrigation system. If necessary, run a wire from the breaker box.

Connect the valve assembly to the faucet and then connect the valve wires to the control box. Turn on the power and water and test the irrigation system. Backfill the trenches with soil once you have confirmed there are no leaks. Install a cover over the valve assembly.

Full DIY sprinkler system installation is not as simple as installing drip lines, but it can be done and is a real cost saver. 

Distilled water is a type of purified water achieved by boiling water away and then condensing the vapor. Using distilled water on plants seems to have its benefits, as watering plants with distilled water provides an impurity free source of irrigation that may help prevent toxicity build up.

Why Distilled Water for Plants?

Is distilled water good for plants? The jury is divided on this, but many plant experts claim it’s the best liquid, especially for potted plants. Apparently, it reduces chemicals and metals that are contained in tap water. This, in turn, provides a clean water source that will not harm plants. It also depends on your water source.

Plants need minerals, many of which can be found in tap water. However, excessive chlorine and other additives may have the potential to harm your plants. Some plants are especially sensitive, while others do not mind tap water.

Distilling water is done through boiling and then reconstituting the vapor. During the process, heavy metals, chemicals, and other impurities are removed. The resulting liquid is pure and free of contaminants, many bacteria, and other living bodies. In this state, giving plants distilled water helps avoid any toxic buildup.

Making Distilled Water for Plants

If you want to try watering plants with distilled water, you can purchase it at most grocery stores or make your own. You can buy a distillation kit, often found in sporting goods departments or do it with common household items.

Get a large metal pot partially filled with tap water. Next, find a glass bowl that will float in the larger container. This is the collection device. Place a lid on the big pot and turn on the heat. Put ice cubes on top of the lid. These will promote condensation which will collect into the glass bowl.

The remnants in the big pot after boiling will be heavily laced with contaminants, so it is best to throw it out.

Using Distilled Water on Plants

The National Student Research Center did an experiment with plants watered with tap, salt, and distilled water. The plants that received distilled water had better growth and more leaves. While that sounds promising, many plants don't mind tap water.

Outdoor plants in the ground use the soil to filter any excess minerals or contaminants. The plants in containers are the ones to worry about. The container will trap bad toxins which can build up to unhealthy levels.

So your houseplants are the ones who will benefit most from distilled water. Yet, giving plants distilled water isn't usually necessary. Watch the growth and color of the leaves and if any sensitivity seems to arise, switch from tap to distilled.

Note: You can also let tap water sit for about 24 hours before using on your potted plants. This allows the chemicals, like chlorine and fluoride, to dissipate.

Do you want to know if your plants need water, but don't like ruining a pricey manicure by sticking your fingers in the dirt? Thanks to smart moisture monitoring technology, you can have healthy plants while keeping your French tips sparkling white. Before you run out and purchase the first system you find though, there are a few things to consider.

How Apps That Measure Moisture Work

Smart soil moisture measurement technology begins with a planter sensor or probe which is inserted into the soil. This sensor uses a wireless connection, via radio waves, Bluetooth, or a Wi-Fi router to communicate with a smart device, such as a phone or tablet.

Smart moisture monitoring systems are fairly simple to set up. Once the sensor is in place and connected to a smart device, the user will need to download the appropriate application and access the plant database. From here the user will select the plant to be monitored and the type of soil.

The sensor then monitors soil moisture levels and relays this information to the smart device. Depending upon the features offered by the specific brand of smart system, the user will receive text messages or email notifications when the plant needs to be watered. Some apps that measure moisture also monitor soil and air temperatures as well as light and humidity.

There are several drawbacks with using moisture monitoring technology as well. These systems tend to be pricey with many brands costing more than a top-of-the-line spa manicure. Each sensor, which runs on batteries, only monitors a small area. Additionally, the apps only tell the user when the plant needs water, not how much to water.

Purchasing Moisture Monitoring Technology

Shopping for sensors and apps that measure moisture is like comparing apples and oranges. No two brands of moisture monitoring technology offer the same features. To help gardeners muddle through the confusion, consider these criteria when purchasing a smart moisture monitoring system:

• Connectivity – Many brands of sensors use a wireless Wi-Fi connection while others rely on Bluetooth or a dedicated radio frequency. The connectivity choice can limit transmission distances.
• User-Friendly Applications – Not all brands of smart moisture monitoring systems offer Android, iOS, and Windows based apps. Before purchasing a system, verify compatibility with your smart device.
• Database – The extent of the plant identification resources can be limited to a few hundred plants or contain many thousand, depending upon the manufacturer's website. This isn't a problem if users know the identity of the plants they wish to monitor.
• Indoor or Outdoor Monitoring – Sensors built for outdoor use require rain resistant housings, which often makes these products costlier than models designed for houseplants.
• Sensor Design – Naturally, the flowers and foliage in the garden are the attraction, not an unsightly moisture monitoring sensor. The appearance of the sensors varies widely between the various brands.

