I live in zone 5, my tomato plants are a bit smaller than they were last year. Granted they aren't planted in the same exact spot per plant rotating recommendations so I am not 100 certain but...
I live in zone 5, my tomato plants are a bit smaller than they were last year. Granted they aren't planted in the same exact spot per plant rotating recommendations so I am not 100 certain but have been suspicious the warmer drier weather this summer is hindering my garden.
This article talks about keeping soil moist. I feel like watering recommendations vary. I've seen guides that say do a big soak and it's okay to let it dry helps roots get deep and I've read to constantly water. I just never know what guides to follow. I just end up doing my own thing a bit.
During typical weather it's good practice to do the big soak and let things dry out and wilt slightly before watering again. As you mentioned this helps encourage deeper root growth. As the...
During typical weather it's good practice to do the big soak and let things dry out and wilt slightly before watering again. As you mentioned this helps encourage deeper root growth. As the article mentions the exception to this is if you know about an incoming heat wave. Then it could be a good idea to get the soil moist so the plant can weather the heat event.
The reason it's not suggested to keep the soil moist all the time is because plant roots need oxygen and moist soil can lead to root rot. Additionally the roots are more likely to grow shallowly and be much more susceptible to drought conditions.
This article has some good tips. I'm fairly new to gardening, just gathering information for growing chili but ofc that's still the song of the future. However our grass in the heatwave and in...
This article has some good tips. I'm fairly new to gardening, just gathering information for growing chili but ofc that's still the song of the future. However our grass in the heatwave and in most of summer is all yellow and dried up this way we can't give grass to our chickens. Do you have any tips on how to help it recover? We have other plants to give them ofc so they are happy at least.
Other than making sure you're not mowing too short, the best general strategy would probably be to get a soil test. It'll tell you if you might be able to have your lawn absorb and retain water...
Other than making sure you're not mowing too short, the best general strategy would probably be to get a soil test.
It'll tell you if you might be able to have your lawn absorb and retain water better by amending it in some manner, if you've got compaction issues, and if it could use some fertilizer or not. The details will vary by lab, but make sure whatever testing you order includes some form of routine fertilizer analysis + texture + organic material test.
Thank you. I think it's possible that it's getting cut too short. I'm not the one cutting the grass, it's my parents and they just cut it as short as possible. I will try to mention them the soil...
Thank you. I think it's possible that it's getting cut too short. I'm not the one cutting the grass, it's my parents and they just cut it as short as possible. I will try to mention them the soil test, seems interesting. They will probably blame the weather but I think it's definetly in corralation with the soil. The place where we live at is at a mountains "foot" so the ground is full of small rocks. Not the best quality of soil so it's probably the reason too why the grass is yellow and dried up. There's a lot of chickweed though.
Sounds exactly like my yard, though we only get the heatwave for a few days at a time. The grass came in really patchy this spring, so I did a bunch of research on grass to find out why -...
Sounds exactly like my yard, though we only get the heatwave for a few days at a time. The grass came in really patchy this spring, so I did a bunch of research on grass to find out why - apparently this variety needs to be seeded every couple of years. It also needs to be done in the fall because of our dry season unless I want to water it every day, which just seems wasteful when I could wait for the rainy season.
The soil test will probably come back with helpful information on what to add to the soil to make the grass grow better. I do suggest sitting down in the grass and really looking at what's going on, though. Can water actually get down to the soil around your grass? I had a really thick layer of thatch which was stopping this. I raked it up in part of the yard and it looks much better over there now. What else is growing? When you dig up that soil sample, is the soil really compacted?
Thank you for the advice! I think our grass also comes in patches but Idk aboht that rn. I will probably do a soil test and mention the seeding to my parents. I don't think something blocking it...
Thank you for the advice! I think our grass also comes in patches but Idk aboht that rn. I will probably do a soil test and mention the seeding to my parents. I don't think something blocking it is really the case here but it's possibility. Where I live there's only really 30-40 cm of dirt on top of the rock but at better places there might be more, Idk at my home how much soil is on top of it. I think it varies because at some places the rock is just fully visible out of the ground and at some you can't even see it.
From my understanding it's likely the grass entered dormancy due to the heat. I did a bit of research and couldn't find any information on recovering the grass in the summer. But the grass should...
From my understanding it's likely the grass entered dormancy due to the heat. I did a bit of research and couldn't find any information on recovering the grass in the summer. But the grass should recover in the fall and will do well if it's irrigated well and nitrogen is applied at a 3lbs per 1,000 sqft rate.
If you'd like more information I'd suggest reaching out to this extension service https://ask2.extension.org/ with information if you know it including the grass type, irrigation rate, and mowing cut length.
I think you are right. In my country grass is usually yellow in summer in the recent years as it's unusual here to have 35+ °C in summer. Due to global warming it's the norm now today it topped at...
I think you are right. In my country grass is usually yellow in summer in the recent years as it's unusual here to have 35+ °C in summer. Due to global warming it's the norm now today it topped at 38 °C which is really unusual. Chickweed loves it with the rocky soil, it doesn't dry out thankfully. I will see how it recoveres in fall, I haven't really watched it before. Thank you for the site I will check it out. Also I will look up for the nitrogen level afaik my parents never applied nitrogen to the soil.
