Don’t overwater this season!
Overwatering is not only wasteful, but dangerous to the health of your yard and garden! Save on your watering bill as well as the vitality of your outdoor space.
As my plant specialists puts it, homeowners always think that the solution to everything is more water. On the contrary, more often than not, I see unhealthy plants due to overwatering.
Overwatered plants often display a similar set of symptoms as underwatered plants; wilting, loss of color, and even dry to the touch. There is a slight difference, but really, the best way to tell if plants are overwatered or underwatered is by checking the saturation of the soil. Bone dry soil means the plant is thirsty; moist, cold soil on an unhealthy plant most likely denotes that the plant is drowning.
It’s not just about how often the plant is getting water, it’s about if the soil is able to dry itself out enough between watering. The amount of light/heat, how big the body of soil is, and how much drainage the soil gets are all contributing factors to how often a plant needs water. Not to mention what kind of plant it is and how well established it is. For instance, a young vegetable plant in a 4 in. plastic container with high draining potting soil might need water several times a day in the summer, while the same plant, just a bit older, with established roots, planted in a 5 year old garden bed in the winter time might be able to go several weeks without water.
Plants are like children; spend time with them and get to know them to understand their needs; also understand and control their environment to a reasonable degree.
This season we’ve received some serious rain spells separated by some beautiful warm dry days. Those dry intervals have been just enough to let the soil start to dry up. Essentially, gardens and yards in San Diego County most likely have not needed to be watered for the past two months. That’s a lot of water saving!
One more thing - When a plant is slightly starved for water, it motivates the roots of the plants to dig deep in the soil to search for water. The deeper the roots grow and expand, the healthier, fuller, and taller the top greens of the plant become. Keeping an eye on young plants in the spring, and only giving water when it’s absolutely necessary will encourage roots to grow strong- that way, when summer hits, the plants have well established roots that can withstand triple digit weather for several weeks in a row. When a plant is given daily watering when it really doesn’t need that for survival, it keeps shallow roots, never having reason to send roots deep into the soil. When the hot summers hit like we’ve been having, there really isn’t any amount of water that can keep those shallow roots from burning up and giving a very sad looking plant-
I’ll use the “plants are like childen” analogy one more time. Lay a baby on their back and bottle feed them every time they cry, they will certainly survive, but hardly thrive and grow strong. The older they get, the more you can push them to be active and try things for themselves. It’s the same with plants.
Plants looking sick? Water bill way too high? Give us a call and we can help set you on a great watering system that will optimize your yard’s health and your water bill.
Nathan Van Assen
Hidden Gardens.
Overwatered cucumbers.
Underwatered cannabis.
Various funguses and symptoms of overwatering on some of our client’s trees.