Watering is a necessary garden chore, no matter where your garden grows. We water more or less often depending upon our location, but the garden that grows without additional water is rare. Lush green lawns need regular watering too.

How will we apply that water to our lawns and gardens? Watering cans are obsolete. Watering with a hose by hand is time consuming and sometimes hard on the back if you must drag the hose. Sprinkler hoses are good for root systems but have to be replaced and don’t allow much control of the water applied. Enter the smart sprinkler systems….

Smart Water Sprinkler Info

Sprinkler systems for the lawn and garden are often controlled improperly or totally forgotten. We’ve all noticed them watering in the rain. If you’re using an outdated, inefficient method of watering your lawn and garden, maybe you’ve wondered what’s the latest in watering technology?

It’s time to meet the smart water sprinkler. Just like the smart technology appliances in the kitchen, the latest sprinklers do many of our calculations for us and operate from our smart phone. They can upgrade our already installed sprinkler system.

What is a Smart Sprinkler System?

Functioning from a smart controller installed in place of the previous timer and operated from the smart phone, these are not complicated to install. Smart sprinkler systems use an advanced timer attached to the existing system and the same wiring. Most operate through your phone, but some even run through Amazon’s Alexa.

These controls have auto adjusted features that work with the weather. There is a smart hose faucet timer, a smart sprinkler timer, and even one for indoor use. These can help decrease water usage, allowing you to comply with water restrictions more easily. 

How Do Smart Sprinklers Work?

Smart irrigation system controls replace traditional controls, with advanced sensors and the ability to use plant and weather apps for information needed to water properly for you. The controller learns your watering patterns and adjusts for the weather.

You have input abilities as well through your phone, laptop, or tablet. You can turn it on or off and adjust the watering areas. The device operates on your home Wi-Fi network.

The prices are reasonable for most of these smart irrigation controllers, many popular brands can be found just under a hundred dollars. Increased benefits carry an increased price. Do your research to learn if a smart sprinkler will benefit you.

Upgrading to smart irrigation systems has been proven to reduce water usage while maintaining that beautiful green lawn so many homeowners love. So, what is smart irrigation and how does a smart watering system work? More importantly, can smart watering technology be installed on an existing system?

How Does a Smart Watering System Work?

A programmable irrigation system allows homeowners and property managers to set a timer which automatically turns lawn sprinklers on and off. These systems have overrides which can prevent the sprinklers from running when nature takes over the job of watering the lawn, but these overrides must be operated manually.

Not so with smart irrigation! Smart irrigation advantages include the ability to monitor either local weather conditions or the actual ground moisture level. Thus, smart irrigation systems automatically adjust watering schedules according to the actual needs of the lawn.

In most cases, smart watering technology can be installed on existing irrigation systems and will cut water usage by 20 to 40 percent. Although pricey, these systems can pay for themselves in a few short years by lowering water bills.

The best part? Smart irrigation systems link to the home or office WiFi and can be remotely controlled with a smart device. No more having to remember to turn the sprinkler system on or off before leaving home in the morning.

Using Smart Watering Technology 

Smart watering technology can be installed on existing underground irrigation systems by swapping out the current controller for a smart one. In some cases, add-on weather or moisture-based sensors can be used with existing controllers and systems, thus saving the cost of purchasing a new controller.

Before purchasing this technology, homeowners and property managers are advised to do their homework to ensure smart controllers and sensors are compatible with existing irrigation systems as well as smart devices. Additionally, they will need to decide between weather-based sensors or moisture-based ones.

Evapotranspiration controllers (weather-based sensors) use local weather data to regulate sprinkler run times. These types of sensors either access publicly available local weather data via WiFi or take on-site weather measurements. Temperature, wind, solar radiation, and humidity readings are then used to calculate watering needs.

Soil-moisture technology uses probes or sensors inserted into the yard to measure actual soil moisture levels. Depending upon the type of sensor installed, these systems can either suspend the next watering cycle when readings indicate sufficient soil moisture or can be set as an on-demand system. The latter type of sensor reads both upper and lower moisture thresholds and the controller will automatically turn on the sprinklers to maintain water levels between the two readings.

When shopping around for a watering system for your garden, you’ll find an endless variety of hose nozzle types. Watering with a hose takes more time and effort than using sprinklers and in-ground systems, but it has some benefits. Learn more about the spray settings on hoses and how to use them to water your garden efficiently and thoroughly.

