Hoses at Every Corner
I haven't got the hang of hand watering the plants here. I have hoses set up conveniently at each corner of the house to reach each part of my small yard and inside the courtyard. My hoses don't leak. The mechanics are sound. My newest transplants are easy to get to and the containers I have are few and reachable. But.
After our wet winter and spring, June turned rainlessly dry and it didn't take long for the soil to parch. And just like that the plants I had been overwatering in spring are now getting crisp and wilted even with long daily soakings. I can't keep the new stuff watered.
I asked David Salman at Waterwise how much to water -- even drought adapted plants can't go with no water at all forever. He said he waters mature plants once a week, and new little transplants every other day.
That doesn't work.
Even though I soak an area the day before, by the next day I watch gallons of water from the hose disappear into dry soil and no matter how much I pour into the dirt, it just disappears. It's like it goes straight through the soil, never spreading out, and simply keeps pouring through the earth all the way to someone's garden in China.
I learned last year that plants here just stop growing in June. They start out well in spring and bulk up and look promising, but they can't take the the high UV rays at altitude, the long June daylight hours, the hot dry winds and the low humidity in the air. The big trees, which were well behaved in spring, suddenly now are stealing all the hose water I put down.
The garden plants don't go dormant, but everything stops.
Even the dry loving thyme plants and sedums and other things that want fast drainage and little water are struggling now and I find I have to deep water them daily.
These June mornings standing there hand watering plants that aren't growing is maybe wasted effort. I can't keep them moist enough and they won't grow now anyway. I'm really just keeping them from dying while waiting for shorter days, less light and monsoon rains to arrive in July.
It's taking a couple seasons, but I'm learning the rhythms of growing things in this challenging climate, which is so unlike what I had learned in the wet northeast!
After our wet winter and spring, June turned rainlessly dry and it didn't take long for the soil to parch. And just like that the plants I had been overwatering in spring are now getting crisp and wilted even with long daily soakings. I can't keep the new stuff watered.
I asked David Salman at Waterwise how much to water -- even drought adapted plants can't go with no water at all forever. He said he waters mature plants once a week, and new little transplants every other day.
That doesn't work.
Even though I soak an area the day before, by the next day I watch gallons of water from the hose disappear into dry soil and no matter how much I pour into the dirt, it just disappears. It's like it goes straight through the soil, never spreading out, and simply keeps pouring through the earth all the way to someone's garden in China.
I learned last year that plants here just stop growing in June. They start out well in spring and bulk up and look promising, but they can't take the the high UV rays at altitude, the long June daylight hours, the hot dry winds and the low humidity in the air. The big trees, which were well behaved in spring, suddenly now are stealing all the hose water I put down.
The garden plants don't go dormant, but everything stops.
Even the dry loving thyme plants and sedums and other things that want fast drainage and little water are struggling now and I find I have to deep water them daily.
These June mornings standing there hand watering plants that aren't growing is maybe wasted effort. I can't keep them moist enough and they won't grow now anyway. I'm really just keeping them from dying while waiting for shorter days, less light and monsoon rains to arrive in July.
It's taking a couple seasons, but I'm learning the rhythms of growing things in this challenging climate, which is so unlike what I had learned in the wet northeast!
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