Well, so far 2009 has proved to be another interesting weather year here in Texas. A very nice, cool, and fairly wet spring in north Texas has been followed up by a hot and semi-dry summer in the north and extremely dry in the south. I always say that Mother Nature shuts that faucet tight when she shuts it off in the summer. Boy oh boy, I think she used a pair of vice grips this year for you folks in the south. Hopefully by now we have enjoyed a little help from above. Nothing compares to the benefits we get from rainwater. On the show I tend to rant and rave about different things, but the “art” of watering tends to come up on a weekly basis this time of year.
September has proven to be our third month of summer here lately and conserving water and proper watering should be on everyone’s mind – actually year around! I highly encourage everyone to check into rain barrels. We let so much good free water run down the storm drains when placement of a rain barrel can help decrease your water bill. It is as simple as buying a 55 gallon drum and diverting your gutters into it. Install a faucet at the base and off you go! Your plants will thank you each time you use rainwater instead of tap water. In June we had Rick and Pam Daniels from Rainwater Harvesting Solutions (www.rwhs.us) on the Dirt Doctor Radio show. They covered great information on water catchment systems. So check them out and check out more at the Renewable Energy Round-Up in Fredericksburg, Texas in September, and the Eco Fair in Wichita Falls in October.
Now, for those of you who rely on a sprinkler system to water your lawn and gardens, there are some basic guidelines to follow. Quit Watering Every Day! It just makes me crazy to see the same home with there sprinkler system running every day. I just want to go knock on the door and tell them to shut the darn thing off. Proper watering once a week is plenty for your plantings. I like to start my system at 1:00 a.m. and set the individual zones to water no more than 10 to 15 minutes at a time. When all zones have been run, set your controller to run through them again. This will give you a deeper water penetration, with little or no run-off. During the heat of summer you can set it to go a third time. Now soils vary across the state so I suggest you watch your system run and judge for yourself. Sloped areas may not be able to run for more than just a few minutes before running off. It all comes back to common sense. Take the time to watch your own little eco system. If you have planted water wise plants and Texas natives, you may not even need weekly waterings. Also, some plants may need individual watering with a water hose. However, remember never to water in the heat of the day. You will get a better feel for your garden’s water requirements if you hand water some plants. This is a good time to evaluate how your plants are doing, look for diseases and insects, and what you may “not” want to plant again. In my own yard I try to let nature run its course. The only spraying I do is a mixture of Garrett Juice or Maestro-gro Sea Mist combined with Plant Wash as often as possible. If the plants cannot make it with minimal care, they become compost.
Don’t forget the use of soaker hoses – the weeping ones only. Most of these are made from recycled rubber materials and will last years in your garden. Mine are still in place from the drought three years ago. I use them in place of my sprinkler system as much as possible. When you cover them with a layer of compost or shredded mulch they become even more efficient. Speaking of covering, Graves Landscape in Rockwall installed the sprinkler system of the future into one of my landscape customer’s home this spring. This was a totally underground drip system. Get ready for lots of trenches in your yard however. The turf areas require piping every eighteen inches, so this process could require an air spade when installing this around mature shaded trees. So, if you are getting ready to install a sprinkler system in a new home be sure and ask your irrigator about an underground drip system.
The next latest technology is something I am VERY excited about! It is an onsite weather station by Weathermatic (www.weathermatic.com) called the Smart Line. This controller and “onsite” weather station monitors the weather for you and will adjust your sprinkler system accordingly. How awesome is that!! The cost of the controller is the same as any other controller and the SmartLine weather station is around $350.00. I am installing one at my home soon and am recommending it to all my customers. It will save an average of 30 to 40% of your water cost. Just think of the water savings from use sage to dollars spent on larger properties. Ask your irrigator about it, they all have access to Weathermatic SmartLine controllers, or just contact me and I can get you fixed up.
Now, finally let’s talk about the best way to conserve water in your landscape. If you have read my articles on a regular basis then you have heard this many many times from the master himself, Malcom Beck – compost, humus, organic material! Whatever you want to call it. Just do it! There is nothing more important for your landscape from beginning to end. Proper bed preparation, as you start your landscape, should include lots of compost. Soils seem to eat up compost, so continual addition of compost is vital at all stages of growth in your landscape. Mother Nature never leaves bare ground and you shouldn’t either. As fall approaches this is the best time to top dress your lawn with one quarter to one half inch of compost. Late November is the best time to start this application. You will be amazed at what this will do to your lawn next year. Less water, less fertilizer (remember: compost is Mother Nature’s fertilizer), less weeds and less disease. It just makes sense! Oh no, here’s that common sense thing creeping into the story again. Look around. Pay attention to the things that work around you and copy them. I prefer top dressing my flower beds with compost rather than shredded mulches because they break down faster. Now this has to be done a little more often, but that’s okay. If you use shredded mulches like cedar, hardwood, or native, be sure to loosen these from time to time to let air and water get through them. Sometimes the shredded mulches as they begin to decay will lock together some and not let water pass through. A few pokes with a pitch fork will help remedy this situation. Also an application of dry molasses or compost tea with liquid molasses will feed and stimulate the microbes to help break these materials down. The goal of this process is to get more organic material into the soil. I highly recommend reading Malcom Beck’s book: “The Secret Life of Compost”. I truly believe that compost is the one thing our gardens cannot live without.
There are a couple of other things that will help you when doing your initial bed prep. Remember to spend more time and money preparing for your new landscape than you spend on your plants. Always add expanded shale and lava sand. No matter what soil type you have, these two materials will also help you conserve water. Both lava sand and expanded shale will increase the water holding capacity of the soil. When preparing your gardens you should apply one eighth inch of lava sand and up to three inches of expanded shale. Now I know this can get expensive, so use as much as your budget will allow. Please don’t forget this step. It will save you mucho dinero in the long run and you plants will be so grateful! I also suggest three to four inches of good quality compost. See my bed prep recipe at the Organic tips page.
Last but not least I would like to update you on my frog story. Turns out that the frogs that Daisy and I had singing to us were actually American toads. And, although they were never quite as rambunctious as they were that first night they have continued to grace us with their tunes all summer long. Last night Daisy, Brother, and I were sitting by the pond contemplating life and Brother noticed some movement on the driveway. We looked around and sure enough three toads were headed toward the pond for our nightly entertainment. One of my favorite movies is Field of Dreams, with my favorite lines “If you build it, they will come”. This goes for organic gardens as well as that baseball field. So, go organic and all the wonders of nature will come to visit. Toads, frogs, dragonflies, birds, bees, lizards and geckos, just to name a few. Keep it simple and enjoy the little thing life has to offer.
