No doubt you’ve noticed: It’s dry. The autumn leaves are falling, but not from cooling temperatures; many trees are stressed from dry soil conditions, sending them into a premature dormancy. What should you do? Water… water everywhere! Every gardener knows to be mindful of newly planted items with respect to their water needs. What may be less apparent is the need for more widespread irrigation. Watering everywhere is likely not possible, that is what rain does. It is nearly impossible to duplicate the beneficial aspects our gardens receive from rainfall. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to water… water everywhere!
Tonight we have a welcome change of weather coming through. It has remained downright hot through today. The high temperatures exacerbate the lack of rainfall. In September, we received only .21 inches of rainfall, officially. We normally expect nearly 3 and one-half inches of rainfall in that time period. Rain is in the forecast, and any amount will help, but we need significant rain to alleviate our current desiccated state. By the way, October is normally our driest month of the year.
There is no state of emergency here. I simply want you to be especially mindful and diligent until significant rainfall arrives; what we receive overnight will likely only be a brief reprieve. For best watering results, avoid using sprinklers that over-atomize the water. When sprinklers create a fog, with mist hanging in the air, it is the air that receives a large portion of the water. Turning your sprinkler on at a lower pressure will greatly reduce this effect and get the water where it is needed: on your plants. Simply placing a hose running at a trickle beside trees or using a soaker hose for larger beds of plants will get the water where you need it without wetting the air.
You might be feeling uncertain about planting now. I don’t believe that should be the case. Fall is for planting. Cooler temperatures and rain are on the way. Informed gardeners are successful gardeners.