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Efficient Watering
Garden Tips Newsletter - May 14, 2001

As summer arrives, and the mercury starts to rise, efficient and conservative watering of our landscape is very important. Here are a few tips on watering:

If you use an automatic sprinkler system, make sure you have a shut-off device or sensor so that the system will not run if there has been adequate rainfall or if it is raining.

The best time to water is in the mornings (4 a.m. -- 7 a.m.). Watering during this time of day reduces the amount of evaporation and allows plants to dry out during the day, which cuts down on diseases.

The best way watering technique is to water deeply and infrequently. Watering deeply and infrequently encourages roots to grow deeper to find water and are become more drought tolerant. Watering shallowly everyday causes roots to stay near the soil surface and if you are unable to water for a week or so, these roots will dry up and cause the plant to wilt and hastens the death of the plant.

If possible, use a drip irrigation system instead of an overhead sprinkler system. Drip irrigation systems apply water directly to the root zone of the plant and less water is lost to evaporation as with overhead sprinklers.

These archived newsletters were written by Dr. Lelia Scott Kelly. Kelly is a Horticulture Specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Her office is in the North Mississippi Research & Extension Center, Verona.