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Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
The Iowa Gardener: Gardening in a drought
How to save time, money, water during a dry spell
Gardening during a drought is never easy, but you can maintain an attractive landscape with some smart water conservation practices. You'll conserve local water supplies, keep your water bill down, and spend less time on the business end of a hose.
Most of Eastern Iowa is in a moderate to severe drought (check out your locale online with the U.S. Drought Monitor). Unlike some parts of the country, Linn County doesn't have any watering restrictions in place, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be careful.
Here's how to save time, money, and water supplies during this dry time.
- Don't allow your plants to wilt before you water. Granted, sometimes you can't help it, but wilting stresses plants and makes it harder for them to recover. Look for other signs, like leaves that are less glossy. Or try this trick: Plant a few impatiens or other thirsty plants in your flower beds. Impatiens are among the first to wilt if they don't have enough water, so you'll know it's time to water the whole area.
- Water containers frequently. In hot weather, that may mean daily. Do the finger test — that is, wiggle your finger a half inch or so into the top of the soil. If the soil is dry, water.
- Water deeply and less often, rather than shallow and frequently. It’s better to give your lawn or beds one deep soak rather than a shallow sprinkle several times. Deep waterings encourage roots to grow downward and become more drought-resistant overall.
- Don't throw water into hot air. Running a sprinkler on a hot afternoon with a light breeze can evaporate as much as 50 percent of the water. Instead, water early in the morning (preferably before the sun even comes up) or in the evening.
- A $30 watering timer that you attach to your hydrant to turn your sprinkler off and on, whenever you want, is a great investment and will likely pay for itself in a year or two.
- Know how much you water. If you measure, you can be more precise and not use your hose more than necessary. Most Iowa landscapes and lawns need an average of 1 inch of water a week. Measure how much you are sprinkling by setting out a shallow dish in the area you are watering. That way you can see when you have applied, say, a half inch, a full inch, or any other amount, so you can apply just the right level of moisture without waste.
- If you don't have a rain gauge, get one. They cost just a few dollars and tell you how much water you've received from the skies each week. You can then supplement with a sprinkler as needed.
- Mow high. Setting your mower at 3 or even 3 1/2 inches high helps shade the soil and keep it cooler and moister.
- Consider letting your lawn go dormant. Yes, this means, go brown. Dormancy is a protective mechanism that allows a lawn to survive during very dry conditions. In cases of more extreme drought (no rain for two or three weeks), you can apply a 1/2 inch of water to prevent the lawn from dying, but our current drought is not that extreme.
- Mulch. Spread grass clippings, straw, wood bark or chip mulch, newspaper, or anything else that breaks down over time around your plantings. It helps the soil conserve moisture, just the way plastic wrap prevents your sandwich from drying out. It also suppresses weeds and prevents diseases in the soil from getting to your plant leaves, so mulch is very helpful all around.
Veronica Lorson Fowler is co-publisher of the Iowa Gardener website at www.theiowagardener.com.
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