Rainwater alone is not always enough for the plants in your garden. Read here how you can stimulate the growth of lawns and plants now.
Spring and summer have been getting drier for several years now. The occasional rain showers in the warm months are often not enough to allow plants and flowers to thrive.
Daily watering and watering are really only necessary on particularly warm days. However, it is better to supply your garden with more water than too little.
The advantage of this is that your plants develop roots that reach deeper into the ground. This makes them more resistant to dry periods and absorbs the abundant water better through irrigation.
During dry periods, the roots also look for moisture in deeper layers and temporarily supply themselves.
To water the garden, you should first take a look around the area and see what is there. Most gardens have different proportions. This includes beds, borders, lawns, but also plants in pots, raised beds and containers. Not every casting method is suitable for everyone.
The hose is the all-rounder in the garden. You can extend it and reach even the most remote places in the garden. Spray attachments can be adjusted variably, from the garden shower to the hard jet.
It also serves to supply the lawn sprinkler and the rain barrel pump. You can use a hose throughout the garden if you adjust the attachment accordingly.
Flowers and freshly planted plants tolerate the shower, shrubs and sprawling plants supply you directly at the root with the hose without an attachment.
The watering can usually holds 10 liters and is therefore difficult to carry. Therefore, you should only use them for smaller irrigation supplies. Here too, you can attach an attachment and use it to sprinkle water on freshly planted plants, for example. Flowering plants, on the other hand, are best watered directly at the roots.
They offer the advantage of distributing the water evenly. In some markets they are also called spray or drip hoses. Irrigation with such aids is economical; beds in particular are watered effectively with them.
Spraying jets of water come out through small holes made at regular intervals in the hose. The hoses are located on the ground close to the plants.
The water is therefore distributed directly on site and does not immediately evaporate again on the surface. You can also get systems with time control for this purpose. With such irrigation systems, your garden is automatically supplied with water, even when you are away.
Garden or lawn sprinklers are limited in their use. They are ideal for watering the lawn. However, for the beds you should stick with the garden hose or watering can. Large shrubs and perennials, on the other hand, can also be supplied with water using the sprinkler. They especially need water when they start to shed leaves. However, you should not let it get to that point in the summer and provide these plants with continuous water.
Use so-called watering rings if the soil dries out very quickly due to a hot summer. Place these plastic rings around the respective plants. It will be more sustainable if you pile up soil around the plants and tamp it down.
Using a watering can or hose, you can add the irrigation water to both methods, thereby preventing the water from flowing away before it has seeped into the ground. It is also helpful to hoe beds regularly. This loosens the soil.
The water can then penetrate the soil better. Bark mulch is also a water-storing and cooling aid. You can put this on the beds if the type of plant allows it.
“The morning has gold in its mouth” also applies to watering and watering your garden. Ideally, you should tend to your garden very early in the morning between three and five o’clock.
For large areas, time control for the irrigation system makes sense with this recommendation. This is the coolest time in summer. In addition, the least amount of moisture evaporates during these hours.
If the sun is shining, you should refrain from watering. After watering or spraying, small drops of water remain on the leaves. When the sun’s rays hit it, the drops act like small burning glasses. The plants subsequently receive burns. However, if you water early in the morning, the remaining water can evaporate throughout the morning without causing damage. If necessary, it will also roll off.
The lawn is somewhat less sensitive to the time of day. The leaves are very narrow and stand vertically. The sharp angle of the sun would not cause such great damage. If you water the lawn in the evening, the moisture will stay longer, which is an advantage. However, it has a disadvantage in that predators, such as snails, can remain active for longer. Fungal infections are also possible, as waterlogging promotes their growth.
Ideally, you water everything in the garden with rainwater. Since it’s stale, it won’t be too cold for your plants. However, this can happen if you use tap water. The temperatures are usually below the temperature of the collected rainwater.
Rainwater also has the advantage of being free of minerals and therefore does not affect the pH or nutrient content of your soil. Many of your plants thrive much better with lime-free water. These include, for example, hydrangeas and rhododendrons.
Furthermore, you garden more sustainably when you use rainwater to water and irrigate your garden. On the one hand, it is free and conserves natural resources.
You can collect rainwater in rain barrels. Find a suitable spot in the house. The gutter waste pipes can often be connected to the rain barrels. They then collect the water that flows over the roof of the house, which happens quite quickly when it rains heavily. Another option is a rainwater cistern, which is a large basin hidden beneath a garden area. It’s best to plan for such a project when you’re planning the house.
If you have trees, bushes and other sprawling plants in your garden in addition to smaller plants, they won’t get enough water despite the rain in summer. This particularly includes conifers, rhododendrons and boxwoods. Water these garden areas thoroughly using a watering can or garden hose.
Many hobby gardeners have numerous plants in containers for the beds that they supply with pearl hoses or watering cans. In contrast to bedding plants, plants in a pot or bucket cannot root sufficiently deeply to access water even in dry conditions. Therefore, you actually have to supply such vessels with water every day, smaller ones perhaps even twice a day.
Despite additional watering, a container plant may not thrive in high heat. The plants turn yellow or have burn spots, the shoots hang limply or branches dry out before autumn begins. Then you actually meant too well and should water a little less.
Tip: Place a watered plant and pot in a bucket filled with rainwater. The pot should have a drainage hole. When you put the pot in it, air bubbles will rise. Once this is finished, take the pot out again and let it drain. In the following period, water the plant regularly. If excess water remains on the substrate, pour it off immediately.
Lawns need the most water in the garden if you want to keep them green. The grass roots need to be continuously supplied with moisture. This is the only way he can stay healthy even in the heat. You will know when you need to water it if the blades of grass no longer stand up properly when you step on it. When at rest, the stalks also twist slightly.
When watering, you should pay attention to abundance. If you water too briefly, you will only wet the surface and the water will essentially be wasted. Only if you blast for a long time can the water be absorbed by the roots and stored in the soil.
An average watering takes an hour and a half if you use the lawn sprinkler. There is a trick to check whether the lawn sprinkler has thrown out enough water. Take a normal water glass. Measure one and a half centimeters from the floor. When taking the dimension, make a mark with a permanent marker. To begin, place the glass in the middle of the lawn area to be sprinkled. Once the glass is filled with water to the mark, you can turn off the sprinkler.
As paradoxical as it may sound: If it has rained, it is best to use the lawn sprinkler again immediately afterward. The soil is now already moistened, so the water can penetrate more easily.
Do not mow the lawn too often when the outside temperature is high and there is strong sunlight. It’s better to mow a little shorter, but not too short, and then not for a while. If it turns brown despite watering, that’s not a problem. After the hot summer it will recover and will soon be green again if you take good care of it.