Farmers Weekly Review

Water. They call it the new oil in that it is becoming a scarcer and scarcer resource. But we all need it.

Heck, we are made of it. Humans are made up of approximately 60% water. And for our plants, it is even more. Plants are roughly 80 to 90% water by weight. How we get it, and more importantly how we use it, save it, and provide for our plants and animals takes some strategies.

Let’s start with something we don’t take into enough consideration: water for our pollinators, especially our insects. Insects are tiny people; they can easily lose their life in a birdbath if they take one step too far. So, to avoid having a floating graveyard of the most important animals in our gardens, make a bee bath for them.

Using a shallow saucer and adding several flat rocks, and if you have it, add some sand; you have created a safe “kiddy pool” or should I say katydid pool for all insects to stay well hydrated. This is particularly important in the dog days of summer. This type of bath does dry out quickly because of its shallow nature; the sand helps to keep the moisture available longer.

While we are on the subject of baths, bird baths can be, well hazardous to the birds. Many birdbaths are deep and steep, slicked-sided vessels that makes it a challenge for our songbirds to get into and, even more importantly, out safely.

The Audubon Society recommends birdbaths only have 1 to 1 1/2 inches of water in them. If you check your beautiful, Martha Stewart-esque ceramic blue birdbath, you might find that when you fill it, it is 4 or even 5 inches deep. And it has slippery sides.

Birds are especially vulnerable when and after they are in a birdbath. Those wet wings don’t help with fast flight if a predator is nearby. I have a lot of bird baths and feeders in my yard. To help the birdbaths be more bird friendly, add some pieces of flagstone (limestone). It gives a natural landing pad for the birds and an easier access to a fresh drink.

Another strategy with birdbaths is to place them near shrubs or under trees. This allows them to alight to nearby branches quickly if the neighborhood hawk is in the area.

And just like for yourself, you don’t want to drink or wash in dirty water; neither do our insect and bird friends. So, plan to regularly change and clean your baths. Do not, however, follow the urban myth of adding bleach to your birdbaths as a sanitizing agent. Never. Instead, a daily dump and fill and a weekly scrub with a designated kitchen brush and some dish soap with a long rinse cycle in the end will keep your birdbaths clean and healthy.

If there is one thing I have added to my cadre of bird supplies that, first I didn’t think would work and, second didn’t think the birds would like, is a solar bird fountain.

These are reasonably priced, and for me at least, last multiple seasons. No electricity required. It is a black solar disk with a 2-inch tube that has different attachments you can plop into your birdbath.

Not only does moving water not attract mom mosquitoes (they like still water), but research has shown birds are more attracted to the sound of water from farther away than they are to food.

An added bonus for those of us who don’t have the interest or time to put in a water feature pond complete with a waterfall, this tiny, plain looking device provides the soothing sound of trickling water in your garden — for you. It is very relaxing (unless that sound triggers you to have to visit the bathroom more often).

When it comes to water for the garden itself, there are many options that I have discussed at length, one by one, in several columns prior. But now that we are in gardening season, it is time to review the basics.

How much water do plants need? Approximately 1 inch of water between rain and water weekly is the recommended amount, whether it is for the tomatoes in the garden or an oak tree.

That said, the best water-saving device in all planting beds, except for the lawn, is to add some type of mulching layer. A thin mulch layer, no more than 2 inches deep around your plants, including the vegetable garden, will cut your need to water (and pay a higher water bill) by 50-60%.

Mulching is what nature does for itself. Every year, leaves of most plants drop to the ground, decompose and form a layer on top of the soil that protects the next year’s plants by preventing too much water to evaporate.

Perennial plants, including the woody ones, have complex miles and miles of root systems that help to absorb water. That is why, in general, you don’t need to regularly water trees and perennials that have been in the ground for more than three years, unless we get into a drought situation.

The amount of water we get though, either from the hose, watering can, irrigation sprinklers or drip, or the rain from Mother Nature is so hard to estimate. You need to measure. You don’t need to buy anything. Any vessel will do. I easily leave out two or three buckets in my yard on a regular, although not intentional basis.

I am surprised often by the amount of rain I did or didn’t get. Last week, I was awakened in the middle of the night by what sounded like a good, old-fashioned heavy thunderstorm. It sure sounded like I could skip watering my newly planted strawberry bed and containers.

But no, when I checked my bucket, there wasn’t even enough to measure, it must have been the wind I heard, not rain.

A final reminder about watering plants. Just like you, to quench their thirst, they like a good long drink.

No sprinkling. Two deep waterings four days apart if we don’t’ get rain are the best way to encourage your plants to drive their roots deeper and that one act will help your plants stress less from the weather conditions.