Why Use a Hose to Water?

Setting up a sprinkler and walking away is a convenient and good way to water a lawn. However, for beds and walkways, it can be tough to hit every spot using a sprinkler. Additionally, an in-ground, automatic sprinkler system that gets to every corner is costly.

For your beds and other areas of plantings, using a hose is an inexpensive way to water. You can reach every nook and cranny by walking around the yard with a hose. You will need a good nozzle to water different types of plants and beds though.

How to Use a Sprayer Hose – Hose Nozzle Watering Guide

When using a hose to effectively water your garden, you need to position it well. You may be limited by where you have a waterspout, but once connected you can move the hose to various locations. Store it somewhere out of the way but where it is still easy to use without crushing plants as you move it.

Next, you need to consider the garden hose spray settings. You can find nozzles with one or up to three, and even five or more settings for different spray patterns. These are useful for different kinds of plants. Common spray settings on hoses include:

• Shower: This is the most diverse pattern, which you can use to water most beds and plants.
• Full: Similar to the shower setting, but more powerful, you can use this pattern to hit sturdier plants at a greater distance.
• Flat: Spray this setting horizontally to cover a larger but more narrow area, like a row of edging plants.
• Mist: Use the fine mist setting to water plants that need humidity, like orchids.
• Soaker: For plants that need to get a good soaking, use this spray pattern close to soil level.
• Cone: The cone setting gives you a circle of spray so that you can water a ring of plants all at once.
• Jet: The powerful jet spray pattern will damage plants, but it is a great setting for powering dirt and debris from walkways, driveways, and patio furniture.

Choose a nozzle that has all the settings you need to keep your plants watered. Also, consider the grip and handle for your own comfort when picking out a new hose nozzle.

Many gardeners decide to save money and start their plants from seeds, only to be disappointed by the experience. What happened? If the seeds are not watered properly, they can wash away, be driven too deep, and overwatered or underwatered, all of which affect seed germination and growth.

Learn how to water seeds properly, thereby maximizing the germination rate.

Safely Watering Seeds

Before planting seeds indoors in a seed tray, water the soil thoroughly so it’s moist, but not wet. Then plant the seeds according to the instructions that came with the seeds. You won’t have to water after they are planted, preventing seed movement.

Create a mini greenhouse by covering the seed tray with a plastic tray or plastic wrap. This will keep the moisture and warmth inside, and you shouldn’t have to water again till after the seeds have germinated.

After the seeds have germinated and you’ve removed the cover, check the soil at least once a day for moisture level. Alternatively, if you don’t use a cover, plan to water the seeds once a day to keep the medium moist but not wet.

Whether watering newly planted seeds inside in a tray or outside in the ground or container, it’s important not to displace the seeds or force them further into the soil.

How to Keep Seeds from Washing Away

Watering a seed tray can be from above the soil line or below the soil line, which many experts prefer.

• When watering from above, it’s important to use a gentle spray such as from a mister or spray bottle.
• When watering from below, add water to a tray under your seed tray. Allow the water to fill about a ¼ inch (6.35 ml.) above the bottom of the seed tray. Keep an eye on the seed container to see when the water reaches the top of the soil. Immediately pour off any remaining water in the tray. A capillary system, which can be purchased, allows water to be drawn up into the soil as needed.

Watering newly planted seeds outside also requires care when watering so the soil doesn’t wash away. Use a hose fitted with a fine spray nozzle or use a watering can equipped with a fine mist spray.

Even the most seasoned gardeners can benefit from a quick guide to watering flowers. If you’re new to growing flowers; however, understanding how to water them correctly can make the difference between success with thriving blooms and failure, or dead plants.

How Much Water Do Flowers Need?

Watering gardens of any kind is important. Knowing how to water flowers correctly begins with the basics, how much water they actually need to grow and thrive. A good general rule to follow for most flowers is one inch (2.5 cm.) of water every seven to ten days. This is just for the growing season, though, as many flowers need less during the dormant part of the year.

One inch (2.5 cm.) of water is approximately five gallons (23 L.) of water per square yard of soil. If you are watering flower beds, you can put on a sprinkler and leave open canisters out to catch the water. This will let you know how long the sprinklers need to be on for one inch (2.5 cm.) of water to accumulate.

Of course, there are many exceptions to this general rule. Plants in hot, dry conditions may need more. For outdoor plants, when it’s raining, you shouldn’t need to provide any supplemental water.

Flower Watering Tips

Once you have a handle on how much water your flowers need, you can consider how and when to water flowers. Take soil type into account, for instance. If your soil drains very well and quickly, water about a half inch (1 cm.) twice a week to ten days. If the soil drains more slowly, one watering is better.

