Water Wise

As southeastern New York was in its first heat wave of the season in late June, some areas saw the hottest temperatures in years.

For several days I watched the wind and temperatures from Albany to Montauk and points south and west. Yes, I’m a weather geek, and as I watched the temperatures climb it was very obvious how the weather on the East End can be so very different from areas only 50 miles away. This has a great deal of effect on how you care for your plants.

If you’re a weekender and spend most of your time in Manhattan or upstate, you might have thought the Hamptons were sweltering. You’d have been wrong for most of the heat wave. Yes, it did get oppressively humid (good for the plants) but the high pressure that allowed Albany and Caribou, Maine, to set heat records barely made a dent out here. Why? The sea breeze from the cooler ocean. It cooled our local atmosphere; but the sea breeze dies as you head inland.

One morning I was seeing temperatures in Montauk and Sag Harbor around 75. But cross Long Island Sound and head slightly inland into Connecticut and the temperature was 85. It was 10 degrees warmer in Sag Harbor than Southampton. No sea breeze there. Even at my home up in the Catskills it was a very uncommon 86 degrees at 10 in the morning, and that’s very, very rare.

There are ramifications for your gardens and more particularly potted and other container pots. While it was cooler out here the humidity often hovered at 85 percent. You might think it felt warm, but with the high humidity it’s easy to overwater potted plants. This can lead to root rot, and the pots may get hot, but the moisture in the soil doesn’t evaporate like it would at lower temperatures or lower humidity.

The soils in your pots will also determine how much water evaporates from the pot and so does the type of pot. A clay pot will always dry out much faster than a plastic pot. Water them the same way though under the same conditions and you’re much more likely to kill your plastic potted plant with the watering than the clay potted plants.

The same high humidity will also affect your lawns. If you keep your lawn cut at 3 inches or higher this provides shade to the roots and the soil. The high humidity, however, limits evaporation and transpiration (water loss from the grass leaves or blades) and again, it’s easy to overwater and cause disease problems. With an automatic irrigation system it’s a perfect set up for lawn diseases as evaporation falls and moisture builds up in the root zone.

Some irrigation systems have devices that measure soil humidity and control the irrigation accordingly. Most of us don’t have this.

Things change though, and they can change quickly. As a high-pressure system pulls cooler and moist water off the ocean, the system always moves away, and as it does the wind direction shifts. If a cold front is next on the menu, and it often is, this brings cooler and dryer winds in from the north and west and the humidity can drop overnight from 85 percent to 50 percent or lower. With bright sun, a northerly wind and lower humidity, your potted plants, planters and lawn will dry out much more quickly, and you’ll need to change your watering regime.

This brings us to the bigger question. Are you ready for a long, dry hot spell? I’m not going to get into a long discussion about hoses. You can find that in the archives of this column online but my best advice on hoses is not to skimp. Buy the best quality hoses you can afford and expect these to last 10 years. However, stay away from hoses with proprietary couplings as this will leave you with a hose that can’t be repaired when you have to replace the male or female ends. Stay away from the Swan brand, and if you’re looking for a lightweight and easy to store hose, find the Zero-G hose made by Tecnor/ Apex.

I was dubious about this hose when I bought one over six years ago, but it’s been remarkable. Driven over, left outside during the winter and generally abused, it’s lasted — and no leaks or kinks. It does have proprietary couplings you won’t be able to fix, but you won’t have to. It also weighs about a 10th of the weight of standard hoses at a competitive price.

The best and most common hoses are either ½ inch or 5/8 inch in diameter. The longer the hose, the more resistance and lower output. Long hoses can also be very heavy (except the Zero-G) and the better hoses will resist kinking. Always turn the water off at the hose bib when you’re done with the hose and release the pressure at the other end. Most hoses that are wrecked are the ones left with water in them, on a hot day, pressure on and the hose gets driven over. That’s a couple of tons of pressure on a hose that might already be at its bursting strength and — BANG!

