Watering Recommendations

It’s getting hot out there, folks! So let’s talk about thoughtful watering techniques.

Our tips?

• Water deeply and infrequently. Instead of watering established plants daily, try deeper waterings 2-3 times a week. Frequent watering keeps roots superficial. Deeper and infrequent watering encourages roots to grow down, therefore making them more resilient in the face of heat. (New seedlings should be kept as moist as possible, so make sure to give them a refresher as things are warming up if you’re cultivating new growth!).

• Build healthy soil. Add organic fertilizers and compost to increase your soils ability to retain moisture.

• Mycorrhizae in the soil supports plants in making use of available moisture. Add it to your soil, and practice no till methods!

• Water in the evening or early morning when it’s coolest. This will give your soil a better chance of absorbing water and reduce evaporation.

• Plant natives! They are very hardy once established and benefit local wildlife by building habitat.

• Keep it mulched or plant ground cover. It builds the soil, and protects the surface while promoting water retention!

• Get yourself some water catchment to repurpose rain water. There are so many unique options out there that can be stylish as well as functional.

This is all helpful for perennials, but what about your annuals beds? Most of the above is advice that can also be applied to your vegetable gardens. While common knowledge would suggest annuals always require daily watering, there are other techniques out there that support gardening with much less water. Give a look into the awe-inspiring research coming out around dry farming!

Stay cool, everyone!