by Lydia Holley April 18, 2022
After having several plants die in one area, a friend of mine questioned me about what she should do. I suggested two things to start with: a soil test and a water test. After doing these, she found that the problem was the water.
A water test is simple to do and can be eye-opening by what you find. Watering systems may not always give the same amount of coverage throughout the garden area, but if you are having problems like my friend, it might solve a puzzling situation with very little cost, effort, and time.
How do you administer a water test? It is easy. My friend simply placed small containers such as tuna cans in numerous places throughout her garden. This type of can is suggested because they are an inch high. That saves you from having to get out a ruler to measure the water collected and is an easy way to get a number of containers which are consistent in size.
After placing the water catchers throughout the garden, she started the watering system. After it had gone through its cycle, she took measurements. She added a step I had not thought of: she drew a plan and added numbers to where she had placed the cans. Then, to the side of the drawing, she listed the numbers and noted the amount of water in each can.
To her surprise, the garden received a variety of measurements, with some areas receiving only one-eighth of an inch, one spot getting zero. Now that she knows the problem, she can start working on the solution.
If you have uneven growth or plants dying in certain areas, it may not be the water. But it might. Try giving your garden a water test. It is simple and easy to do. And you might be surprised by what you learn.
For more information, call 903-675-6130, email hendersonCMGA@gmail.com.
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