One thing we've recently tried is putting chicken wire over some of our garden plants (bee balm, oregano, etc) so the girls can still pick leaves but not destroy the plant itself. I have toyed...
One thing we've recently tried is putting chicken wire over some of our garden plants (bee balm, oregano, etc) so the girls can still pick leaves but not destroy the plant itself.
I have toyed with the idea of doing something similar with a patch of grass so they can's scratch in that area and hopefully let grasshoppers and small insects think its safe before they get mauled by our little feathered velociraptors.
I live in zone 5, my tomato plants are a bit smaller than they were last year. Granted they aren't planted in the same exact spot per plant rotating recommendations so I am not 100 certain but have been suspicious the warmer drier weather this summer is hindering my garden.
This article talks about keeping soil moist. I feel like watering recommendations vary. I've seen guides that say do a big soak and it's okay to let it dry helps roots get deep and I've read to constantly water. I just never know what guides to follow. I just end up doing my own thing a bit.
During typical weather it's good practice to do the big soak and let things dry out and wilt slightly before watering again. As you mentioned this helps encourage deeper root growth. As the article mentions the exception to this is if you know about an incoming heat wave. Then it could be a good idea to get the soil moist so the plant can weather the heat event.
The reason it's not suggested to keep the soil moist all the time is because plant roots need oxygen and moist soil can lead to root rot. Additionally the roots are more likely to grow shallowly and be much more susceptible to drought conditions.
Thank you for that explanation, totally helps me understand what I thought was conflicting information.
This article has some good tips. I'm fairly new to gardening, just gathering information for growing chili but ofc that's still the song of the future. However our grass in the heatwave and in most of summer is all yellow and dried up this way we can't give grass to our chickens. Do you have any tips on how to help it recover? We have other plants to give them ofc so they are happy at least.
Other than making sure you're not mowing too short, the best general strategy would probably be to get a soil test.
It'll tell you if you might be able to have your lawn absorb and retain water better by amending it in some manner, if you've got compaction issues, and if it could use some fertilizer or not. The details will vary by lab, but make sure whatever testing you order includes some form of routine fertilizer analysis + texture + organic material test.
Thank you. I think it's possible that it's getting cut too short. I'm not the one cutting the grass, it's my parents and they just cut it as short as possible. I will try to mention them the soil test, seems interesting. They will probably blame the weather but I think it's definetly in corralation with the soil. The place where we live at is at a mountains "foot" so the ground is full of small rocks. Not the best quality of soil so it's probably the reason too why the grass is yellow and dried up. There's a lot of chickweed though.
Sounds exactly like my yard, though we only get the heatwave for a few days at a time. The grass came in really patchy this spring, so I did a bunch of research on grass to find out why - apparently this variety needs to be seeded every couple of years. It also needs to be done in the fall because of our dry season unless I want to water it every day, which just seems wasteful when I could wait for the rainy season.
The soil test will probably come back with helpful information on what to add to the soil to make the grass grow better. I do suggest sitting down in the grass and really looking at what's going on, though. Can water actually get down to the soil around your grass? I had a really thick layer of thatch which was stopping this. I raked it up in part of the yard and it looks much better over there now. What else is growing? When you dig up that soil sample, is the soil really compacted?
Thank you for the advice! I think our grass also comes in patches but Idk aboht that rn. I will probably do a soil test and mention the seeding to my parents. I don't think something blocking it is really the case here but it's possibility. Where I live there's only really 30-40 cm of dirt on top of the rock but at better places there might be more, Idk at my home how much soil is on top of it. I think it varies because at some places the rock is just fully visible out of the ground and at some you can't even see it.
From my understanding it's likely the grass entered dormancy due to the heat. I did a bit of research and couldn't find any information on recovering the grass in the summer. But the grass should recover in the fall and will do well if it's irrigated well and nitrogen is applied at a 3lbs per 1,000 sqft rate.
If you'd like more information I'd suggest reaching out to this extension service https://ask2.extension.org/ with information if you know it including the grass type, irrigation rate, and mowing cut length.
I think you are right. In my country grass is usually yellow in summer in the recent years as it's unusual here to have 35+ °C in summer. Due to global warming it's the norm now today it topped at 38 °C which is really unusual. Chickweed loves it with the rocky soil, it doesn't dry out thankfully. I will see how it recoveres in fall, I haven't really watched it before. Thank you for the site I will check it out. Also I will look up for the nitrogen level afaik my parents never applied nitrogen to the soil.
One thing we've recently tried is putting chicken wire over some of our garden plants (bee balm, oregano, etc) so the girls can still pick leaves but not destroy the plant itself.
I have toyed with the idea of doing something similar with a patch of grass so they can's scratch in that area and hopefully let grasshoppers and small insects think its safe before they get mauled by our little feathered velociraptors.
That's a good idea tbh. I will think about doing that.