Water native species less. When growing native flowers or wildflowers, you won’t need to water them once they have become established. Keep top layers of soil moist. For most flowers, you don’t want to let the top inch (2.5 cm.) or two (5 cm.) of soil to dry out completely.

Just as with vegetable gardens, the best time of day to water outdoor flowers is in the morning. With cooler temperatures, more water will soak into the soil and less will evaporate.

Invest in drip irrigation. An issue with watering flowers with sprinklers or a hose is disease spread. The water causes soil to splash up to leaves and this can spread fungal and other infections. A drip irrigation system is a good investment for keeping plants watered without this risk.

Add mulch. If you have a hard time keeping moisture in your soil and want to water a little less frequently, add a layer of mulch. This reduces evaporation and maintains soil moisture.

Chlorine and chloramines are chemicals added to the drinking water in many cities. It’s difficult if you don’t want to spray these chemicals on your plants since that’s what comes out of your tap. What can a gardener do?

Some people are determined to get rid of the chemicals and are using Vitamin C for chlorine removal. Is it possible to start removing chlorine with Vitamin C? Read on for information about the problems with chlorine and chloramine in water and how Vitamin C can help.

Chlorine and Chloramine in Water

Everybody knows that chlorine is added to most municipal water – a way to kill off deadly water-borne diseases – and some gardeners do not find this to be a problem. Others do.

While high levels of chlorine can be toxic to plants, research establishes that the chlorine in tapwater, around 5 parts per million, doesn’t directly affect plant growth and only affects soil microbes near the soil surface.

However, organic gardeners believe that chlorinated water harms soil microbes and living soil systems, required for optimal plant support. Chloramine is a blend of chlorine and ammonia, frequently used these days in lieu of chlorine. Is it possible to get rid of chlorine and chloramine in the water you use in your garden?

Removing Chlorine with Vitamin C

You can remove both chlorine and chloramine in water with the same strategies. Carbon filtration is a very effective method, but it takes a lot of carbon and water/carbon contact to do the job. That’s why Vitamin C (L-Ascorbic acid) is a better solution.

Does ascorbic acid/Vitamin C actually work to remove chlorine? Research by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that using ascorbic acid for chlorine is effective and works rapidly. Today, Vitamin C filters are used to dechlorinate water for procedures where the introduction of chlorinated water would be catastrophic, like medical dialysis.

And, according to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), using Vitamin C/ascorbic acid for chlorine is one of the utility’s standard methods for dechlorination of water mains.

There are various methods you can try for using vitamin C for chlorine removal. The SFPUC established that 1000 mg. of Vitamin C will completely dechlorinate a bathtub of tapwater without significantly depressing pH levels.

You can also buy shower and hose attachments containing Vitamin C on the internet. Effervescent Vitamin C bath tablets are also readily available. You can find very basic chlorine hose filters, better-quality chlorine filters that only require one filter replacement a year, or professionally-installed, entire landscape filters.

You may have heard of the drenching of soil. There are many reasons to drench soil; the most common of which is to remove excess salts in container plants. The soil drenching technique is also used to introduce chemicals of one sort or another into plant roots, where they can be quickly taken up. The process is not difficult, but you do have to read the directions on the product carefully to deliver the right amount of solution and avoid harming the plant.

What is Soil Drenching?

Trees and other plants often need herbicides, nutrients, fungicides, or pesticides. While some gardeners choose to spray leaves and stems, still others use time-release granular formulas mixed into the soil. Using soil drenches allows quick delivery of the chemicals and avoids overspray and drift. Soil drench application is easy enough even for novice gardeners and practically foolproof.

Soil drenches are usually used to apply water-soluble chemicals which flood roots and are up-taken systemically to all parts of the plant. It can be useful in combating insects, fungi, and certain diseases, as well as delivering nutrients right to the roots.

It is important to read the preparation carefully to determine the timing for drenching your soil. With many preparations, you will also need some protective gear to avoid contaminating your skin during soil drench application.

Drenching of Soil - Determining DBH

The diameter at breast height (DBH) is exactly as it sounds. In order to determine how much chemical to mix in the water, you need a tape measure to determine this data. Stand at chest height and wrap the tape measure around the trunk or main stem. Divide the number you get by 3.14 for the diameter.

When trees are growing closely together, treat each trunk individually. If you have a plant that has split into many stems, measure the narrowest point between the widest part of the original stem and the split. This important measurement will help you determine the correct amount of chemicals to deliver to the plant.

