Water is life. As such, it is a precious resource we all need to conserve and use with care. Although water is comparatively inexpensive in most places, it really is more precious than gold. Try going a day or even a few hours in your home or business without this life-giving fluid and you will understand why. Read More
If you live in an area where droughts and dry weather are common or if you are just looking to reduce your consumption of water, a rock garden offers a wonderful way to beautify your property and conserve this precious resource. Rock garden layouts can add a touch of natural beauty and serenity to your landscape. DripWorks is happy to provide you some rock-gardening ideas that can get you off to a good start with your own rock garden plan.
If gardening makes you happy and brings delicious food to your table as well as personal satisfaction and a sense of achievement, you might want to garden year-round. Just because the temperature drops doesn’t mean you have to drop the joy of gardening. Gardening in the winter can be fun and productive. It can help chase away the winter blues too. Read on for some easy winter gardening tips from DripWorks.
It's entirely possible to garden in zones 8, 9, and 10 by using a medium-weight row cover. A mulch of straw, leaves or pine needles will also help you discover the joys of winter gardening by keeping your plants warmer and the soil moist.
You may plant some short-season crops and root vegetables. Beets, carrots and onions make excellent cool-weather root crops. Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and cabbage are good picks for their tolerance to cold weather.
In addition, cold-hardy plants like fava beans can withstand wintry conditions in more temperate areas. Enjoyed as long ago as during the Roman Republic, these beans are about the size of lima beans. They taste great sautéed or barbecued. In addition to providing you great flavor and nutrition, fava beans will improve your garden by fixing nitrogen they take from the air and fix in the soil.
With a greenhouse or high tunnel, your gardening season can be extended in zones 5, 6, and 7 primarily if you use heat mats to start your seeds or plants. Smaller cold frames made from old windows on a wooden or cinder-block frame can work too if you check them each day to provide ventilation.
The veggie choice is limited for growing with little or no protection. Chard and kale can be planted under row cover or out in the open and will make it through a mild winter with no problem. Garlic can handle frost easily if you plant in late September or the first half of October. It will put down roots in the fall and start sprouting. By the middle of June, it will be ready for harvest and enjoyment by you, your family and friends.
Greenhouse gardening in winter can extend the growing season in many areas. Besides protecting plants from frost and the weather, a greenhouse can guard your crop against deer, rabbits and other pests.
Besides greenhouses, high tunnels provide a smart way to protect plants from weather, varmints and pests. Essentially an affordable, low-tech alternative to greenhouses, high tunnels are rounded hoop houses on a larger scale. High tunnels have some advantages over a greenhouse:
To save even more, it’s relatively easy to make your own high tunnel with readily accessible materials. If you want to make your high tunnel, a 12-mil greenhouse material is available. This material allows up to 80% UV transfer, can be cut to your measurements at the factory, is priced by the square foot and is puncture- and tear-resistant.
In most of the U.S., freezing and frost damage to a drip system during winter are real concerns. Two areas can be particular problem spots: the beginning of a system (timer, valves and filter) and low spots in the system where water may settle.
You can take some small, simple steps to avoid problems in these areas and the rest of your drip irrigation system. Otherwise, early-morning frosts can surprise a gardener who hasn't taken the following precautions.
Winter garden irrigation need not be a hassle. Drip tape is a good and inexpensive way to irrigate if you plant in long rows. Misters or sprayers are perfect for starting young plants of when germinating the seed.
If you are looking for ease of use and durability, 1/2" emitter tubing is a long-lasting and pressure-compensating product with emitters factory-installed every 9", 12", 18", 24" or 36" inside the tubing. This tube can be run down the entire length of a high tunnel or greenhouse for crops such as berry plants, tomatoes, peppers and squash.
The Down-Spray Sprinkler puts down a 360-degree spray with a 20" diameter and is used between berry plants spaced 3 feet apart. These sprinklers are excellent if you want to top-dress with fertilizer during the growing season.
Gardening through the winter months is not for every gardener; not everyone has mild winters. But if you are in the right area, winter gardening can extend your season and your pleasure.
Let's enjoy our gardening season. Do it right by using quality products, the right crops and, of course, the right drip system. Enjoy your fall and winter gardens. They will more than pay you back in beauty, fun and delicious and nutritious produce.
August in the garden is a month filled with harvesting the tasty fruits (or veggies) of your labors like tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. Taking lots of notes on the successes and failures of your 2019 garden to help you plan for next Spring, and finally planting a Fall crop.
Pull out or divide perennial flowers that may be taking over and replant them in bare spots making room for new plantings. You may want to deadhead flowers, encouraging them to rebloom until the first frost. Prepare sunny areas now where you'll be able to plant perennials like fruiting trees, shrubs, and berries for future years of harvest.
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With marijuana becoming legal in numerous states, there are now many people who grow their own and have done so successfully. From our experience with irrigation systems and visiting many of these legally licensed grows from setup to harvest, it's the quality of products and the grower's daily attention to detail that makes a big difference. Here are some basics to consider before you choose the best irrigation products.
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Without beneficial insects and their ability to aid in plant pollination, 90 percent of all flowering plant species might disappear. Thirty percent of all plants in the world would not exist if it weren’t for pollinators. Your vegetable garden wouldn’t be as productive. We all need to do what we can to provide a beneficial habitat for them on our property. Pollinators are insects and other animals that move pollen from one flower to the next, fertilizing it and allowing it to reproduce via seed. Butterflies, bees, birds, bats, other insects, and even ants are some of the many pollinators that are so important. What can you and I do to help?
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