Diary of a Gardener Who turned the heater on?
Who turned up the heat? And where is the rain? I am sure these are two questions everyone in the southwest Florida regions is asking lately. Starting the middle of May our areas started seeing temperatures we normally see in July and August. In fact, we have hit record highs every day this week. Heat indexes over one hundred degrees and zero rain fall. This puts major stress on our plants. It is also dangerous to be working outside.
For years I was the irrigation system. I was out for an hour or more watering my plants, sometimes every day…. until I realized I could do irrigation without having a full house system using a well. It is called micro-irrigation. Let me just say, LIFESAVER. The only downfall to this approach is it costs extra money on my water bill, but if you have a slight fortune in plants, protecting your investment with a small hike in the water bill is a price I am willing to pay.
One of the best rewards of using an irrigation system to water your plants vs hand watering is the efficiency of watering. meaning, you use less water overall because the plants are watered at the base for a longer period, deeper into the roots and will stay hydrated longer. I went from watering every day to every other day in the sizzling summer months. It takes a bit of prep work and planning to design your irrigation system for all the corners and curves of your home, but outside of that and getting wet testing the system it really is not a challenging task.
Since last summer, I have extended my irrigation twice, both times going under a sidewalk. That was not an easy task, but necessary to complete the job. With help from my husband, we managed to not kill each other. Now I have 75% of my plants receiving water every other day. The rest are pots, on the porch, in the trees or in my shade house. I now can hand water in 20 minutes. I also upgraded my irrigation timer from a manual operation to a Wi-Fi connected timer called Rachio. It is so cool. I can monitor my irrigation schedule from my phone, turn it off and on from my phone and if it rains it speaks to my weather station, Tempest, and will turn itself off. I love it. It makes my life so much easier.
I cannot stress enough, in this record heat and drought, you must water your plants. Even drought tolerant plants can suffer. If your landscape plants are less than a year old it is imperative they receive extra watering, unless you have a garden of Agave and cactus.
Unfortunately, this is the second summer in southwest Florida we have dealt with record heat and drought. It is normal now, which means two things: 1. Planting drought tolerant native plants and drought tolerant Florida Friendly plants is a must. 2. Without an irrigation system in some capacity the heat will put stress on you and your plants.
For me, it is a protection of my investment of plants. If you have new plants installed and live in an HOA, they will give you permission to water more frequently. Turf grass, trees, and shrubs, even if they are considered drought tolerant, will benefit from a minimum of two waterings a week, preferably three times a week depending on what plants you have.
Parts for micro-irrigation can be bought at hardware stores, landscape supply stores, Amazon and online. I am happy to consult anyone on the process and show them how to get this set up. Stop fighting mother nature and help your plants…. water them!
