Ag Line: Watering Your Garden
By Wade Parker County Extension Coordinator

If you have been one of the lucky few to receive some of the scattered showers in the past few days, your garden should be in good shape. However, it does not take long for this 95+ degree days to take its toll and deplete what soil moisture we have. As I ride the country side, I have noticed some healthy gardens; and I have noticed some gardens that are in critical need for moisture.

If you grow corn in your garden, then it is obviously too late to do anything about watering. Nevertheless, we still have many vegetables that are still growing.

Water Management

Focus your attention on water management first. Most gardens need at least 1 inch of water per week. If it doesn't rain, apply a half-inch of water twice a week.

Some vegetables may need a little more water, depending on the soil type and temperature. If you can, use soaker hoses or drip irrigation to avoid wetting the foliage. Wet foliage can lead to diseases.

Overhead irrigation is okay - if it's all you have. As with all watering, though, run irrigation at night or in the early morning hours to allow the plants time to dry during the day.

Using a watering can or hose can be effective ways to water small gardens. They make it easy to target the moisture directly to the plant, and no water is wasted between the rows.

Weed and Mulch

Water isn't the only thing you need to stay on top of this summer. Attention needs to be focused on weeds, too. They can rob moisture and nutrients from vegetables and create competition for space. It's always easiest to control weeds when they are young and not yet fully rooted. Hand-pulling and hoeing are still the most effective ways to do this task.

Small mini-tillers can be used to quickly chew up weeds found in vegetable rows. Be very careful not to get too close to the plants and injure their roots. For safety's safe, till the middle of the rows and then hand-weed closer to the plants.

After weeding, place a few inches of pine straw, wheat straw, old wood chips, or other mulch material around your plants to help conserve moisture and keep weeds away. The most practical way is to use about three sheets of newspaper around tomato, pepper, and squash plants as a base mulch. Then cover the paper with straw to provide an extra layer of protection against weeds. The newsprint eventually breaks down into organic matter.

Be careful when using grass clippings as mulch, as many people do. You may be introducing more weed seeds into your garden than you ever imagined, especially if your lawn contains weeds and weed seed heads.

Just remember, as the drought continues, keep watering!

Intern

This summer and fall, the Jenkins County Extension Service has an intern from Georgia Southern working with us. The following is a brief introduction of Matt. We look forward to Matt working with us!

Hello! My name is Matt Hutcheson. I would like to take the opportunity to introduce myself, as I will be working with Mr. Wade Parker over the next several months as an intern with the University of Georgia Extension Service. I am originally from Vidalia, Georgia and I attended Georgia Southern University as an undergraduate where I received a BBA in Management. I am currently pursuing a Master of Public Health degree at GSU where I am concentrating on Environmental Health Science. Several areas of specific interest to me are water quality, soil quality, and hazardous materials. I hope to use these areas to address any concerns that may be present or that may arise in the county during my time at the Extension Service. I have met a lot of great people already since I started several weeks ago, and I look forward to meeting many more of you in the coming months.

The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension offers educational programs, assistance and materials to all people without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex or disability.