You put in plants, you have to water. But are you sure you're getting the most our of your efforts? Patrick Murphy, host of GLT's Grow has some basic tips for effective watering, plus reveals the best sprinkler you can buy.
- A.L. from Hyattsville, Maryland wonders what's the key to getting water past all that mulch and where it really needs to go: the plant's roots.
- Murph said when it comes to mulch, there are types that can conspire against your efforts to get water where it belongs. There's decorative stone and gravel mulches, plus bark mulch or pine straw. Sometimes the coarser wood mulches actually shield the ground from water.
- A good solution for A.L. is to scratch away at the mulch, rejuvenate with a rake of how to break things up and help the water penetrate through the coarser mulches.
- When hand watering, make sure you water near the roots, not at the top of the plants.
- As for sprinklers, there's the fan and the whirlybird, but the best one you can select to water your yard is the oscillating impact sprinkler. It's low profile keeps too much water from evaporating before it hits your plants.
