Cros-B-Crest Farm

Our friends at The Great Big Greenhouse listed their top Summer Watering Tips and they are too good not to share!  Enjoy your summer container and flower gardens!!

SUMMER WATERING

• The most critical watering is the one immediately after planting, and then two days later. When planting be certain to apply two to three inches of mulch to help retain moisture.

• Water early in the day so that evaporation is minimized. Try to avoid watering in the evening to prevent black spot, powdery mildew, and other fungal diseases, but it's better to water in the evening than not at all.

• If you are planting during the summer you should water every other day for the first couple weeks, then you should be able to back off to twice a week until temperatures cool off and soaking rains return.
  

• Thunderstorms often drop a lot of rain in a short period, and most runs off and does not seep into the ground. Do not depend on brief heavy showers to water your plants.

• Hydrangeas and newly planted perennials will often wilt in the heat of the day if the ground is not sufficiently moist. If not watered that day permanent damage could result.

• Mature trees and shrubs, and most plants installed prior to this spring should be able to survive without much supplemental watering. Newly installed plants, trees, shrubs, or perennials will need additional water through the summer.

• Watering twice a week, but deeply, so that water seeps into the ground, is more beneficial than more frequent, shallow watering. For lawns, it is recommended to provide an inch of water each week. The simplest way to measure is to set out a coffee can, or similar container to capture water from the sprinkler. If you don't water your lawn during the summer it is likely that it will go dormant and turn brown, but it should green up with more regular rains and cooler temperatures in September. Plants are less forgiving. If showing signs of stress they could be within a day or two of dying, and must be watered immediately.

• Watering is most efficient with soaker hoses or drip irrigation. Watering plant to plant with a hose is efficient, but the tendency is to move too quickly and under water. Newly planted trees are best watered with a hose, and just a trickle of water for half an hour to an hour so that water soaks in and doesn't run off. As an alternative use a GatorBag, or a similar watering container that slowly releases water over many hours.

• Lawns, and large landscape bed areas can be watered with a sprinkler, but try not to water in the afternoon when more water is lost to evaporation. Impact sprinklers that break droplets into a fine mist will lose more water to evaporation than those with larger droplets.