When the winter rains end, it’s time for gardeners to focus on providing spring and summer edibles with the water they need to grow and produce. While hand watering may be the simplest way to adjust watering to the needs of individual plants, it’s not the most efficient means for getting the right…
As spring transitions into the dryer months of summer, now is the time to check and refine your irrigation system to keep your plants appropriately hydrated. Having healthy and hydrated plants is an important component of a Fire-smart Landscape. Healthy and hydrated plants:Are more difficult to…
Topography: This refers to land surfaceshills, slopes, north/south orientation, valleys, rivers, lakes, (natural or artificial features)or buildings. All of these affect air and water flow and can create microclimates in your own yard.
Orange County averages about 13 inches of rain per year (Metropolitan Water District of Orange County), which puts us a few inches away from being a desert, which averages ten inches of rain per year. Recent drought years have focused attention on the amount of water we use in our landscape.
Drip irrigation can be used to water trees, plants in containers, raised beds, and many other landscape situations. The amount of water needed and frequency of application varies greatly depending on plant species, soil conditions, and the local environment.
Irrigation Scheduling Tools This tool, developed by Rueben and Shanti Hofshi, and Ben Faber, has instructions for use and allows you to calculate water needed per tree per day as well as watering time per day or irrigation period.
Water requirements of landscape plants change throughout the year. Daylength, temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed all affect the loss of water from soil and plants. In the absence of rain, these losses must be replenished by irrigating.
Drought Tips Drought Tips from UC Davis CA Institute for for Water Resources - Tip Sheet Series Irrigation Scheduling Tools Information on crop water requirements for blueberries, Dr.
