Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
the Scratch teSt
I stressed out about watering the garden when I first started until my father-in-law, with all his country
wisdom, set me straight. “It's easy,” he said. “Just water the garden when it needs to be watered.” He taught
me how to tell when it was time to water by scratching into the dirt in the garden a little bit and if the soil
was not moist just below the surface, it was time to water again.
Now most vegetables can tolerate a little bit of watering irregularity but they all taste better and
grow better without that added stress. Keeping plants evenly moist will help them grow more suc-
cessfully and can, as in the case of tomatoes, make the produce healthier. I like to achieve this the
lazy way by using a soaker hose and a thick layer of mulch. In the spring after I've planted the bulk
of my long-term seedlings I lay a soaker hose through the garden bed. When the soil has warmed
up, I add a thick layer of mulch as well (adding mulch too soon can insulate cold soil and keep the
ground cooler, longer) to prevent evaporation from wind and sun exposure.
By using these two techniques in tandem I can use the smallest amount of water possible, applied
directly to the plants that need it, and make that water last as long as possible. Granted, last
summer with triple-digit heat for three months in a row, we were still watering every day, but we
used thick layers of mulch to help prevent drought stress and keep many of our vegetables going
throughout the entire summer. Don't forget that watering in the hottest part of the day will
waste more water than watering in the evening or early morning. We often set our timer to water
between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. so the plants will be fully watered before the sun rises.
Organic and Land-Friendly Principles
You've noticed that so much of my focus so far has been about the land. The soil is the foundation
of your entire farm. It is important to create a system of balance where we provide for the land and
the land provides for us. There are two more ways of keeping the land healthy I want to touch on
that will help improve the long-term viability of your small-scale farm.
Mulching your garden is almost like composting right in the garden bed—if you use plant-based
mulches, of course, which I usually do. There are so many benefits to mulching your garden that
it's almost insane to not place a good mulch cover on at the end of spring. Here are some reasons to
mulch a garden:
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Mulch helps prevent water loss. Much of the water lost in the garden is lost through
evaporation from wind and sun. A thick layer of mulch helps prevent that by providing an
insulating layer.
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A generous layer of mulch is excellent weed prevention because it limits the amount of
sunlight that reaches the weed seeds. Weeds that do sprout are easier to pull out.
