CHOOSING sprinklers or an irrigation system is an important decision to ensure plants and grass in your lawn or garden will not dry out amid hot weather.
With the heat wave, grass, perennials, shrubs and trees may be paying the price.
It is crucial that they are watered for them to flourish.
Healthy composted soil will retain moisture and nutrients for the lawngrass, plants and trees.
In the current hot weather, it is best that you water plants early in the morning while it is still cool or late evening when the sun sets. But, if the timing is not suitable for you, install a sprinkler or irrigation system with timer so you don’t waste water and electricity.
1. If your lawn— especially if it has sandy soil — has already turned to straw, watering should be on the agenda. It is not too late to install a sprinkler, which could save the day. In a few weeks, you will see the grass turn green and look fresh again.
2&3. Avoid overhead sprinkler if your garden is small—some water is lost to evaporation immediately and much water falls away from plants where it is not needed. Use an automated drip irrigation system. Drip irrigation delivers water almost directly to plant and grass roots. It can save water and nutrients by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either from above the soil surface or buried below the surface.
4. An effective sprinkler system keeps plants and grass looking fresh. Get one that doesn’t sprinkle water too far away. You don’t also need the sprinkler to go off at the same time and at the same amount all year round.
Instead, reset the timer based on watering needs.
5. Certain plants can go dormant during the dry season but not vegetables— they’ll die. Vegetables need water to grow quickly, tender and tasty. That means you need to keep the soil evenly moist—not too wet and not too dry — throughout the growing season to assure the vegetables survive and thrive during the dry season. If the soil dries out, vegetables can become bitter-tasting and woody. Sprinklers will water vegetables often enough to keep the soil around their roots moist.
6. Water plants even when it rains. Don’t assume rain water will soak down to plant roots. When the weather has been dry and rain follows, rain water is likely to run off sun-crusted and hardened soil surface. Keep flower garden beds lightly cultivated so that rain water easily soaks into the soil. Water the plants if they wilt even after rain, as it is an indication that the rain did not reach their root zone.
7. A healthy garden attracts birds and butterflies— that is an everyday thing you may want to see. So care for the garden just like you would for yourself.