For much smaller plants, like feeding seedlings or transplants in the garden, simply follow the label instructions for fertilizer amounts and dilute as needed.

Tips on Using Soil Drenches

In order for the formulation to penetrate easily, water around the base of the plant prior to application. The soil should be moist but not saturated.

You will also want to pull away any mulch around the main stem or trunk of the plant. The mulch can be replaced after the liquid has soaked into the soil.

The soil drenching technique takes little to no extra equipment, making it economical and simple. All you need is a bucket or watering can, a stir stick, chemical-resistant gloves, and a measuring tape. In some instances, you may have to excavate a trench around a plant to fill with the liquid.

Mix up the liquid and water it into the root zone of the plant. It's that simple!

Managing our resources is part of being a good steward of our earth. The condensation water that results from operating our ACs is a valuable commodity that can be used with purpose. Watering with AC water is a great way to use this byproduct of the unit's function. This water is pulled from the air and a great source of chemical free irrigation. Read on to learn more about watering plants with air conditioner water.

Is AC Condensation for Plants Safe?

During the use of an air conditioner, moisture forms and is usually removed by a drip line or hose outside the home. When temperatures are high, the condensate can amount to 5 to 20 gallons (23-91 L.) per day. This water is pure, pulled from the air, and contains none of the chemicals in municipal water. Combining air conditioner water and plants is a winning way to conserve this precious and expensive resource. Unlike your tap water, the AC water contains no chlorine or other chemicals. It forms when the unit cools warm air, which creates condensation. This condensation is directed outside the unit and can be redirected safely into plants. Depending on the amount your unit runs and the temperatures, irrigating with AC water can water just a few pots or an entire bed. Many large institutions, such as college campuses, are already harvesting their AC condensate and using it in water-wise landscape management. Watering plants with air conditioner water not only conserves this resource and reuses it thoughtfully, but it saves a ton of money.

Tips on Watering with AC Water

No filtering or settling is necessary when using AC condensation for plants. One of the simplest ways to harvest the water is to collect it in a bucket outside the home. If you want to get fancy, you can extend the drip line directly into nearby plants or pots. The average home will produce 1 to 3 gallons (4-11 L.) per hour. That's a lot of usable free water. A simple afternoon project using PEX or copper pipe can create a consistent, dependable water source to be distributed wherever it is needed. In hot, humid regions where there will be a lot of condensate, it is probably a good idea to divert the runoff to a cistern or rain barrel.

Downsides to Irrigating with AC Water

The biggest issue with watering plants with air conditioning water is its lack of minerals. The condensate is essentially distilled water and is considered corrosive. That is why the water goes through copper pipes and not steel. The corrosive effect is only on metals and does not affect organic material, such as plants. Air conditioning water is also extremely cold straight out of the tubing or pipe and can affect plants if applied directly. Aiming the piping to the soil and not onto the plant leaves or stems can alleviate this. The water is also devoid of minerals which can deplete soil, especially in container situations. Mixing it with rainwater should help balance the amount of minerals and keep your plants happy.

Many gardeners use either a water-soluble fertilizer or a slow-release fertilizer to feed plants but there’s a new method called fertigation. What is fertigation and does fertigation work? The following article discusses how to fertigate, if fertigation is good for plants, and includes some basic fertigation guidelines.

What is Fertigation?

The name might give a clue as to the definition of fertigation. Simply put, fertigation is a process that combines fertilization and irrigation. Fertilizer is added to an irrigation system. It is most commonly used by commercial growers. Fertigation rather than traditional fertilization approaches is purported to target the plant’s nutrient deficiencies more effectively. It also reduces soil erosion and water consumption, reduces the amount of fertilizer utilized, and controls the time and rate it is released. But does fertigation work in the home garden?

Is Fertigation Good or Bad for Plants?

Many plants need supplemental nutrients not found in the soil. Of course, amending the soil with generous amounts of organic compost is ideal, but not always practical for one reason or other. So, fertigation may supply a combination of any of the following:

• ammonium nitrate
• urea
• ammonia
• monoammonium
• phosphate
• diammonium phosphate
• potassium chloride

Unfortunately, both control and uniformity are compromised using fertigation in the home garden. The fertilizer gets applied at the same rate to everything and not every plant has the same nutrient requirements or at the same time. Also, if the fertilizer isn’t mixed well in the water, there is a danger of foliage burn. On this account, a fertigation guide can direct you on how to solve the issue by adding several feet (1 to 1.5 m.) of pipe between the first sprinkler head or emitter and the injector. Fertigation does work very well on likeminded large-scale crops and lawns.

How Does Fertigation Work?

