Water on Wheels

A plastic pot on wheels helps me move rain water from my rain barrel to my potted plants.

Water on Wheels

This is such an easy fix and "a wonder for people who haven't thought about it." Or so a friend tells me!

When we have rain barrels collecting rain water, we may need a way to get the rain water to plants. Watering cans are a traditional choice. For my deck plants, I use something better, a large plastic planter on castors to move rain water from my rain barrel around the deck.

The rain barrel is too heavy to put on castors so I settled for a large plastic pot I can easily move. Adding the castors makes moving the plastic pot full of water easier and I can reach the plants at the far corners.

I use a shallow round planter with a hole as a lid to prevent wildlife and bees from falling in.

A smaller, plastic coffee can helps me scoop out the rain water. See those little bottles sunk in the pots? I pour the rain water into those bottles so the plant roots are kept moist.

Then I use a shallow round planter with a hole in it as a lid to keep wildlife and bees from falling in.

A Missouri spring peeper decided to go for a swim in the bottom of the planter on wheels.

Works beautifully. Well, apparently except for frogs.

How do you get rain water from your rain barrels to your plants?

Charlotte

More Best Summer Watering Practices

Summer is a challenging time for gardeners in Missouri, although relaxing inside from record hot temperatures is a welcome relief!

More Best Summer Watering Practices from Bluebird Gardens Quilts and Gifts

Missouri is headed into August 2016 already breaking record hot temperatures so it's hard to imagine how hot our traditionally hottest month of the year will be. Frankly I would rather not even think about it.

July 2016 was punishing enough. There were days when going outside felt like walking into a baking oven. Days after a rain were so humid one would get soaked just standing a few minutes in the shade. Plants would almost immediately wilt after being watered. I tried not to look until evening, when temperatures would break and plants could revive. 

To try to help plants survive these conditions, the following are a few more of my best watering practice suggestions, all ones I have tried and found to work:

Cardboard over gravel driveway shows how well cardboard holds water. 

Cardboard and Newspaper Mulch

1.     Use cardboard or newspaper to mulch. I have tried both and they appear to not only keep the soil moist but they also keep plant roots shaded from the sun. Then when I water, the cardboard in particular seems to hold splashed water and provide some soil moisture a little longer.

I have checked the cardboard a couple of days after it was watered; worms were staying moist right at the gravel surface. Not that I am volunteering my worms but keeping a spot covered in cardboard would be an easy way to get fishing worms. Just saying.

Wet wood chip mulch encourages the growth of mushrooms.

Mulch Garden Beds

2. Mulch garden beds. Dry leaves, pine needles, straw, bark, cardboard all work well to be a protective barrier. You don’t need more than 2-3 inches, the mulch will shade the soil and help hold in moisture. Keep mulch away from tree and plant trunks, a good 6 inches should do, or the mulch will burn the trunks.

With increased watering of mulch, don’t be surprised if you start seeing mushrooms you have never seen before.

Missouri Department of Conservation has a new mushroom identification book, usually available at any conservation department office for less than $10 each.

Deck umbrellas help break searing sun on potted deck plans at Bluebird Gardens.

In Gardening, Throwing Shade is Good

3. If you have tomatoes, peppers and herbs in pots, move them to shade. I also move any plants that seem to be struggling into shade, then check them in the evening to make sure they have moist roots and are recovering.

I also sometimes open my deck umbrella to give my potted plants a break.

Watering is essential but so is time for roots to take in nutrients and send them up plant stems. It can take hours for that process so plants may stay wilted for hours even if you have just watered them. Be patient but keep an eye on them. Double check roots to make sure they are staying moist if you're not sure.

Veggie Watch

4. To some people, only growing vegetables count. Vegetables also need regular, consistent moisture.

Vegetables need an average of one inch of water a week. It is better to water deeply 2-3 times a week but monitor the soil moisture level to make sure they are getting enough. 

Once I see this tomato wilting, I know I need to check my potted deck plants for water.

Water Monitoring Plant

5. If you don’t like putting your fingers in soil to test moisture levels, identify a plant that you can easily monitor for wilting. Once you see leaves droop, water.

Now using a tomato plant to gauge moisture levels is not the best idea. Tomatoes prefer even watering. The tomato plant in photo is within easy sight from my den sofa so by default is has become my bellweather plant to remind me to check potted deck plants for water.

I also check other plants for wilting.

Missouri brown-eyed susans in bloom without being watered during record hot temperatures.

Go Native

6. As you plan your garden for next year, buy natives. They are more conditioned to their native soil and have a higher chance of surviving.

Just a reminder, natives also need to be watered in a dearth, maybe not as frequently as non-natives but they still need some soil moisture.

Natives also need to be consistently watered their first year so their roots can be established. natives are low care, not no care.

What have you tried in your garden that has worked well to keep your plants watered?

Charlotte

Best Summer Garden Watering Practices

It has been too hot in Missouri to enjoy my favorite summer reading corner on my deck.

Every growing area has its own benefits and challenges. Trying to grow anything on the side of a Missouri limestone can be considered foolhardy, maybe even crazy. It certainly has its moments.

Trying to keep plants alive in Missouri's infamous summer has been a personal interest of mine. Not just because I want my plants to survive but because I have learned some hard lessons. Some of the preeminent ones are to be consistent and have patience. The following are some of my tried and true garden watering practices and why.

