Horticulture Hotline 02/05/18
By Bill Lamson-Scribner
Usually I wouldn’t write so much about watering in the
middle of winter; however, I know all of you have turned in a soil test and
have you preemergent product of choice in the garage ready to go out next week!
In an attempt to be proactive to avoid some midsummer situations, I am going to
address those issues now. Last summer I kept getting these same calls with a
similar subject. They would start something like this, “I’m getting these
mysterious brown areas in my yard”, “a crazy fungus has taken over areas of my
yard”, and “insects have ruined my beautiful custom program yard”.
The irrigation technician during a drought is like the lawn
mower mechanic in March and April. Most likely you are going to have to wait
for that house call. Right now they available.
The “mysterious brown areas” have in all cases turned out to
be lack of water. Money has been spent on fungicides and insecticides when all
the area needed is a little water. If you have an irrigation system, check to
make sure your heads are turning properly and all your zones (valves) are
working, or hire a professional to go through your system.
“My irrigation system runs for 20 minutes per zone three times
per week, is that enough water?” This is
a question I get asked frequently, and the answer is not a yes or a no
response. Different irrigation systems
have different gallon per minute nozzles so the rate varies according to the
type of nozzle installed. Water pressure
also varies depending on where you live and whether you have a well. Some irrigation heads pop up and mist and
others pop up and spray in a rotary fashion.
The difference is enormous to a yard.
The pop ups that are spraying a constant mist can flood an area very
quickly. The rotary head can run for an hour without too much water being
applied. Rotary heads also can rotate 360 degrees or maybe only 180 degrees.
The 180 degree heads would put out twice the water in a given area than the 360
degrees rotor in the same period of time.
Ideally your soil should be moist down to six inches. Moist…not saturated. A soil probe is an excellent way to determine
the moisture levels in the soil. Soil
probes are available at garden centers.
Soil probes will allow you to check the moisture as well as the profile
of your soil (see the layers of thatch, sand, clay, loam). You can also determine how much thatch you
have using these probes. Soil probes
also make taking a soil test much easier.
Measuring the amount of water your sprinkler or irrigation
system is putting onto your landscape is very easy. A few coffee cups that have an equal diameter
on top as the bottom is all you need. If
you are not a coffee cup person, you can also use tuna fish cans, soup cans or
other containers that have an equal diameter on top and bottom. If you don’t want to look like a hillbilly,
you can invest in several rain gauges.
Simply place these coffee cups throughout your lawn and run
the sprinkler for 15 minutes, then measure the amount of water in the
container. If you have an irrigation
system, you will have to measure each zone separately to get an accurate
measurement. Place the coffee cups different distances from the head that you
are measuring to see how evenly your heads are spraying. If heads from another
zone are going to spray back into this area, you should collect that water too.
If you collected an average of a
quarter inch of water in 15 minutes and you wanted to put out a half inch of
water, simply increase your irrigation time to 30 minutes.
While you are out there, make sure you have good even coverage.
Be sure the heads are turning properly and not pointed to the street. Are your
trees and shrubs established to the point that you can turn off the zones that
water them?
By applying organic products and/or wetting agents you can
greatly reduce the amount of water you need to apply. Cotton Burr compost is a great organic
product that will reduce your watering bill, and increase the soil’s nutrient
holding capacity making your fertilizers more effective. Cotton Burr compost will also help reduce
runoff of fertilizers and other control products into the environment because
the products penetrate the soil.
Wetting agents allow water to penetrate deeper into the soil
resulting in deeper rooting grasses, plants, and trees. Wetting agents will also help reduce runoff
of fertilizers and other control products into the environment because the
products penetrate the soil. Although
water is very inexpensive here compared to other parts of the country and
world, you still don’t want to waste it.
Wetting agents have been shown to reduce water usage by 30-60%. I have
been hugged by people that I sold wetting agents to and they returned to tell
me about their savings on the water bill. Fungicide use can be reduced with
less watering.
The most important aspect of watering is keeping the soil
moist to a depth of six inches. Add the
appropriate amount of water for your yard with your soil type, wind exposure,
slope or yard, and exposure to sun. Adding organic products and wetting agents
will help lower your water bill.
Always read, understand and follow product label. The
product label is a Federal Law.
