MULCH AND WATER
With La Niña firmly in control of our weather pattern this spring, north Texas is experiencing warmer, drier and obviously more wind than normal. In an effort to conserve water and allow our annuals and bedding plants to still thrive and flourish, mulch is more important than ever.
   Mulch actually serves a purpose other than looking good and adding the final touch to a bed, it helps hold in moisture, prevents weeds from germinating and over time decomposes into organic matter for the beds.

• Apply a one to two inch layer of mulch around trees, shrubs, ground covers annuals, bedding plants, perennials and even to potted containers if there is exposed soil.
• Mulch finishes off the planting area to give it that finished clean look.
• Mulch blocks the sun light from the exposed soil and inhibits weeds from germinating.
• A covering of mulch helps retain precious moisture and in turn allows us to use less water.
• Over time the mulch will decompose and become organic matter that will work its way back into the planting area.

Water wisely:
  All of our landscapes require water, and as the season heats up literally, it will require more and more. To aide in reducing the amount and frequency of water needed for healthy lawn and garden here are a few simple tips.

• Newly planted annuals like to be kept evenly moist for the first couple of weeks to become rooted and established.
• Once the plants have taken hold, it is best to water the planted areas thoroughly when needed and allow them to dry out moderately between irrigations. Most bedding plants and annuals do not like to be standing in water or constantly wet once they are established.
• Water early in the morning. There is less wind to blow and waste water and there is less evaporation. (plus many plants do not want water sitting on the plants during the heat of the day, it can scorch many plants)

Frequency and time per station:
Each irrigation system is different and the various soils make using one set time for every garden an impossible task. As spring turns to summer the frequency will increase, and maybe the duration and time of each cycle.

Watering deeply is the only common requirement that most yards, gardens and plants prefer. The deeper the water soaks into the ground the stronger and deeper the roots grow to form healthier plants.

One thing I have been experimenting with at my home is reducing the time per station, but adding extra cycles per irrigation day.

I will use 15 minutes as an example-
Instead of running each station for 15 minutes, I will set my timer to run for Five minutes each station then repeat the start times so that over the course of the irrigation I will run it through the system three times for a total of 15 minutes. I am using the same amount of water, but less water is running off and more is soaking into the soil and going deeper. Last summer I was able to cut one irrigation cycle per week out of my rotation.   One cycle per week may not sound like much but over the course of a season it adds up and every drop counts where water is concerned.