Green Hose
Water, water everywhere... Well, to transport fresh, clean cold water to the far reaches of a flower and or vegetable garden, you better have made an investment in the spring of a good garden hose. We have various flower blooming areas scattered around the yard and our vegetables are a ways up a slopping rise. When to water? Old Mr. Gardiner, who kept an immaculate yard and a small tidy, black-shuttered house in the neighborhood, used to water his lawn thoroughly in the evening by hand. As a young lad of 12, I asked him why at night. His theory was that the grass would stay wet all night and have a good opportunity to soak into the soil. Made sense to me. On the other side of the coin, when it comes to flowers, I live with a pretty savvy gardener. She has related to me that watering at night can allow fungus to buildup on the plant or grass. Water in the daytime, so water soaks the soil but has time to dry from the leaves. Make sense to me. You see, when I'm found in the 'land of the lost', I'll believe just about anything. Back then, I thought the old guy made sense; these days I know this dame makes sense! On this latter fact, I've learned the hard way in a few cases over the years... and not just about watering gardens, I might add here. Now, I do know (I've been taught) that watering plants in hot, bright sun is a no, no. The droplets will act as a magnifying glass and actually burn the foliage. Makes sense to me. So there you have it, short and concise- Birdman's overly simple guide to watering your plants. Oh, and make sure you have enough rubber tubing to reach the far confines of your plants, especially if they reside for the summer up a slight hill. I need a couple of lengths that run about 200 feet or so. If you've got plenty of hose, you're living on easy street, right? Not quite, a sprinkler that won't cooperating going back and forth and a nozzle that won't attach correctly are areas I've been struggling with lately, but these issues I'll leave for another day. Makes sense to me.
ps. Afternoon showers are a beautiful thing!
Happy sprinkling!
Here, during summer , it's strictly forbidden to use water for the garden during the day, forbidden to wash cars, and this year, as we really have no rain, forbidden to put water in private swimmingpools. So we have a very different look on the problem..
ReplyDeleteWe had such a hot and dry summer that I was using our hose quite a bit! August seems to be better though as we've been getting regular showers. Love your green hose. It really stands out next to that brick. :)
ReplyDeleteI have only a terrace, it's quite large but a 30-foot (blue) hose is enough to do the trick...
ReplyDelete"Water, water, every where,
ReplyDeleteAnd all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink."
Oops! Wrong poem; you're talking about plants, though! Guess the plants need some attention.
I have meticulously copied your post and have inserted it into my Gardening Guide which is composed of two old leaves held together by Super Glue. I have retitled my Gardening Guide: It now reads "Lost" by the Birdman.
ReplyDeleteWe no longer have a garden and our watering needs are taken care of therefore ... well, I'm not going to tell you what my Gardening Guide is used for.
Heh, heh!
and don't waste your money buying a cheap hose at dollar general or family dollar! will cause cussing w/ kinks every time!
ReplyDeleteIt's the same here in Perth in summer, reticulation only twice a week before 6am or after 6pm and they actually patrol looking for over zealous waterers. We have to really water wise if we want to have a garden, it can be done..but oh how I love the rain!
ReplyDeleteYou are lucky to have a very knowlegable gardner so close at hand. That is one area where I have no talent what so ever. Since I've lived my current house, I've lost 3 trees, one vine, and too many plants to count. Thank goodness there are still some plants around my yard that seem to thrive all on their own in spite of my deadly presence.
ReplyDeletethat sure is a tough one!
ReplyDeleteAnd pray for a good hose that likes to roll up after use!
ReplyDeleteWe have great watering debates at our house. But the wife is an Oklahoma State Univ Certified Master Gardener. Basically though you water when you can. Somehow things are ok.
ReplyDeleteI have an even better solution -move to somewhere like here: We get 2m of water a year. Seattle springs to mind ...
ReplyDeleteI agree with Texwisgirl on this one. Cheap ones are a pain.
ReplyDeleteRight now, I'll take the hose for myself. Temps set to soar this weekend...
ReplyDeleteThe savvy gardener's tip makes sense to me too. At this moment no hose is needed as the rain is POURING down! PS Loving the complementary green to the fire alarm's red...
ReplyDeletehoses! they get all tangled up 'n all. but in a way, they're a beautiful frustration.
ReplyDeleteI've heard that grass fungus story before, but grass doesn't seem to get fungus infections when it rains at night, so why should it when one waters at night? Perhaps rain water is different than hose water.?
ReplyDeletegreat post! I like the color of the garden hose.
ReplyDeleteLA By Diana Live Magazine
As I was reading your post I was thinking "No! not at night!" It seems that you have a master gardener to keep you straight. We have such an abundance of water where I live that we are almost never without. I think that we have had rain every day for the past six weeks and it is now raining for the second time today! We are the wettest city in the country. Seattle claims to be but they just get drizzle many, many days. When it rains here in the summer it is usually a squall, intense and of short duration.
ReplyDeleteBises,
Genie