BeWaterSmart offers handy device to have during drought or any time
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A moisture meter can tell you whether a potted plant
or a planted area needs water. This cute meter is
available free. (Photo courtesy BeWaterSmart)
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Here is a must-have tool for summer gardening in Sacramento. It’s super-easy to use and will save you money. It can save an amazing amount of water, too, while looking adorable.
And the best part: It’s free! But only while the supply lasts.
BeWaterSmart.info once again is offering free soil moisture meters. Just stick the meter’s metal probe into the ground and it reads the moisture level almost instantly. And the little froggy is very cute while doing this important job.
BeWaterSmart is sponsored by the Regional Water Authority, the umbrella organization over the Sacramento region's water providers. The meters are available to any customers of those member water districts and providers.
During triple-digit weather, anything above ground – including us – can dry out quickly. But what about your soil?
“Trying to figure out how much water your yard needs can be a mystery,” says BeWaterSmart. “You might think you can tell just by looking at your plants or by the weather reports, but the best and most accurate way is to check the soil’s moisture level with a moisture meter.”
Even during high heat, soil (especially clay) can retain its moisture. Mulch cuts down on moisture loss. So does shade (such as a tree’s canopy over its roots).
With the meter, probe a few different spots in your garden. (Potted plants, too.) Push the probe 6 to 8 inches into the soil; that’s the root zone. The meter’s dial reads “dry,” “moist” or “wet”; irrigate accordingly.
And if you can’t push it in at all, that area likely needs some deep watering.
For your free moisture meter: https://bewatersmart.info/check-the-soil-and-save/
For rebates and other resources: www.bewatersmart.info .
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Food in My Back Yard Series
June 3: Make your own compost
May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?
May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days
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 June 8
Get out early to enjoy those nice mornings. There’s plenty to keep gardeners busy:
* Warm weather brings rapid growth in the vegetable garden, with tomatoes and squash enjoying the heat. Deep-water, then feed with a balanced fertilizer. Bone meal or rock phosphate can spur the bloom cycle and help set fruit.
* Generally, tomatoes need deep watering two to three times a week, but don’t let them dry out completely. Inconsistent soil moisture can encourage blossom-end rot.
* It’s not too late to transplant tomatoes, peppers or eggplant.
* From seed, plant corn, melons, pumpkins, radishes, squash and sunflowers.
* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.
* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias.
* It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.
* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants. Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce heat stress.
* Cut back Shasta daisies after flowering to encourage a second bloom in the fall.
* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer. Roses also benefit from deep watering and feeding now. A top dressing of aged compost will keep them happy. It feeds as well as keeps roots moist.
* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.
* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.
* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.
* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.
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