Fertigation is all the rage at the moment and is indispensable in an agricultural setting, but in the home garden, it has some questionable attributes. Fertigation via aerial spray nozzles produces a mist that drifts easily which may affect your neighbor’s garden as well. Also, fertilizer sprays that drift onto vehicles should be washed off ASAP. If, for instance, the spray drifts onto your neighbor’s car and is left overnight, it can damage the paint. In addition, because the fertilizer used is often a chemical, a reduced pressure backflow preventer should be in use. Most home gardeners don’t have one and they are a bit pricey. Home sprinkler systems often have a significant runoff, runoff that contains fertilizer that will then spread to waterways where it encourages algae and non-native weed growth. Nitrogen, the most common nutrient applied via injection, easily evaporates into the air, which means that you may actually be backsliding in terms of feeding the plants.

How to Fertigate Plants

Fertigation requires either a suitable irrigation system with a backflow preventer or a DIY setup that adapts an existing drip irrigation system with valves, pumps, emitters, and a timer. Once you have a setup, you need to decide how often to fertilize, which isn’t an easy question to answer since everything from the grass to the trees will have a different schedule. A general fertigation guide for lawns is to fertilize 4-5 times per year, at the bare minimum, twice a year. Apply the fertilizer when the grass is actively growing. In the case of cool-season grasses, fertigation should occur twice, once after winter dormancy and again with nitrogen-rich food in the early fall. Warm grasses should be fertilized in the spring and again in the late summer with a fertilizer that is heavy on nitrogen. As to other perennials and annuals, fertigation isn’t the ideal fertilization method since each plant’s needs will be unique. A better idea is to apply a foliar spray or to dig in slow-release fertilizer or organic compost. That way each individual plant’s needs can be met.

Got an aquarium? If so, you’re likely wondering what you can do with that excess water after cleaning it out. Can you irrigate plants with aquarium water? You certainly can. In fact, all of that fish poop and those uneaten food particles can do your plants a world of good. 

In short, using aquarium water to irrigate plants is a very good idea, with one major caveat. The major exception is water from a saltwater tank, which shouldn’t be used to water plants; using salty water can do serious damage to your plants – especially potted indoor plants. 

Read on to learn more about watering indoor or outdoor plants with aquarium water.

Using Aquarium Water to Irrigate Plants

“Dirty” fish tank water isn’t healthy for fish, but it’s rich in beneficial bacteria, as well as potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen, and trace nutrients that will promote lush, healthy plants. These are some of the same nutrients you’ll find in many commercial fertilizers. 

Save that fish tank water for your ornamental plants, as it may not be the healthiest thing for plants you intend to eat – especially if the tank has been chemically treated to kill algae or to adjust the pH level of the water, or if you’ve recently treated your fish for diseases. If you’ve neglected to clean your fish tank for a very long time, it’s a good idea to dilute the water before applying it to indoor plants, as the water may be too concentrated. 

Note: If, heaven forbid, you find a dead fish floating belly-up in the aquarium, don’t flush it down the toilet. Instead, dig the departed fish into your outdoor garden soil. Your plants will thank you.

Having worked in landscape design, installation, and plant sales for many years, I have watered many, many plants. When asked what I do for a living, I sometimes joke and say, “I’m Mother Nature at a garden center.” While I do many things at work, like designing landscapes and displays and working with customers, perhaps the most important thing I do is making sure every plant we have in stock has everything it needs to grow to its full potential. A plant’s main need is water, especially container stock, which can dry out quickly. For many years, along with co-workers, I would water each individual plant with a hose and rain wand. Yes, it really is as time consuming as it sounds. Then four years ago, I started working for a landscape company/garden center with a drip irrigation system that waters all the tree and shrubs. While this may sound like a huge part of my workload was eliminated, drip irrigation has its own set of challenges and drawbacks. Continue reading to learn more about drip irrigation problems and solutions.

Problems with Drip Irrigation

Whether in a garden center or a home landscape, hand watering each individual plant based on its needs that day is probably the best way to water. By hand watering, you are forced to get up close to each plant; therefore, you’re able to adjust each plant’s watering to its specific need. You can give a dry, wilting plant extra water or skip a plant that prefers to stay on the dryer side. Most of us just don't have the time for this slow, thorough watering process. Sprinkler or drip irrigation systems allow you to save time by watering large areas of plants all at once. However, sprinklers don’t consider individual plant watering needs; for example, the sprinkler that keeps your lawn lush and green is probably not providing trees and shrubs in the area with the deep watering they need to develop strong, deep roots. Turf grasses have different root structures and watering needs than larger plants. Also, sprinklers often get more water on the foliage than in the root zone. Wet foliage can cause pest and fungal problems, like black spot and powdery mildew. Drip irrigation systems water individual plants directly at their root zone, eliminating a lot of fungal issues and wasted water. However, these drip irrigation systems still water every plant the same, regardless of individual needs. Drip irrigation can also be an unsightly mess of hoses and tubes running throughout the garden. These hoses can get clogged by debris, salt build up, and algae, so if they are covered and hidden by mulch, it’s hard to check if they are running properly and fix any clogs. Hoses that are exposed can be damaged by rabbits, pets, children, or gardening tools. I have replaced many hoses that were chewed on by rabbits. When the black hoses of drip irrigation systems are left exposed to the sun, they can heat up the water and basically cook the plants roots.

