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Check your soil moisture and save

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JUL 22, 2019

This little frog sits atop a free moisture meter. Get one from the Regional Water Authority. (Photo courtesy RWA)

Free meter is a handy way to know when garden needs water

During hot summer weather, Sacramento gardeners often ponder the same question: Is my garden getting enough water? Next question: How do you tell?

Check the soil.

You can dig down with a trowel and actually look at the soil. Plunge a screwdriver into the dirt to see if it penetrates. Or you can check the soil with a moisture meter.

The Regional Water Authority, the umbrella organization over greater Sacramento’s 21 water districts and agencies, is now offering free moisture meters for area residents.

“They’re a low-tech answer (to efficient irrigation),” said Amy Talbot, RWA’s water efficiency program manager. “They’re tangible, visual reminders every day. They’re easy to use. You can get your kids involved; let them check the moisture. We want people to use them.”

Like an instant-read thermometer, the moisture meters are super easy to use. Just plunge the probe into the soil and it tells you if the ground is too dry, too wet or that just right moist spot in between.

These meters also can be key to a healthier garden.

“In non-drought years, focus on making your plants healthy,” Talbot said. “That means giving them the right amount of water; not too little, but not too much.”

The froggy meters are part of RWA’s “Check the Soil and Save” campaign. To get your free moisture meter, go to BeWaterSmart.info

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gardening Sacramento water drought free tool soil moisture water-wise gardening irrigation watering

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Garden Checklist for week of May 19

Temperatures will be a bit higher than normal in the afternoons this week. Take care of chores early in the day – then enjoy the afternoon. It’s time to smell the roses.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. If you haven’t already, it’s time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters.

* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.

* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Don’t forget to water. Seedlings need moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants.

* Add mulch to the garden to help keep that precious water from evaporating. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch to 1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.

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