Watering

Up at 7am to water. Done at 8.30am. We really soaked everything well, as they probably won't get watered again until next Tuesday. I also sprinkled red California poppy seeds at the front edge of the "red bed."

We water by putting the "wand" at the base of each plant for a 5-8 second soak. Hopefully this waters deeply, encouraging the roots to dive down and get water from deeper soil layers. This is considered less wasteful than sprinklers, and also prevents all the roots being at the (hot, dry) surface.

Of course we also mulch heavily - recently we mulched the Cinerarias and Cannas, and always mulch a new plant thoroughly. This prevents moisture loss through evaporation really well.

We have also been watering only once a week, unlike others who sprinkle 3 or more times a week. It's true that some of the less drought resistant plants won't do as well with weekly watering, but I feel it's more important to conserve water than common plants. After this summer we'll see which plants can manage with less, and which ones will never look good and can make the short trip to the compost heap, or go live in a damper garden.

The jury's still out on whether or not we'll install a drip system into some beds. Matt says he doesn't mind rewinding the hose we now use but I hate that job! It'd also save a lot of time to have a drip go on with a timer, but that does require equipment and setup... and one great thing about watering each plant by hand is that it gives you time to really look at them and see how they're doing.