Drip Irrigation Tips

Rainbird and other companies that specialize in drip irrigation systems have all sorts of special solutions for drip irrigation problems.

• They have timers that can be set so even if you're away, you can trust that your plants have been watered.
• They have different nozzles that can control water flow so that plants like succulents can get less water, while plants with higher water needs can get more.
• They have sensors that tell the system if it’s raining out so it will not run.
• They also have sensors that tell the system if water is pooling up around the nozzles.

However, most people will start out with a less expensive, basic drip irrigation system. Drip irrigation systems can help you water tough areas, like slopes where run off and erosion can happen from other watering methods. Drip irrigation can be set to give these areas a slow penetrating soak or can be set to deliver water in bursts that can be soaked in before the next burst. Most problems with drip irrigation come from improper installation or not using the right kind of drip irrigation for the site. Do your homework when choosing a drip irrigation system beforehand and future issues can be avoided.

About 71% of the Earth is water. Our bodies are made up of approximately 50 to 65% water. Water is something that we easily take for granted and trust. However, not all water should be trusted so automatically. While we are all conscious of the safe quality of our drinking water, we may not be so aware of the quality of the water we are giving to our plants. Continue reading to learn about water quality in gardens and testing water for plants.

Water Quality in Gardens

When a plant is watered, it absorbs the water through its roots, then through a vascular system similar to the circulatory system of the human body. The water moves up the plant and into its stems, leaves, buds, and fruit. When this water is contaminated, that contamination will be dispersed throughout the entire plant. This is not such a concern for plants that are purely ornamental, but eating fruits or veggies from contaminated plants can make you very sick. In some cases, contaminated water can cause ornamentals to discolor, become stunted, grow irregularly, or even die. So, water quality in gardens may be important whether it's an edible garden or just ornamental. City/municipal water is regularly tested and monitored. It is usually safe for drinking and, therefore, safe for use on edible plants. If your water comes from a well, pond, or rain barrel, however, it may be contaminated. Water contamination has led to many disease outbreaks from infected crops. Fertilizer runoff from crop fields can seep into wells and ponds. This runoff contains high nitrogen levels that cause plants to discolor and can make you sick if you are eating these plants. Pathogens and microorganism that cause E. Coli, Salmonella, Shigella, Giardia, Listeria, and Hepatitis A can also make their way into wells, ponds, or rain barrel water, contaminating the plants and causing illnesses in people and pets who eat them. Wells and ponds should be tested at least once a year if they are used to water edible plants. Harvesting rainwater in rain barrels is a thrifty and earth-friendly trend in gardening. They’re not so human-friendly though when edible plants are being watered with rainwater contaminated by excrement from diseased birds or squirrels. Roof runoff can also contain heavy metals, like lead and zinc. Clean rain barrels at least once a year with bleach and water. You can also add about one ounce of chlorine bleach to the rain barrel once a month. There are rain barrel water quality test kits you can buy on the Internet, as well as rain barrel pumps and filters.

Is Your Water Safe for Plants?

Is your water safe for plants and how do you know? There are pond kits you can purchase for water testing at home. Or you can contact your local Department of Public Health for information on testing wells and ponds. For example, by simply searching Wisconsin Department of Public Health Water Testing for information in my area, I was directed to a detailed water testing price list on the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene website. While some of these tests can be a little pricey, the cost is pretty reasonable compared to what doctor/emergency room visits and medications could cost.

Gardeners and landscapers often refer to the root zone of plants. When purchasing plants, you’ve probably been told to water the root zone well. Many systemic disease and insect control products also suggest applying the product to the plant’s root zone. So, what is a root zone exactly? Read more to learn what the root zone of plants is, and the importance of watering the root zone.

What is a Root Zone?

