{"id":1975,"date":"2017-06-17T05:21:54","date_gmt":"2017-06-17T05:21:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/?p=1975"},"modified":"2018-11-02T07:05:58","modified_gmt":"2018-11-02T14:05:58","slug":"get-your-hands-dirty-discover-the-truth-about-your-irrigation-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/get-your-hands-dirty-discover-the-truth-about-your-irrigation-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"Get your hands dirty: discover the truth about your irrigation practices"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>How do you know if a plant\u00a0needs water?\u00a0You can look at the plant&#8217;s leaves and make a guess, and you can get a rough idea based on how you&#8217;ve watered it in the past.<\/p>\n<p>And if you&#8217;ve just watered a plant, how do you know if you&#8217;ve given it enough? You can estimate the number of gallons it needs using\u00a0the size of the plant and the season, and taking into consideration your soil type.<\/p>\n<p>But there is one sure way to answer both of these questions, and that is to put a knee down and start scratching. The truth about whether a plant needs water or whether you&#8217;ve given a plant\u00a0enough water is only to be found by getting your hands dirty, by digging into the soil\u00a0where the roots of the\u00a0plant are.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve made a personal commitment to getting\u00a0my hands dirty more frequently this summer. The other day, June 10, I took some photos as I went through the soil-moisture discovery process for a couple of fruit trees that I was thinking might need water and for some vegetables that I had just given water. Follow along.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Should I water the fruit trees?<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1976\" style=\"width: 348px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_20170610_103639.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1976\" class=\"wp-image-1976 \" src=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_20170610_103639-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"apricot tree with mulch\" width=\"338\" height=\"451\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_20170610_103639-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_20170610_103639-600x800.jpg 600w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_20170610_103639-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_20170610_103639-1080x1440.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_20170610_103639-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 338px) 100vw, 338px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1976\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blenheim apricot<\/p><\/div>\n<p>I suspected that my deciduous fruit trees might need water. It had been 20 days since my last irrigation, on May 21. I scraped away the mulch and dirt under this apricot tree until I encountered\u00a0roots. The shallowest roots were about one knuckle (about one inch) below the soil surface, here:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_20170610_103730.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1977\" src=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_20170610_103730-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"apricot tree shallowest roots\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_20170610_103730-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_20170610_103730-600x800.jpg 600w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_20170610_103730-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_20170610_103730-1080x1440.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_20170610_103730-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I scooped up a handful of the soil there, squeezed it in my palm, and then opened up to look at the dirt. People usually call this the soil moisture &#8220;feel method.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1980\" src=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-300x300.png\" alt=\"soil moisture feel test apricot tree\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-100x100.png 100w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-600x600.png 600w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-1080x1080.png 1080w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image.png 1936w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Immediately, when I opened my hand the dirt broke apart. That meant there was very little moisture in it, which meant yes, I should irrigate my apricot tree today.<\/p>\n<p>Next, I walked over to my Pinkerton avocado tree. Should I water it today? I guessed not, since I&#8217;d watered all of my avocados only five days prior, but I had to be sure.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1997\" src=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-1-300x300.png\" alt=\"soil moisture feel test Pinkerton avocado\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-1-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-1-100x100.png 100w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-1-600x600.png 600w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-1-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-1-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-1-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-1-1080x1080.png 1080w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-1.png 1936w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Same process: scrape mulch and soil until encountering shallowest roots. However, this time the soil kept its form in my open hand. I bounced it and it still didn&#8217;t break apart. Stains were left on my palm from the moisture in the dirt. This meant that the soil still\u00a0had plenty of moisture in it. No need to irrigate yet.<\/p>\n<p>My soil is a sandy loam. If yours is a clay soil, it would react a little differently in your hand when you squeeze and bounce it. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nrcs.usda.gov\/Internet\/FSE_DOCUMENTS\/nrcs144p2_051845.pdf\">Here is a document from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help you gauge the moisture in your specific soil.<\/a> And <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=GWZwbVJCNec&amp;t=14s\">here is a video from U.C. Davis\u00a0to help you figure out your soil type<\/a>, if you don&#8217;t know.<\/p>\n<p>Also,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=MzxNLR3n43k&amp;app=desktop\">here is a video from U.C. Davis showing the process of\u00a0feeling for moisture in the soil<\/a>, just as I did in the photos above.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Did I water enough?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then I wanted to know if my regimen of drip irrigation on my vegetables was sufficient. Just that morning I had run\u00a0the drip lines in my vegetable garden for 25 minutes and wondered specifically if that had wet deeply enough to satiate all of the roots of a bed of tomato plants. So a few hours after watering, I got my hands dirty again.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I used a shovel to dig a hole a foot deep between two tomato plants. Then I grabbed a handful of dirt about six inches down and squeezed and bounced it. Stained, held form: wet soil.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1996\" src=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-2-300x300.png\" alt=\"soil moisture feel test tomatoes six inches\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-2-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-2-100x100.png 100w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-2-600x600.png 600w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-2-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-2-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-2-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-2-1080x1080.png 1080w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-2.png 1936w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Next, I grabbed a handful near the bottom of the hole and squeezed. The soil ball broke in two when I opened my hand and bounced, but it wouldn&#8217;t\u00a0crumble further.\u00a0So the soil had moisture down there but wasn&#8217;t thoroughly wetted by my 25-minute irrigation.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1995\" src=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-3-300x300.png\" alt=\"soil moisture feel test tomatoes twelve inches\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-3-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-3-100x100.png 100w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-3-600x600.png 600w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-3-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-3-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-3-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-3-1080x1080.png 1080w, https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image-3.png 1936w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>That was fine because I also noticed during my digging that there were no roots that deep. Maybe there were roots a foot down directly below the plant, but over here they went no deeper than about six inches.<\/p>\n<p>My take-away was that I had certainly watered the tomatoes enough, and next time I might water a little less so as not to waste any through deep percolation. I could water less by reducing the time to 20 minutes, or I could lengthen the interval between irrigations.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s no substitute for the proof you hold in your hand when you use the &#8220;feel method&#8221; to discover the moisture in soil. You&#8217;re holding the truth when you get your hands dirty and see and feel the dirt right there around a plant&#8217;s roots. It makes me feel confident every time I do it.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>You might also like to read my posts:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/what-is-the-best-time-of-day-to-water-your-plants\/<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/how-long-to-run-drip-irrigation-on-vegetables\/<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/the-best-way-to-water-a-vegetable-garden\/<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/how-much-and-how-often-to-water-avocado-trees-in-california\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How do you know if a plant\u00a0needs water?\u00a0You can look at the plant&#8217;s leaves and make a guess, and you can get a rough idea based on how you&#8217;ve watered it in the past. And if you&#8217;ve just watered a plant, how do you know if you&#8217;ve given it enough? You can estimate the number [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1999,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-water-and-irrigation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Get your hands dirty: discover the truth about your irrigation practices - Greg Alder&#039;s Yard Posts: Southern California food gardening<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/get-your-hands-dirty-discover-the-truth-about-your-irrigation-practices\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Get your hands dirty: discover the truth about your irrigation practices - Greg Alder&#039;s Yard Posts: Southern California food gardening\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How do you know if a plant\u00a0needs water?\u00a0You can look at the plant&#8217;s leaves and make a guess, and you can get a rough idea based on how you&#8217;ve watered it in the past. 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And if you&#8217;ve just watered a plant, how do you know if you&#8217;ve given it enough? 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