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Sprinkler time? Check soil first

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED FEB 19, 2020

Add mulch now to help trees later.
(Photo courtesy Sacramento Tree Foundation)

Despite dry weather, hold off on irrigation a little longer

Is it time to turn on the sprinklers? Check the soil before you water.

So say Sacramento irrigation experts. Despite our unusually dry February, the ground retains moisture and plants may not be as thirsty as we think.

“With the weather recently being unseasonably warm, we urge people to actually check soil moisture with a moisture meter, screwdriver or by using a hand shovel to dig down six inches to feel the soil,” says Amy Talbot, water efficiency project manager for the Regional Water Authority. “It might be warmer than usual and the soil might look drier on the surface, but the days are still shorter and the nights very cool with moisture in the air.

“It’s likely your landscape does not need to be watered, but the only way to know for sure is to check. If your landscape does need water, we recommend hand watering so that you deliver water only to the plants that really need it.”

The RWA is the umbrella organization over 24 water providers in the greater Sacramento area. We’re in the midst of a very dry streak with no measurable precipitation in nearly four weeks.

Is this the start of another drought? Too early to tell, say experts. But it’s not too early to get your home and garden water smart.

Now is a good time to prepare for dry and hotter weather to come. Summer will be here before we know it.

“Here are some tips for what customers can do right now to prepare their landscape for hotter days and make the most of every drop,” Talbot says.

1. Tune up sprinklers and drip irrigation by turning them on one zone at a time and looking for broken, clogged or missing sprinkler heads or drip lines.

2. Consider upgrading traditional sprinklers with high-efficiency rotator sprinklers, “which can help you use 30% less water every time you turn on your sprinklers and have healthier plants,” Talbot says. “Rotator sprinklers deliver heavy droplets of water at a slower rate that is more easily absorbed by the soil.”

3. To your soil, add plenty of compost and amendments to increase the nutrients available to your plants. “These act as a soil sponge, absorbing and holding water,” she adds.

4. Layer the mulch, “which is like icing on a cake, because it keeps the soil moist the way icing keeps a cake moist,” Talbot says. “Mulch slows evaporation, allowing water to sink into the soil, moderates soil temperature and breaks down into nutrients for plants. We recommend adding two to three inches of organic mulch around trees and plants.”

More information: www.rwah2o.org .

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Sacramento drought mulch Regional Water Authority irrigation Amy Talbot gardening advice

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Food in My Back Yard Series

May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can

May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success

April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?

April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)

April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers

April 8: When to plant summer vegetables

April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths

March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth

March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds

March 4: Potatoes from the garden

Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later

Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space

Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants

Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting

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Garden Checklist for week of May 11

Make the most of the lower temperatures early in the week. We’ll be back in the 80s by Thursday.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters. (You also can transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.)

* Plant dahlia tubers.

* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Add mulch to the garden to maintain moisture. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch-to-1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.

* Remember to weed! Pull those nasties before they set seed.

* Water early in the day and keep seedlings evenly moist.

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