Simply put, the root zone of plants is the area of soil and oxygen surrounding the roots of a plant. Roots are the starting point of a plant's vascular system. Water and nutrients are pulled up from the oxygenated soil around the roots, called the root zone, and pumped into all the aerial parts of the plant. A proper and healthy plant root zone is spread out past the drip line of a plant. The drip line is a ring-like area around the plant where water runs off from the plant and into the ground. As plants root and grow, the roots spread out toward this drip line in search of the water that runs off the plant. In established plants, this drip line area of the root zone is the most efficient area to water the plant in a drought. In many plants, the roots will branch out densely and grow up toward the soil’s surface around the drip line to absorb as much rainfall and runoff as the roots and root zone can hold. Plants that root deeply depend more upon deep groundwater and will have a deeper root zone.

Information on the Root Zone of Plants

A healthy root zone means a healthy plant. The root zone of healthy established shrubs will be approximately 1 to 2 feet (31-61 cm.) deep and extend out past the drip line. The root zone of healthy established trees will be about 1.5 to 3 feet (46-91 cm.) deep and spread out past the drip line of the tree canopy. Some plants may have shallower or deeper root zones, but most healthy plants will have a root zone that extends out past the drip line. Roots can be stunted by compacted or clay soil and improper watering, causing them to have a small, weak root zone that does not absorb the water and nutrients a healthy plant requires. Roots can grow long, leggy, and weak in a root zone that is too sandy and drains too quickly. In well-draining soil, roots are able to develop a large, strong root zone.

“Be sure to water it well when planting it.” I say this phrase several times a day to my garden center customers. What does it mean to water well when planting? Many plants don’t get a chance to develop the deep vigorous roots they’ll need because of insufficient watering. Continue reading to learn how to water new garden plants.

What Does it Mean to Water Well When Planting?

Before planting, it is a good idea to observe the drainage of the planting site or do a soil drainage test. Ideally, you want your planting site’s soil to drain at a rate of about 1 to 6 inches (2.5-15 cm.) per hour. If the area drains too quickly, you’ll need to amend the soil with organic materials or plant only drought tolerant plants. If the area drains too slowly, or water stays pooled up, you’ll need to amend the soil with organic materials or use plants that tolerate wet soil only. Watering depends on several key factors like:

• What kind of plant you are planting
• What type of soil you have
• Weather conditions

Drought tolerant plants, like succulents, require less water to establish and grow; overwatering these plants can lead to root and crown rot. If your soil is too sandy or is mostly clay, you will have to adjust your soil or watering habits to give the plants the water they need. If you are planting in a rainy season, you will need to water less. Likewise, if you are planting during the dry season, you will need to water more. With all these factors in mind, you will generally need to water all new plants (even drought tolerant plants) deeply every time you water. Wetting the soil 6 to 12 inches (15-31 cm.) deep encourages roots to grow deeply. Allowing the soil and roots to slightly dry out between waterings encourages the roots to reach out, seeking water on their own. Plants that are watered deeply but infrequently will have vigorous, strong roots while plants that are watered lightly often have shallow, weak roots.

Watering Tips for New Plants

It is best to water new plants right at the plant base. This can be done for a group of new plants with a soaker hose laid out, so it runs by the base of all the new plants. If you have just added one or two new plants to the garden, it's best to just water those few new plants individually with a regular hose, so that the already established plants in the garden will not receive too much water. Water a plant immediately when you plant it. Whether you’re watering a group of plants with a soaker hose or just one plant with the end of a regular hose, water with a slow, steady trickle for 15 to 20 minutes. Never blast water on the base of the plant, as this causes erosion of the soil and just wastes all the water that the plant doesn't get the chance to soak up.

• For the first week, continue to water plants with regular watering needs every day with a slow steady trickle for 15 to 20 minutes. For succulents, water the same way, only every other day. If there is more than one inch (2.5 cm.) of rainfall in your area, you do not need to water that day.
• In the second week, you can wean the plant by watering every other day with a slow steady trickle for about 15 to 20 minutes. With succulents, by the second week, you can water them only about two or three times.
• In the third week you can wean your plants even more by watering them only two to three times a week with a slow, steady trickle for 15 to 20 minutes. At this point, succulents can be weaned to one watering a week.
• After the third week, continue watering new plants two to three times a week for the rest of their first growing season. Adjust watering for the weather; if you’re getting a lot of rain, water less. If it is hot and dry, water more.

Container plants will need to be watered every day or every other day throughout the growing season, as they dry out faster. When in doubt, simply stick your fingers in the soil. If it is dry, water it; if it is wet, give it time to absorb the water in the soil. If watered properly during the first growing season, your plants should be well established the following growing season. Their roots should be deep and tough enough to seek out water on their own. You will only have to water these established plants on hot, dry days or if they are showing signs of distress.