How To Keep Your Lawn And Garden Green This Summer

Summer is finally here! If you're passionate about your lawn and gardens, you've probably been waiting a really long time for this season to come around again. Plants that tend to be favoured in our gardens and the cool season grasses popular in Ottawa don't love summer - at least not the very hot and dry extreme conditions often found in June, July and August! We need to be wise about our resources to help your lawn and gardens stay healthy and green this summer. The experts at Nutri-Lawn Ottawa Irrigation can help.

5 Tips For A Green Summer Lawn and Garden Water Smart

Plants (even grass) prefers consistent deep watering. Avoid light watering that only wets the soil, or watering so infrequently that your grass goes dormant (brown). Vegetable garden plants and many flowering plants don't mind the heat, but they also need consistent watering to thrive.

Watch For Wilting

Environmentalists often have one species that's affected by a change in the environment faster than all the others - a canary in a coal mine idea. Watch these plants for signs of wilting (cucumber, melon, squash are good ones to watch). In a perfect world, you would always be on top of this, but life happens. If the "canary" in your garden doesn't recover in the evening, know that it's time to water. If you walk across your grass and leave footprints behind, that's grass wilting.

Water The Roots

Mold, fungus and other plant diseases love warm wet environments. Ideally, avoid getting the leaves wet. This is perfect if you have or plant to install an inground sprinkler system. Optimally, water the garden or lawn first thing in the morning (set the timer) so that water doesn't sit on the leaves all night. Container gardens need water during the hottest part of the day and often need water every day or so. Avoid having your tomatoes split by keeping the soil consistently moist.

Mulch!

Mulch helps keep the moisture in the soil. This is obviously not optimal on your lawn, but around the plants in your flower and vegetable gardens this is especially helpful. Watch not to add so much mulch that water never reaches the soil or causes root or crown problems with your shrubs and trees.

Know Your Plants And Soil Types

Grass doesn't need the same amount of water as a shrub or a vegetable plant. Plants in containers need more water than plants in soil in the ground. Water to reach the deepest roots of any given plant. Grass, because of its relatively shallow root system, will likely need more water to stay green than your vegetable garden. Plants with mulch will need less water than those without.

Plants in soil with a lot of clay will do better with shorter frequent watering to allow the soil to absorb the moisture instead of just running off. It can help to add peat moss or other soil supplements in the spring to amend the soil in your gardens when possible.

The experts in lawn care at Nutri-Lawn Ottawa Irrigation can help you determine the best irrigation system for your property. We specialize in irrigation systems that focus on water conservation. Contact us today for your complimentary quote.