All summer you have worked on your garden. An early light frost can wipe out your harvest for the season. When a light frost overnight is expected, water your garden.
When water freezes it produces heat. So, a light water layer on your plants will help protect them unless it is a hard frost. Mother Nature in Central New York helps keep our gardens well-watered.
But with the rising temperatures we will have to step in and help more often. And with rising temperatures we will have to be more careful to conserve water. Before the next growing season look into soaker hoses and how they might work best in your garden.
It is hard to add soaker hoses once your annuals are planted. Soaker hoses will allow water to soak in without very much being lost to evaporation. You can buy soaker hoses, or you can recycle an old hose by putting tiny holes along its length.
This has the advantage of putting holes exactly where needed. There may be places you don’t need to water such as near succulents or in the spaces between plants. Put whatever hose you chose to use near, but not right on top of, the base of plants.
Soaker hoses should be placed under your mulch. This keeps the water near the soil and additionally keeps the hose contents cooler. Soaker hoses have the additional benefit of reducing runoff onto pavements and roads.
This keeps pollutants out of our water system. If you do not have soaker hoses, and use sprinklers instead. Be sure to get those that allow you to change the shape of the water, so it goes on plants and not on walks and roads.
Try to water plants earlier in the day when the heat of the sun is not shining directly on them. During the early to late afternoon hours, the quickest evaporation of water can take place, thus reducing the amount of water actually available to your plants. If you grow plants in a container garden and vacation frequently, it might be time to consider drip irrigation and a plan for someone to help water when you are away.
Also, winter is a great time to research drip irrigation methods for containers and decide if it would work for you. It is always better to water deeply and thoroughly once rather than shallowly many times. When planning your garden for next year try to put plants with similar water requirements near each other.
Then you can target your watering to the plants that need it most..
