A Tip for Watering . . .

JaneG · Post by **JaneG** » Jun 29, 2005 9:45 pm

Thought I'd share a technique I use when I have lots of plants to water and they need a good amount of slow water. With this drought we've been having it helps to put the water on r-e-a-l s-l-o-w to let it soak in and give the plants a good drink. This is easy to do in a bed where you can wind a soaker hose through the bed. But for those single plants or small trees you have to leave the hose on them running at a trickle. Well, this just didn't work for me because I needed the hose for everything else. So here's what I've done . . .

Take a 5-gallon plastic bucket (the kind like paint comes in, or drywall mud, or automotive lubricants, pickles, etc), if you don't have access to free ones, you can buy them at Walmart, Menards, etc.

Using a small drill bit (like 1/8-inch, perhaps), drill two small holes about an inch apart in the side of the bucket, about an inch from the bottom.

Fill the bucket with water (yes, it will be leaking out the holes), place the bucket next to your plant with the holes facing the plant so it 'leaks' next to the base of the plant. It will take 15-30 minutes to empty the bucket so the plant gets a nice, long, drink. Meanwhile, you are free to fill another bucket for another plant. When the first bucket is empty, fill it again and put it on another plant, and you can continue watering, weeding, etc, while the plants are being watered.

I first did this when I was trying to get new trees established and they were too far away for the hose to reach. I could fill several buckets and keep them well watered. Now I use it on individual plants that need special attention. It's also a good way to deliver fertilizer to the roots of the plant.

Hope this helps until we finally get some real rain from Mother Nature!!!

Snow · Post by **Snow** » Jun 29, 2005 10:29 pm

You can even use an empty gallon milk jug. Poke a pinhole in one bottom corner and fill the jug with water, leaving the cap off. The water will gradually drip out of the pinhole at a slow pace.

Justaysam · Post by **Justaysam** » Jun 29, 2005 11:48 pm

Both great ideas thanks! My lawyer was just asking me about the watering ban in our town, and if I was sneaking out to water at sunrise, LOL. His wife has 400 hosta, and is making him take turns going out and turning on the soaker hose in the wee hours of the morning so no one sees them watering. I'll tell him about these tips, may get me some brownie points with him, I could use some right now.

wishiwere · Post by **wishiwere** » Jun 30, 2005 8:17 am

I figure when they go after the business across the street that waters every night after dark (EVEN IN THE RAIN) then they can charge me with watering plants on the days I'm not supposed to. I don't water the lawn, just the gardens, and I have neighbors (5 of 7 on this street don't have gardens and don't water their lawns).

Ginger · Post by **Ginger** » Jun 30, 2005 2:29 pm

Great ideas! I am so glad I live in the country and have my own well, so no water bans for me

Ginger

PeggyB · Post by **PeggyB** » Jun 30, 2005 2:45 pm

Great tip Jane! Roy's been doing that for years, only difference being the holes were already in the buckets!

Thank goodness he got motivated this year and got a pump up and running in the old well...and thank goodness the owners at the time we went on city water didn't destroy that well! Our water rates are through the roof here and I'd sure hate to pay for as much water as I've had to use this year! We've got nearly all the beds set up with soakers so there's just a few outlying areas that need to be hand watered. Have you been lucky enough to be in one of the isolated areas that received some isolated rain?

JaneG · Post by **JaneG** » Jun 30, 2005 4:30 pm

I feel isolated, I'm isolated from the rain! I had a few drops Monday afternoon. I was out weeding at the time and hardly got wet. I think I could have counted the number of raindrops on one hand!

PeggyB · Post by **PeggyB** » Jun 30, 2005 10:15 pm

You're not alone Jane! Sucks doesn't it!

Linda P · Post by **Linda P** » Jul 02, 2005 8:14 am

Great tips, Jane. I have some small evergreens to plant (somewhere! don't know just where yet) and I've been holding off planting them because of the drought. I have a plethora of 5-gal pails, and a wagon to tow them out in, so maybe I'll go ahead and plant the poor little trees. We did get some rain, a total of 2 inches in the last week. My dad, who is probably 10 miles as the crow flies, didn't get any. He is watering his large veggie garden, and his lawn is crispy crunchy crackly. Even the weeds are dying in the lawn. Sure hope there is some rain in your immediate future there in the central Illinois desert.
Linda P

patsue53 · Post by **patsue53** » Jul 03, 2005 8:54 am

That's a great tip Jane! Thank you!! I need all the watering tips I can get. I just dread getting my next waterbill. I had hte hose on almost all day yesterday and I still have a couple of beds that havn't been watered.

As I was going to work on Friday it started to rain!!! It was just a sprinkle but by the time I got across the river and into my workplace it was coming down pretty good and rained for probably 20 to 30 minutes. I was so happy that my gardens were getting some water until I got home and DS told me that it hardly rained at all on our side of the river.

That's twice last week that the rain didn't cross the Mississippi into Illinos.

wishiwere · Post by **wishiwere** » Jul 03, 2005 2:16 pm

Oh don't you hate that when it misses you! It's been that way with snow and rain most of 2005~

We did get an inch over 2 days last week. But geepers, then the hot winds blow and it's dried up almost the same day

Annie · Post by **Annie** » Jul 03, 2005 6:00 pm

Great ideas!!! I just planted a crabapple tree and I keep watering it with the soaker hose, but like ya said I need the hose for other areas as well!!

Thanks for the tips!!