watering

• Between the hours of 4pm and 10am persons may irrigate outdoors daily for purposes of planting, growing, managing, or maintaining ground cover, trees, shrubs, or other plants.

As the days get hotter and drier, keep a watchful eye on your vegetable garden. Careful attention to a few details will help your garden produce a bountiful harvest all summer.
 
Water Management

Focus your attention on water management first. Most gardens need at least 1 inch of water per week. If it doesn't rain, apply a half-inch of water twice a week.

So you didn't get your vegetable garden planted this spring because you were busy or the ground was too wet? And you still want some fresh, tasty vegetables. Well, it's not too late to plant a fall garden.
 

In most cases, choose early-maturing vegetables. Lettuce, radishes, spinach, turnips and peas can be started from seed. Lettuce and radish can be seeded about every two weeks.

The glaring heat of this summer may have you convinced that you need more shade in your yard. And fall is the perfect time to plant trees to create that needed shade.
 

Fall planting allows the trees' root systems to become established and supply the moisture needed for next spring's growth.

Powerful tornadoes and thunderstorms often rake across Georgia in the spring. Trees fall, limbs are snapped and landscapes are devastated. After a storm, homeowners, landscapers and tree companies are faced with mounds of wood chips that must be used on site or taken to a local composting facility.

Homeowners may have questions about using chips in their landscape. Here is a collection of pointers from Dr. Kim Coder, Extension Forest Resources Specialist:

Proper watering of turfgrasses is essential to producing an attractive, healthy lawn.

Many factors influence the amount and frequency of water needed for a home lawn. Soil type, type of grass, management level, frequency of rain, temperatures, wind and humidity all affect the amount of water needed. High level maintenance and hot, windy days tend to increase the demand for water, while low level maintenance and cool, cloudy days tend to decrease the demand for water.

Make every drop of water count so that everyone has enough to use all summer long.

General Watering Tips

• When watering, wet the soil to a depth of about 6-8 inches which is about one inch of water. Short, surface waterings do more harm than good by encouraging shallow roots.

• Three to five gallons of water, or less than one minute of watering with a garden hose, will saturate the root zone of a plant.

• Established shrubs can survive with one 30 second hand-watering into their root zones every 2-3 weeks.

Determine where in your home you will display your tree so you will know at the tree lot what size and shape you need.

Do a freshness test. Hold a branch about 6 inches from the tip. Pull your hand toward the tip, allowing the branch to slip through your fingers. Very few green needles should come off in your hand if the tree is fresh.

Water is the single most limiting essential resource for tree survival and growth. Water shortages severely damage young and old trees alike, and set up healthy trees for other problems. Drought conditions can lead to tree decline, disease and insect problems and non-recoverable damage. Supplemental watering can greatly assist in maintaining tree health during droughts - both during the growing season or during the dormant season.

How To Water

The best ways to water trees are by soaker hose or drip irrigation.

As the days get hotter and drier, keep a watchful eye on your vegetable garden. Careful attention to a few details will help your garden produce a bountiful harvest all summer.
 

Water Management

Focus your attention on water management first. Most gardens need at least 1 inch of water per week. If it doesn't rain, apply a half-inch of water twice a week.

Some vegetables may need a little more water, depending on the soil type and temperature. If you can, use soaker hoses or drip irrigation to avoid wetting the foliage. Wet foliage can lead to diseases.

Overhead irrigation is okay - if it's all you have. As with all watering, though, run irrigation at night or in the early morning hours so as to allow the plants time to dry during the day.

Using a watering can or hose can be effective ways to water small gardens. They make it easy to target the moisture directly to the plant, and no water is wasted between the rows.