Comments on: Time to winter water

By: gardeningafterfive

gardeningafterfive — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:43:57 +0000

If your ground is frozen and you have a cover of snow, winter watering is not going to help. you might try a very slow trickle, but at the altitude you live, you probably get enough snow. We flatlanders aren’t so lucky!

By: Anne

Anne — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 23:36:41 +0000

What if the ground stays frozen and snow covered for several months in a row? Don’t water?

By: gardeningafterfive

gardeningafterfive — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 22:56:59 +0000

Good catch – I mistyped in answering Audra – it’s 10 gallons per diameter inch. With drip, if the emitters tell you it’s a certain amount per emitter, you can do the math, but unfortunately you may have to put a cakepan under a quarter of the drip hose to measure how much it puts out, then multiply that by 4. It all depends on the force of water you’ve turned on at the tap – hopefully you’re not using your sprinkler system, you’re dragging a hose. Honestly? I’d guesstimate it.

By: Dianne Marshall

Dianne Marshall — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 22:30:28 +0000

Carol:

Using the formula given, when I use drip irrigation, how do I figure out if I have delivered the proper amount of water. When it’s springtime, I use a screw driver plunged into the ground but when it’s cold I was hoping to set a timer.

You list 10 gallons per diameter in your article but your response to Audra is one gallon per diameter.

Dianne

By: gardeningafterfive

gardeningafterfive — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 18:09:53 +0000

Since you need one gallon of water per diameter inch of trunk, I’d suggest measuring across the trunk at chest height with a ruler, and applying the water based on that numer. Remember, size matters, but only for the tree, not for the bucket.

By: Audra

Audra — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 17:53:20 +0000

Great advice, Carol! If you are watering from a 5-gallon bucket, how much water do you suggest?