Friday, July 9, 2010
It’s a Wonderful Night for a Rain Dance
Things are a tad too dry and our challenge as gardeners is keeping our crops and plants properly hydrated with minimal irrigation. Conserving water is critical and the use of it on our lawns is wasteful. I’m pulling out the moccasins, tapping my toes, beating my drums and doing a rain dance in hopes that Mother Nature pulls through. In the meantime, I went back to a Native American Proverb for some common sense wisdom. "The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives." Get it. Don’t be wasteful. If your town or city has a water ban, abide by it. And if you have a well, remember you are still drinking out of your own pond. Keep yourself hydrated like the frog. Float on your lily pad. This summer sizzle soon shall pass.
A few helpful watering hints:
1) Let the grass go dormant. Most lawns typically resuscitate when the weather moderates. If you water your lawn frequently, it actually becomes less drought-tolerant.
2) Water early in the AM.
3) Use drip irrigation whenever possible.
4) When watering with a hose, irrigate the roots not the foliage. Avoid overhead irrigation use. This can cause diseases with your crop and plants.
5) Use mulch to keep the soil cool and moist.
I’ll leave it to you for your own vault searching through the Annie archives on this hot Friday. You should find plenty of drought-tolerant mentions including one on drought-resistant grasses.
Frog Images from the Internet - I have so much fun finding these!
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