DIY Network

Dealing With Drought

Master gardener Joe Lamp'l, host of Fresh from the Garden, explains how to keep lawns and landscapes looking green during a drought.

advertisement

During the hot seasons, there are measures you can take to ensure your lawn or plants will last, especially if there is a water shortage. (SHNS photo courtesy Joe Lamp'l)

Tips on what to do (and what not to do) during a drought

By Joe Lamp'l

June 11, 2007 — As I travel the country, I'm hearing more and more about the shortage of water and seeing the toll it's taking on lawns and gardens. Some municipalities have restricted outdoor watering completely, while others have limited allowable times to a small window each week.

Just to see how widespread and severe this problem is, I checked out a website that tracks drought conditions. If you'd like to see this and other related maps, check out www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html.

Surprisingly, Alaska and Hawaii are also in drought conditions. You can attribute the excessive dryness or abundant rainfall elsewhere to global warming or whatever you want. But the fact remains, drought conditions are getting worse for many of us.

So what can we do to keep our lawns and landscapes looking green, despite decreasing water and increasing restrictions? The following suggestions will help get you through the hottest, driest months, with the least amount of damage.

Go Native

The toughest, most drought-tolerant plants are those that are native to your area. They are genetically adapted to at least survive temperature and moisture conditions for that area. Even when environmental challenges are unusual, these plants are best equipped to tough it out.

Women and Children First

How does this relate to plants, you ask? When water resources are limited, use them on the most important, hardest-to-replace plants first. This translates to letting the lawn go. It's easy to replace and quick to recover.

Instead, use limited water to water those valuable, newly-installed landscape plants that are still trying to establish, or those larger or more expensive specimens that would be costly to replace.

Don't Fertilize

Think about it. During times of stress, do you want to coast, or run a marathon? The same analogy applies to plants. Water-starved lawns, trees and plants shouldn't be subjected to the increased pressure to put out new growth. Just the opposite is true. Fertilizer not only introduces moisture-robbing salts into the soil, but it also signals the plant that it's time to get busy and go to work. Fertilizer doesn't help a drought-stressed plant or lawn grow. It can actually make the condition even worse!

Improve the Soil

Soil that is well amended with organic matter means more efficient water-holding capacity.

Water Deeply and Slowly

Soaker hoses and drip irrigation is an easy way to make this happen. The premise is to allow the water to be delivered slowly enough to saturate the soil around the root zone.

Short, frequent waterings have the potential to do more harm than good. In this case, water fails to soak deeply into the soil. Roots remain close to the surface, where the water is, and can suffer when the soil there becomes dry.

Mulch, Mulch, Mulch

Mulch keeps soil cooler and protects it from the drying effects of sun, heat and wind. Don't worry about what type of mulch to use. Just apply a layer of three to four inches around your plants.

Proper Timing

Irrigating at the wrong time can be extremely wasteful and produce little benefit for your plants and lawn.

As the day warms up, evaporation and wind figure more prominently. Water loss to evaporation can exceed 50 percent in warm, windy conditions, especially when delivered by overhead high-pressure systems.

Irrigate your plants and lawn during the dew cycle, typically from about 10 pm to 9 am. Use automatic timers to be sure watering starts and stops on time. They're inexpensive, simple to operate and take much of the guesswork out of when and how much water to apply.

Capture and Conserve

On those heavenly days when it actually does rain, do everything you can to capture this resource. Rain barrels positioned beneath downspouts are an easy way to collect gallons of water.

Although these tips barely scratch the surface, following them will make a big difference in helping your garden and lawn survive the challenges of drought.

I'd like to hear your ideas as well. E-mail me at E-mail: email@joegardener.com. I'll include them in a follow-up article soon.

(Joe Lamp'l, a master gardener, hosts DIY's Fresh from the Garden as well as a gardening radio show. For more information, visit www.joegardener.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)

Get DIY On Your TV. Just follow the instructions to see if DIY Network is available through your cable or satellite provider.