How can I stop my grandmothers garden from dying?
I am responsible for maintaining my grandmothers LARGE garden for the next week. She left one day ago and already some of the flowers look like they’re dying.
A few of them appear to droop and look to be curling up and hardening. I believe she watered them before she left and I watered them again in the evening. The next morning I watered them, then watered them again in the evening. The temperatures been around 90 degrees and about half of the plants are hanging on pots above the fence while the others are in the ground.
The garden is about three feet wide but goes all around the perimiter of the yard and there is a ton of stuff. I usually run the water right where the plants roots are for about ten seconds then move to the next plant, the whole routine usually takes me 45minutes. Unfortunetly these plants aren’t looking too good and she will be very disappointed if she returns home to dead plants.
Any tips on how I can keep them alive?
23. June 2009 at 2:12 pm :
MULCH IT, WATER IT AND STIR UP THE SOIL.
26. June 2009 at 11:34 am :
Perhaps water it a bit longer each time.
29. June 2009 at 10:33 pm :
Set the sprinkler or soaker and move it every 15 minutes. It takes a while for the water to soak into the ground, and you need to give it enough to moisten enough ground to get to the roots.
You should only need to do it once a day if the weather stays as you have described it. But do it in the evening or it will be like watering your plants with hot water. I don’t think you want to cook them just yet.
If all else fails, look for a neighbor whose yard looks nice and ask for help. Gardeners love to be asked for their help as long as you are willing to do the work.
30. June 2009 at 2:55 am :
Water the plants at night when it is cooler and so less of the water evaporates and the plants are able to absorb more.
1. July 2009 at 9:20 am :
i also agree with watering them at night, or early morning before the sun comes out. when you give cold water to plants that are baking in the sun it tends to shock the piss out of the roots, so thats how you water. for the droopiness, make sure to prune (pretty much means cut off) all dead or dying parts of the plant, that is very important, and also CAREFULLY stir up the soil around the plant. anything other that requires going to the store and spending money, like on miracle grow or something. hey didnt say it was gonna be easy, landscaping is long and back breaking work
3. July 2009 at 8:20 am :
if you think that you are over watering,
before your next watering, reach down and grab a handful of dirt if it sticks together or rolls into a ball you do not need water
if the soil crumbles give it extra water
5. July 2009 at 1:46 pm :
Drooping plants, curling leaves, and leaves becoming hard are all signs of Underwatering, OR signs of fall, and the plants starting to go dormant. CUL Lou
6. July 2009 at 12:43 am :
Agree with Unit. Feel the soil. If it is really dry aerate (poke holes in the dirt) to allow the water to sink in. You should also “dead head” (remove spent flowers) to encourage more blooms.
Sweet to tend your gram’s garden, good luck.
6. July 2009 at 11:04 pm :
With temperatures that hot, I would wait until around sunset to water them, then water them for one hour every other day, while you are at it, put a canister of fertalizer on the hose, this will help the garden. Don’t water them individually, use a sprinkler that goes back and forth, this will spread the water out evenly. Everyday go out and see if there is any weeds in the garden, if so, get rid of them, but do this early in the morning. For those hanging pots, bring them inside so they won’t dry out too quickly.