Best Summer Garden Watering Practices from Bluebird Gardens Quilts and Gifts

In addition to stressing people and pets, Missouri weather temperatures over 90F for several consecutive days stresses plants. In those conditions, plants stop making nectar and pollen, eliminating any possibility of flowers and fruit and frustrating gardening friends aspiring to have perfect lawns. Luckily that’s not me.

I do, however, want my plants to pull through these punishing conditions. Just a decade or so ago, I could predict within days when the hot weather would hit and when I could expect it to start ebbing. No longer. With our climate rapidly changing, weather patterns have become erratic, further stressing plants and challenging their ability to adapt. I have tried to design a low maintenance garden but when it comes to watering, there's no work around. Plants need water to survive.

As we head into the traditional Missouri August dearth, here are 6 out of 12 watering practices to help plants survive:

Bluebird Gardens blackberries burning up in record 2016 hot summer temperatures.

Water in Morning

1.     Water only in the early mornings. Although it’s more comfortable to be outside in the evenings, watering at night can encourage fungus, which further stresses plants. Some can even kill a weakened plant.

I have watered at night, especially with sprinklers, when my blackberry bushes appeared to be literally burning up but, note to self - don’t make it a habit!

A watering can simulating rain is less effective than a deep watering wand.

Use an Underground Watering Wand

2.     Water with an underground wand; best $20 I have spent in a long time. Underground watering wands are available at most home and garden, and hardware stores.

The 2-foot wand inserted into the ground around plants delivers water at root level. If the tops burn up, the living roots may bring the plants back next year.

Purple coneflower starts sprouting from plants that have burned up in Missouri's record temperatures.

I have found a number of trees, especially dogwoods, and perennials I thought dead from record heat growing back in the next years. Mark the location of what appears to be a lost plant and then check the same spot next year.

The deep watering wand also comes in handy when I want to chase friends off my deck. Just kidding, checking to see if you were paying attention!

Water Potted Plants More

3.     Plants in pots need water at least twice, maybe three times a day. The tendency is to sprinkle water from a hose for a few seconds but that will only wet the top of leaves. In record hot temperatures, the trick is to get water to plant roots.

One way to make sure roots get watered is to add plastic bottles with holes buried deep into pots. I prefer the bottles with larger openings, makes it easier to get a hose to the bottle to quickly fill it up. I also have the regular 3/4 inch openings, I just use those as target practice as I aim the hose.

Fertilize Less

4.     Because we are watering so much more frequently, seriously dilute any fertilizer you add. Potted plants do benefit from being fertilized. As we water more frequently, we also wash out the fertilizer we have applied. 

Many potted plants have time release fertilizer in their soil. Those fertilizers also tend to get washed out as we repeatedly water.

Fertilizer exposed to roots will burn and too much fertilizer will stress plants. Potted plants can use enhancing so adding compost is one option.  I now also only add a pinch of fertilizer to a gallon milk jug full of water and make sure it is well mixed before applying. 

Water the Young Ones

5.    No one wants to make a choice between what plants to water, it's reminiscent of having to choose between one's children. However, if you have to choose between new and established plants, water the new ones.

New plants, including ones in pots, haven’t established themselves yet and roots exposed to crisp, dry hot soil will quickly kill them. New plant starts in pots in particular need to be kept moist until you can get them in the ground.

Some herbs, such as rosemary and most mints, seem to thrive in hot weather in my garden so I don't worry too much about keeping their soil moist.

Also make sure the water is getting to the roots. Top watering does little good if the roots aren't kept moist. I will wiggle a finger along a pot edge to make sure water is settling into the middle of the pot. Newly-planted plants will get the watering wand snuck in close to their roots.

More than one inch of welcome rain August 1 2016 at Bluebird Gardens.

Pray for Rain

6. Even with all of the garden watering tips here, the best water for plants is rain. I do keep a close eye on the weather forecast and try to only plant when new arrivals will get a good rain soaking once settled in.

Although I also soak newly-planted plants well with city water, there's no comparison with how plants respond to rain water compared to city water. I now collect rain water in barrels so I can keep watering with the better of the two choices.

Coming up next, more best watering practices to survive this hot summer.  What are you doing to help your plants through these record hot temperatures?

Charlotte

Help Pollinators by Properly Watering Garden

Water Plants Underground

Planting milkweed and other native plants is a popular way to help pollinators but our temperatures are too high for many plants. 

If you see milkweed and other natives you planted earlier dying in these hot temperatures, keep them watered with an underground wand. Surface watering usually evaporates in these hot temperatures so concentrate on getting the water underground. Deep watering will help keep roots alive and the plants may make a recovery next year.

Water Early Morning

I know it's tempting to water when it's cool in the evening but it is better to water early morning. That way plants get a good drink before the heat of the day and sun helps control any fungus that moist soil may attract.

Hot Temperatures Mean No Pollen

If you also see the plants stop flowering, that's a survival move. Plants will stop producing pollen when temperatures are higher than 90F for several days. Some people discard the plants because of the lack of flowers but if they make it through hot conditions, they may grow and bloom again next year.

Next, how to help pollinators such as butterflies, birds and bees by not pulling plants.

Charlotte