{"id":80352,"date":"2022-08-01T12:36:40","date_gmt":"2022-08-01T12:36:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=80352"},"modified":"2022-08-01T12:36:43","modified_gmt":"2022-08-01T12:36:43","slug":"how-to-keep-your-garden-up-in-the-middle-of-a-drought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2022\/08\/how-to-keep-your-garden-up-in-the-middle-of-a-drought\/","title":{"rendered":"How to keep your garden up in the middle of a drought"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 August 1, 2022 \u2013 For backyard gardeners, mild droughts and water ban restrictions common during the summer months can be a cause for concern. Kate Venturini Hardesty, a program administrator and educator with the 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Cooperative Extension<\/a>, offers some tips for backyard gardeners who are feeling the heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let your lawn rest.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour lawn is on summer vacation,\u201d she said. \u201cLawns are meant to go dormant in July and August. Many turf types are perennial species, so they rely on a break, much like the herbaceous perennials in our gardens. When we don\u2019t allow them to rest, they\u2019re weaker, just like you and I without a good night\u2019s sleep. Refraining from watering the lawn saves a tremendous amount of water.\u201d While this may mean that your lawn is brown instead of a vibrant green, it will be beneficial for its overall health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t mow your lawn too low.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mowing your lawn too far down will also have a negative impact on it. You don\u2019t want to be the golf course of your neighborhood \u2013 the taller your grass is, the healthier it will be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMow high,\u201d she said. \u201cThe higher your mower is set, the deeper the roots are able to go underground to access soil moisture.\u201d Deeper turfgrass roots equal stronger, healthier turf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"flowers
Remember to water as early in the day as possible and know what plants are best for your garden. Plants that are native to your area will generally do best. (溏心vlog免费B站 photo\/Nora Lewis) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Water your crops and gardens as early in the day as possible.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to watering your plants, the earlier you can do it the better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t water any time but the morning,\u201d she explained. \u201cIt gives the plants some time to actually absorb the water before it evaporates.\u201d If you water at noon, you\u2019ll lose a bunch of water to evaporation. If you water in the evening after the sun has set, you run the risk of causing fungal issues for your plants, which is not good for their health. Watering in the morning allows for moisture to be soaked up in the root zone before the sun is too high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mulch your garden beds.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is particularly important for vegetable gardens. Mulch locks in moisture in the soil and discourages evaporation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaking sure that the ground is covered by some type of mulch that\u2019ll hold the moisture is one of the best things you can do for your vegetable plants. Most are annuals from other parts of the world and need supplemental water every day in the heat of summer,\u201d she said, \u201cso anything you can do to conserve it is good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Know what plants are best for your garden.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to designing and planning your gardens and landscaping, it\u2019s critical that you know which plants are the best suited for your space. Plants that are native to your area will generally do best because they evolved and are able to adapt to the way your local climate is changing on both the micro and macro levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you look around the landscape, it\u2019s the plants from Asia and Europe that don\u2019t do as well,\u201d she said, \u201cbecause they\u2019re like, \u2018where am I?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The types of plants that are best to plant vary from garden to garden based on a variety of factors, including sun exposure, solid health and drainage. Before you plant, do your research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA simple site assessment exercise can help you gather information about available sunlight and water, wind exposure, drainage and soil health, and more,\u201d she said. \u201cThe more information you have, the easier it is to choose plants that can tolerate the climate on your site. It’s a front end investment that pays off in the long run.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Venturini Hardesty said that, on average, New England tends to get about 45 inches of rain per year. If the average rain per week is about one inch, that leaves about seven weeks without rain \u2013 which happens to be almost the full length of the months of July and August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shifts that climate change will bring to backyard gardeners \u2013 and crop growing and planting as a whole \u2013 will need to be dealt with on a regional level, not in individual backyards, she explained. However, it\u2019s never too early to prepare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn some ways, a drought exacerbates a condition that already exists during the summer,\u201d she said, \u201cso adapting to a drought by expecting it is going to be one of the best defenses we have because I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gardeners are encouraged to utilize the resources offered by the Cooperative Extension to assist in the healthy development of their plants. They can contact the free Gardening and Environmental Hotline<\/a> staffed by 溏心vlog免费B站 Master Gardener volunteers by phone at 401-874-4836 weekdays from 10-2 or via email at gardener@uri.edu<\/a> or send soil samples for free soil pH testing through October 31. Commercial growers are encouraged to contact the 溏心vlog免费B站 Plant Protection clinic at 401-874-2900 for help with plant pests and diseases. For more information, please visit uri.edu\/coopext<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mary Lind, a graduate student working for 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Department of Marketing and Communications, wrote this release.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 August 1, 2022 \u2013 For backyard gardeners, mild droughts and water ban restrictions common during the summer months can be a cause for concern. Kate Venturini Hardesty, a program administrator and educator with the 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Cooperative Extension, offers some tips for backyard gardeners who are feeling the heat. Let […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":80353,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80352"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80372,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80352\/revisions\/80372"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}