Photo by Guy Hand
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[HOST INTRO] One of gardening’s most fundamental chores — watering — is also one of its most vexing. Even seasoned gardeners struggle with the question of when and how much to water.In this episode of the Market & Garden Report, correspondent Guy Hand talks to Clay and Josie Erskine of Peaceful Belly Farms about the fine art of watering.
(Sounds of sprinklers) (Hand) Watering seems so elemental, so simple. It’s not.
(Clay) It’s kind of mysterious. You don’t know if you’re doing it right or if you’re doing too much or not enough. It’s really difficult to know.
(Hand) Farmer and garden class teacher Clay Erskine says you can’t just look at the ground and tell if it’s time to water — especially in our desert climate.
(Clay) I think people over water a lot because the surface will seem dry in the middle of the day and they go out there and everything looks parched and dry and dusty. In our climate, unless you’re actively watering something, it’s going to look bone dry. But it doesn’t necessarily need water.
(Hand) So you can’t look at dirt as an indicator. Josie Erskine says you can’t even look at a drooping plant and always know it’s time to water.
(Josie) Some of your squashes and stuff will look like they need water, they’ll wilt, their big leaves will wilt or the melons will wilt, but they’ll be wet. Bean plants sometimes can fool you too. They’ll droop a little bit at their tops and they don’t need water yet.
(Hand) Over watering can be as bad as under watering. So how do you know when enough is enough?
(Clay) There’s a whole technology of water that you can totally get into if you want to. I mean you can get tensometers, where it has two different levels of water probes which tells you exactly when you need to irrigate. But I believe that the best thing to do is just get out there and grab a bit of dirt.
Photo by Guy Hand
(Hand) By that, Clay means dropping to your knees and getting to know the moisture content of your soil.
(Clay) Like these strawberries right here, they look dry. But then once you get down in here and you just scratch just a little bit, I mean, not even a sixteenth of an inch, and there’s nice, dark soil there.
(Hand) Before watering, Josie Erskine says to scoop up some soil and if you squeeze it . . .
Photo by Guy Hand
(Josie) . . . and it kind of makes like a what I’d consider pie crust consistency, so like you can either kind of get it to kind of crumble or you can get it to make a ball if you want it to, you’re doing well with your water.
(Hand) So watering is a complex issue with a simple solution.
(Clay) I think the best advice is to just be in your garden and to notice what’s happening and to dig down and be aware of how your soil holds water.
(Hand) Or, as Josie likes to put it . . .
(Josie) The best fertilizer for you garden is your footprint.
(Hand) For Edible Idaho’s Market & Garden Report and Boise State Public Radio, I’m Guy Hand.
(Hand) Or, as Josie likes to put it . . .
(Josie) For Guy Hand, this is your Market Garden Report (Clay) Let’s go jump in the river.
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Guy Hand is a writer, public radio producer and photographer specializing in food and agriculture. |
