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Water is a scarce resource in Texas. I like to save water because I’d like to have Texas gardens around for my grandsons and their grandchildren.
Even so, I liked a meme on Facebook that said “The grass isn’t greener on the other side of the hill. It’s greener where you water it.” One of my nieces commented that we shouldn’t be watering grass. She has a point. We don’t have much water and we need to stretch it so that it will keep us thirst-free (and for my taste green) for the future. Of course, that is overlooking the metaphorical meaning of the saying which I quite like. Everything in life is better where you pay attention to it.
Pay close attention to your plants
Paying close attention can help you water your Texas garden in just the right way. The goal is to keep your plants just watered enough for good health, but not too wet. Not only is too wet not sustainable, too wet can be as bad as too dry. Your plants can tell you whether they are too dry or too wet. Watch for them to just begin to wilt, and that is the time to water.
Well, most of the time. Like everything else about gardening there’s always a caveat. In the heat of the summer, plants will wilt to conserve water. In the morning, they will perk right up. Knowing which plants behave this way requires paying attention, too. If a plant is wilted in the late afternoon and still wilted the next morning, it is definitely time to water.
I have a water meter that you put in the soil and it tells you if the soil is dry, medium, or wet. I wish I would use it more because it can be a big help when you have a question. They are not expensive ($10 range). You might use it if you have a plant that is wilted and you think it should not be dry. This tool might also be useful if you wanted to check to see if you have watered deeply enough.
Be sure to water enough to go deep into the soil
Watering your Texas garden may take more water than you think. I have sometimes watered a spot of ground and then stuck in a shovel and been surprised that it was dry below 1 inch deep. Clay soil such as we have here in central Texas is particularly difficult to tell if the moisture has gone down into the soil. Clay expands as you water it causing the water to pool on top of the soil, but it has not soaked in.
The roots of most plants go down into the soil further than the top inch. Where the roots are is where the plants get their water. Grasses on the other hand may only grow roots to the depth that gets wet, and so the roots will never grow deeply unless the soil is watered well. The deeper the roots grow, the less water the grass needs because the deeper moisture is protected from evaporation by the soil between it and the sun.
Beginning gardeners (or helpers you’ve asked to manage your watering chores that aren’t gardeners) often make the mistake of watering too shallowly. A quick pass of the hose over a spot will not take the moisture deep enough into the soil to keep the plants happy. It is better to water thoroughly less often than it is to water a little bit every day. As with grass, when the water goes lower into the soil, it will not evaporate as quickly as a few drops on the surface.
Don’t water too much
The other side of the coin is you can overdo it. Too much water is the leading cause of death in houseplants. Eager new plant owners coddle their plants too much and water them every day. Houseplants most likely only need water once a week. Too much water leads to the poor baby drowning. When a plant is waterlogged, the plant cannot get air into their roots from the soil. A hole in the bottom of the pot is the best way to not create a swimming pool for your plant to drown in.
If you have a pot without a hole in the bottom, you can do a couple of things. I often take my drill to the bottom of such pots and create a hole where there was none before. You can also add rocks to the bottom of the pot and then add the soil. The rocks in the bottom create a reservoir for any excess water. In this case, you will still need to be very careful that you don’t overwater the plant thereby filling up the reservoir and then the soil.
Choose native or drought-resistant plants
Outside, we need to do two things to conserve water in your Texas garden. First of all, choose plants that don’t need as much water. Getting a list of Texas native plants from your county extension agent or from the Native Plant Society of Texas can help you in your quest to find drought-worthy plants. (If you’re not in Texas, look into county extension agents from your area.)
So many drought-resistant plants are quite beautiful. Coneflower, Mexican Bush Sage, Esperanza, Pride of Barbados are a few standouts. Second, preserve the water you do put on your plants. In my Weeds blog post, I described my favorite method of covering the soil that keeps water from evaporating (cardboard and mulch.)
Use drip irrigation
Another way to keep water from evaporating is to use drip irrigation methods. Watering our Texas gardens this way helps conserve ourprecious water. When I was farming, I used a drip irrigation system which was wonderful. It had emitters every 12 inches. We would start the drip, and then plant the seedlings where the wet spot was. We could switch sections with a controller by the water pump.
For home gardening, I have found soaker hoses to be a cheap, easy way to do this in the home garden. First, I lay out the soaker hose in a section. It’s best that each section has plants with similar watering needs.
Then, I connect a timer to the hydrant, and connect a hose to that timer. (Here’s the link to the timer I use. This is a mechanical timer, so you have to turn it all the way to the right, and then turn it back to time you want. The turning gives the timer the power to work.)
I put quick release connectors to the end of the hose and the soaker hose. (Here’s a link to the quick connect fittings I use.) I move that hose around to the section ready for watering, and easily connect it to the soaker hose. I set the timer for the length of time I want to water.
If you don’t have a soaker hose system or a drip system, be sure to water your Texas garden in the early morning. This conserves water by reducing evaporation and it also prevents diseases like fungi caused by too much water on the leaves of your plants.