What is the most challenging part of gardening for you?
CAlexander
| Posted in Mountain West Gardening on
For me it’s time to make what I want happen. But soil quality and pests are also problems I could do without. What about you?
Replies
The biggest issue facing us in the intermountain west is the intense heat and getting the right amount of water to the plants in the garden. Too much water and they turn to mush; too little water and they dry up and croak within a couple of days. The only way I know of monitoring "what is enough" water is to dig down with a trowel or hori hori knife to see if the soil is moist at least 9-12 inches below the surface. That usually means a thorough soaking, at least once a week, sometimes every 5 days, especially when it is 100 degrees +, like this week. We use the "soaker" setting on the Dramm hose sprayer. I put it on the ground, in the flower bed, and move it every 30 minutes or so. Except for our turf area, I also use drip emitters in all the flower pots and a very old fashioned three tube sprinkler/soaker hose in long garden beds. We try very hard NOT to sprinkle, since most water that goes up into the air evaporates and is wasted.