When your whole yard is parched by dry weather and plants that wilted in the midday sun are still drooping the next morning, they are in dire need of irrigation. Knowing when and how much to water is key to achieving that lush, green look you are aiming for.
If water use is not restricted in your community, running a sprinkler is the easiest solution. However, watering by hand may be your only alternative. Garden supply stores stock an array of adjustable garden-hose nozzles that allow you to change the force and stream of water in keeping with the task at hand, making it possible to switch from a gentle shower to a misty spray. If you keep a number of plants in containers, you will love a watering wand. It is a sprinkler-type nozzle with a long handle that screws onto the end of your hose. A watering wand makes it easy to reach plants growing in high hanging baskets and other hard-to-reach areas.
Whenever you water your garden plants, your objective should always be to soak the root zone rather than the foliage. Fungi that cause leaf-spot diseases become active when leaves are damp, so keeping leaves dry helps to prevent these problems. For this reason, it is often best to water early in the morning, so that water will soak into the soil before temperatures rise and wet leaves can dry before the cooler evening hours.
In arid climates, where disease is not a problem, water in the evening to reduce evaporation, giving plants all night to soak up water before facing drying wind or hot sun the following day.
Gardeners are usually advised to provide plants with 2.5 centimetres of water per week during droughts. It may seem odd to measure the output of your sprinkler, but it is easily accomplished.
Grab a chair, a glass of lemonade and reap the benefits of your lawn.