Next there are water timers and water clocks. There are manual types, battery-operated types and even some that are internet connectible. I like to keep it simple though. My experience with the battery-operated types is that they stop working. If it breaks or stops working with the valve open, the water continues to flow until you realize there’s a problem. That results in lots and lots of wasted water.

I prefer a manually operated timer that allows me to turn the water on and leave it on for filling a watering can or manual watering. Alternatively, I can set it for 15 minutes to several hours of watering. I’ve never ever had one of these go bad though I do replace them every few years.

As for the internet connected/battery-operated ones? I’m a control freak, and it’s bad enough to have to rely on batteries let alone an internet connection. A confession though: I only have two hose bibs at my house with only manual timers. That also simplifies things.

OK, got the timer, got the hose now. What’s at the end of the hose? At the very least each end of the hose will have a coupling, and it should be metal and not plastic. You attach any number of things to the hose end from another hose to a wand, sprayer, nozzle or sprinkler. Again, when possible, look for metal attachments and not plastic.

When it comes to nozzles for watering gardens or potted plants one of the best brands is Dramm. They make both metal and plastic devices often referred to as “breakers.” This device slows the water flow and sets a pattern for the distribution or spray. Their traditional wide breaker offers more flow over a wider area. A narrower breaker results in a narrower flow that travels farther. There are also misting nozzles and breakers for seedlings and other uses. Most are rated at GPM output (gallons per minute) as a guide.

There are also hose-end attachable nozzles that provide variable streams and sprays. These drive me crazy and seem to break quite often. Instead, I usually prefer a metal nozzle that can be adjusted from a stream to a spray simply by turning the narrow barrel to adjust the spray. No multiple orifices to get clogged and no plastic dial rings to break.

Sprinklers. So many to choose from and yes, I have. Again, when possible, use metal as opposed to plastic. It’s hard to find a sprinkler that can water inside a garden bed with plants at various heights. When my plants are smaller I use a twirling head that shoots the water both up and to the sides in a circular pattern. You can get these on adjustable risers from 2 to 3 feet. If you want to get higher and cover more area of the garden you’ll need an impact head mounted on a riser and tripod. These can be expensive but quite handy, and you can easily adjust the watering radius but adjusting the water pressure.

The impact head on a riser allows you to control the output from a mist to a stream in a circular pattern and from a few feet to as much as 30 foot output distances. All the parts on this type of watering device should always be metal.

The last group of sprinklers are the types that oscillate. The water comes out of a tube that has orifices installed into the tube. The water pressure makes the tube oscillate right and left, resulting in a large almost rectangular area of coverage. These are great for lawns and even for gardens since most can be adjusted to patterns that allow you to place the sprinkler outside the garden and yet only water a designated area or strip by controlling the movement of the oscillating bar. The less mechanical parts the longer these devices will last but I’ve gotten years from plastic ones as well as metal ones.

All oscillators need to be cleaned so the orifices don’t clog. You’ll usually find a tool screwed into the far end of the oscillator bar that unscrews and is used as an orifice cleaning tool.

There are lots of other sprinklers, and some are suited for particular areas and spaces. I had a small plastic one that allowed for 10 patterns from squares to rectangles to circles. I stepped on it and broke it and wish I could find a replacement. Yup, plastic.

One last teeny tiny thing. Washers. Every connection at the female end needs a washer. If you have well water that might have some sand or particles in it you should probably use a washer with a built in screen. Clean the screen regularly and as soon as you see rust replace the washer. If you’re on SCWA (municipal water) you probably don’t need the screen type and just a good rubber washer. I prefer the rubber to the plastic, and they seem to result in better connections. Washers ensure a good and tight connection without leaks and drips that can also result in pressure loss and wasted water.

Don’t wait for a drought or dry spell. At that point you’ll find few choices at garden centers. Watch the weather and water accordingly. It’s as much an art as it is a science — but it is both. Keep growing.