Accessibility and Access Keys [0]
Conserving water is an environmentally sound thing to do, but for thousands of Ottawa residents who live in the south end of the city, this summer’s outdoor water ban is making gardening a bit more challenging.
It is possible for gardens to rely solely on Mother Nature for their water needs if certain fundamentals are met. Here are the steps you can take if you’re water-challenged; in fact, they are steps all of us can take to ensure we’re not wasting water and our gardens still remain green.
1. Bottom line: Make sure your soil can hold moisture — this means compost.
The best way to do this is to add compost to your existing beds (and lawn, for that matter) and to do it every year. The Compost Council of Canada (compost.org) identifies this water-holding attribute of compost as one of the top 10 reasons to use it: “By improving the soil structure through the addition of compost, water is retained and available for plants.” Whether your soil is lean and sandy or dense and largely made of clay, compost will enhance its texture and allow it to sustain a wider variety of plants.
2. Mulch, mulch and mulch.
Putting a five-to-eight-centimetre (two-to-three-inch) layer of organic matter over the top of your soil has several advantages: it helps to suppress weeds; it decomposes, thus providing nutrients to the soil; it looks tidy, and, most relevant here; it traps and conserves moisture. You can use many organic materials as mulch, like compost, well-rotted manure or the more ubiquitous shredded bark and bark chips. But beware — using an inorganic and impermeable material like black plastic does not contribute anything other than weed suppression.
Using a rich material like manure is best applied to gardens with heavy feeders (vegetables, annuals, tender plants, “diva” perennials), while mulches that break down slowly, or not at all (bark chips or stones) are best saved for plants wanting lean soils that will remain somewhat on the dry side.
3. Choose appropriate plants for your situation.
Your situation is not simply shade versus sun; it is now likely drier than usual, especially if your garden was relying on supplemental watering from sprinklers, soaker hoses or in-ground irrigation systems. You will find that some plants will tolerate these drier conditions more than others.
In areas where the soil is thin (think soil that has never been amended — in abandoned lots, next to buildings, sidewalks), certain plants thrive. These include hollyhock, yarrow, asters, daylily, mallow, catmint, black-eyed Susan and mullein, for example. Many of these perennials have a long taproot, bulbous root systems (daylily) or fleshy leaves, which are all natural adaptations to dry conditions. Others may have fuzzy and/or silver leaves, like lamb’s ears and lavender, for example. Shrubs that would partner well with these drought-resistant plants include potentilla, barberry, cotoneaster, ninebark, juniper, pine, sumac, rugosa rose and spirea.
Many of these plants are considered native and are great choices for a dry landscape. But don’t feel that you’re limited to them.
4. Catch water where you can.
Rain barrels, catch basins, swales, ponds — all of these receptacles trap water and can make it available to your plants, one way or another. Re-direct water not only from your home’s roof but also from sheds, garages and even slopes.
This is the water to use if you’re planting a new garden or moving and dividing existing plants. Remember, new, moved and divided plants will need regular watering until they are established.
Rain barrels will also save your planters. Do double duty by hanging a bundle of manure or compost (wrapped in cheesecloth or burlap) in the barrel for instant “compost tea”.
Go to rainbarrel.ca or arbourshop.com to purchase a rain barrel or the City of Ottawa website (ottawa.ca) to learn how to construct one yourself.
5. What about containers?
Larger pots, a water-retentive potting soil (i.e. Moisture Lock premium potting soil from Loblaws, or others that contain hydrogels or bentonite clay) and using plants that survive with less water will save your container gardens without relying on extra irrigation.
6. And lawns?
Switching your lawn from Kentucky bluegrass to fescue grasses will mean less watering and mowing in the long term. Products like Eco-Lawn, available at Home Hardware (homehardware.ca) and Green Thumb Garden Centre (greenthumbgarden.ca), and Pearl’s Premium grass seed (available only in the U.S. or online at pearlspremium.com) rely heavily on the more drought-resistant fescue grasses; but keep in mind that converting your lawn is best done when water is readily available since successful germination requires consistent irrigation for several weeks.
© Copyright The Ottawa Citizen
Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/life/water+wise+gardener/4810488/story.html#ixzz1On2SI5Dr