How are your gardens coping with the dry weather?

Hello everyone

I hope that you've all had a good week. As it's been so dry for a while, I was wondering how your gardens have been coping with this spell without rain? Have you been doing anything out of your ordinary routine to help your plants along?

Take care everyone

 

Seen before the Blackbird gets in.

 

Watering,watering and more watering!!

 

Get the net asap. ...However mine blackbirds still manage to have some berries on sides under netting.

I have a garden with tall brick wall right on South. So half a garden is in the shade. And with winter rains, if i dig deeper it's still damp there. I used hosepipe today to soak the bed on the other sunny side. I saw an article today that hosepipes maybe banned because of the drought, so was quick.
I don't care if the lawn dries out. No growing grass, no mowing. I believe I again will stay with a little green oasis next to birds bath

I water strawberries and other edibles regularly.

 

I am not sure what you are growing, and how, so it is hard to give specific advice.
For vegetables such as tomatoes, courgettes and so forth I grow most things in bottomless pots on soil. This affords the plants some protection from diseases and pests and give them an easier start. However, because the plant is able to extend the roots into the soil, once large enough it will be more resilient to drought.
I was suggested to try this by JWK, a gardener here in the forum, years ago, when I asked your very question. It was a very warm summer and I had to leave for a few weeks, so I was a bit worried.
I never lost a plant to lack of water when planted like that. When it is dry I sometimes do not water for a few days, unless I see signs of whilting, because that encourage some plants to create deeper roots looking for humidity, which makes them more drought resistant on the long run.

For planters, baskets and pots, it is more of a problem of course.
Mulching the soil will help limiting evaporation, so the moisture stays in the soil for longer. I prefer black horticultural mulch, because it attracts less woodlice and other pests, but many find it unsightly and prefer bark, straw, shredded paper or other things.
One approach used in very dry areas is to bury close to the plant clay vessels with a thin neck sticking out of the soil, and then water directly into the vessel. Because clay is porous, the water will seep very slowly into the soil.
Some people do the same by burying in soil small clay pots with the bottom sealed, so only the rim sticks out, and watering into them. Then one can cover the full pot with a saucer or something similar, to prevent evaporation.

For self watering baskets and pots I have used wicks buried in the soil, to make sure water would get to top of the pot. It worked well, even too much for some plants which seemed to find the soil too moist.

But I am not sure if anything above applies to your plants, I only grow annual, edible varieties.

 

I'm watering borders with the hose every 2 days. In the evenings. The plants look like they really need it by day 2. Pots I'm doing daily. Most of them are on a paved patio area and both front and back garden are in full sun most of the day the lawn I'd slowly turning brown but it usually bounces back so I'm not too worried. I'm planning to mulch a lot this year when winter comes so hopefully that will help next summer

 

I use the hose even in the GH. There I set the nozzle to very fine spray and go over everything a couple of times.
In the garden I use a heavier spray and concentrate on the base of the shrubs, once soaked, I will give a quick overhead spray to liven up the leaves and attract the birds for the bugs.

Some folk set a pot in the ground close to the base of the plants and fill this a few times. That allows the water to get down faster.

 

Being further north my lawns are still green and being mowed every week and a half. My soil is sandy loam, so is free draining and at the moment is like dust. The only plants I'm watering are young shrubs and my recently planted runner beans.

 

This is our 4th year of spring drought. So we are used to what will happen, and do our best to get through it. We haven’t had a watering ban yet, but it will come very soon. I think the government is holding off because of the Covid19 restrictions - they just don’t want to push the people too far....

I have had to regularly water the veg beds since March (we have had no serious rainfall since the beginning of February) and the wildlife pond has to be regularly topped up. In March it was every 4-5 days, in April and early May every 2-3 days. Now it should really be done every night. The drying winds aren’t helping. The onion sets I planted are starting to shrivel, as I haven’t got enough water on them. As it is, they will cost more in metered water than onions bought in the shops! In this past fortnight we have also had to start watering vulnerable trees - trees that have been planted within the last 7-8 years.

When we get a watering ban, it isn’t a hosepipe ban, it’s a watering ban. The only water we are allowed to put on the garden is grey water, even using a watering can with “fresh” water is banned. (So yes, you can grow plants in washing-up water, though we try to use “running for hot” water for the veg). We do have a rainwater catchment tank under the patio, but that gets low after a few months. Last night hubby pulled up a drowned mole from the tank. It had got in through the overflow pipe, and once in, there was no way out. We’ve had frogs, toads, mice and rats before, but this is the first mole....

In the past 4 years we have lost 4 young trees, and 2 established trees to drought. I have lost count of how many herbaceous plants.

Coping? No, not really. Giving up? No. Replacing lost trees? Also a No....

 

Living in a hot climate with up to five months at a time without a glimpse of rain, I planted mostly drought resistant plants/shrubs/trees that can cope with such conditions. As much as I would like to, I don't grow bedding plants or vegetables. I do have lots of large tubs and pots which are watered daily when in dire straits. We are more likely to have bonfire bans than water bans.

 

I try not to water anything in the ground, other than to establish, so am watering recently planted toms and other stuff, but any trees and shrubs dont get any water, they have to look for it, and mostly they find enough to survive even if some years they dont flourish.

If I do any watering I take the spray off the hose and let the water just run out around the roots, and basically flood the area, I then leave it for a week or more before repeating.

Most of my trees and shrubs come from warmer climates anyway so a so called English "drought" is a bit of a doddle.
If it went on like this for another 3 months like it did in '76 then yes there could be a problem.

The spuds wont like it and neither will the onions.

 

I know you have light soil @shiney ,but I think with large shrubs and trees it's about what is below that top soil.
It's clay around here so the big stuff gets its roots down in there and it takes a long time for that to dry out. But when it does it shrinks and cracks.
Obviously parts where I've improved the soil for veg etc. Get pretty dry.