by Sandy Swegel
Unseasonably warm weather means I finally had time to get some more bulbs planted this week. It has been warm and sunny this fall but I didn’t fully realize how drought had snuck up on us until I went to dig the deep holes for the daffodils. In decent garden soil that has had regular if modest irrigation all year, the soil below six inches was dry dry dry. Pulverized dirt dry. During times of drought, the soil all over dries down. The water table recedes and deep-rooted trees and grasses have used up whatever water is available. We can keep irrigating with an inch of water a week on the surface, but it’s not possible to water enough to keep the soil moist deep in the ground if there’s no natural rainfall.
Drought really snuck up on lots of the US this year. Except for poor southern California, most of the country started the year with good water. Now significant parts of the plains and southeast (as well as southern California which started the year dry) are experiencing moderate to severe drought. See the drought monitor for your area. http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu In my area, we went from an awesome spring to virtually no rain since July.
So what’s happening in your garden now? Here’s what happens in moderate drought:
Soil with clay in it turns hard and cracks open. (The clay shrinks when it dries out.)
Soil critters go into self-preservation mode. During times of drought, they have varying survival techniques from as simple as laying eggs for the next generation once conditions improve. Earthworms go into a hibernation-like state called estivation. Balled up little earthworms are what I found in my garden bed when I was planting bulbs.
What can you do besides pray for rain or snow or freeze?
Give your trees and shrubs a good long slow-watering now. Trees need 10 gallons of water per inch of trunk diameter once a month. If your irrigation is still turn on, you can run it longer than usual. Or put a light sprinkler on for several hours. Here’s a great fact-sheet on ways to water trees during drought. http://www.colostate.edu/Dept/CoopExt/4dmg/Trees/caring.htm
Otherwise, leave the soil alone. Digging in too dry soil ruins soil texture just like digging in too wet soil. The soil I had dug for the daffodils was like dust when I filled the holes back in.
Pay attention to rain or snow this month. If you aren’t getting significant precipitation, water the trees and shrubs once a month even if the ground is frozen.
And pray for rain.