{"id":11733,"date":"2020-06-12T19:12:04","date_gmt":"2020-06-12T19:12:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/?p=11733"},"modified":"2020-06-12T19:12:05","modified_gmt":"2020-06-12T19:12:05","slug":"water-water-everywhere-but-well-that-all-depends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/?p=11733","title":{"rendered":"Water, water everywhere but\u2026 well, that all depends"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Purple sage blooms overnight after a rain shower.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Photo: Ann Johnston \/ LFN<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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By ANN JOHNSTON
<\/strong>LFN<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As summer really kicks in and our temperatures rise, we must be aware of irrigation needs for our yards, garden plots, beds and containers.
Each type of area has its own watering needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seedlings, transplants (including shrubs and trees) and newly sodded lawns will require water almost daily. Established lawns, trees and flower beds need water less often because they have developed a more extensive root system to carry the water. Hanging baskets and smaller pots have their roots barely covered, so they need watering much more often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When and how much to water depends on the type of soil (clay, loam or potting soil), location (sun, shade or windy), type of container, current weather, type of plant and time of year it is, as well as if plants are established or recently planted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suggestions: <\/strong>Avoid daily light sprinkling. This encourages roots to grow nearer to the surface and thus be susceptible to drying out quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Water slowly, so water can soak in rather than run off. The root ball is what needs to be soaked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 If you have a sprinkler system, set it for three times a week at 15 minutes per station. If it rains, temporarily shut it off, but remember to turn it back on. Some systems have a rain setting to help with this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 If using sprinklers and hoses, set a timer so that you don\u2019t end up with water running down the street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Water in the early morning or late afternoon, and be aware of our wind, which hastens evaporation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rain lilies pop up to celebrate rain. <\/em><\/strong>Photos: Ann Johnston \/ LFN<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hints: <\/strong>Make sure your method of watering (hoses, faucets, sprinklers, watering cans) are conveniently located and easy to use, or you might not water as needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Use a saucer under pots to contain water runoff and allow roots to have time to soak up this water. Keep watering until it comes out of the hole in pot bottom or side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Use self-watering containers and soaker hoses for water conservation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 If you will be gone several days, provide your pots with something like recycled inverted plastic bottles of water with spikes pushed into the soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Check dryness of soil in pots by sticking your index finger into the soil up to your first knuckle. That\u2019s approximately one inch. If it\u2019s dry soil all the way down, water the pot. If it\u2019s wet, wait a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 A well- watered pot or hanging basket will be heavy. Lift your hanging baskets or smaller pots to see how they \u201cfeel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Water pots with recycled plastic bottles and water spikes. <\/strong><\/em>Photos: Ann Johnston \/ LFN<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Watch for: <\/strong>Wilted leaves don\u2019t always mean \u201cWater me, please!\u201d
Sometimes it\u2019s too much standing water or insects in the stems, leaves or roots. Look closely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 When our Valley does get rain, trees like the ebony and shrubs like the purple sage will be covered with blooms overnight. Lawns and vacant lots will have pretty white rain lilies pop up. Enjoy this show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step through the Garden Gate for more gardening hints, suggestions and things to watch for next week.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By ANN JOHNSTONLFN As summer really kicks in and our temperatures rise, we must be aware of irrigation needs for our yards, garden plots, beds and containers.Each type of area has its own watering needs. Seedlings, transplants (including shrubs and trees) and newly sodded lawns will require water almost daily. Established lawns, trees and flower […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gardengate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11733"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11733\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11734,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11733\/revisions\/11734"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}