GARDENING IN DROUGHT CONDITIONS

 Summer heat is back again and each day this week the temperature has risen and the water level in the Winooski River, our water source, has gone down. Read my thoughts! Keep hydrated!!

GARDENING IN DROUGHT CONDITIONS

 

Gardeners cannot forget Summer 2020, not just because of Covid but because of drought-like conditions that dropped water levels, dried up springs and even made some artesian wells disappear. Summer 2021, has proven to be even worse and the latest drought maps show we are in tough shape. Farmers had trouble with their first cutting of hay being so light and corn plantings found it difficult making it to “knee high by 4^th of July” although this week’s rain has helped it catch up.

 In Vermont, farmers can draw water from rivers but that has been a challenge too. The Winooski River borders our flower farm but getting water from the river has been difficult. Over the years we have owned the land, the river has broadened up to 20 feet wide in places due to the floods of 2011, and the almost daily rise and fall of the water that has eroded the banks. Green Mountain Power controls the water levels at Peacham Pond and Molly’s Falls Pond and typically on hot summer days the power company opens the gates at 2 PM to make electricity for the Washington County area grid. They do this based upon usage projections so as to be helpful when consumers return home at 5 PM and start turning on appliances.

If you are a gardener, you depend on water to make things grow well and look great. When you come to our farm and ask about plants you are considering for your landscape, we always ask you to describe where you intend to plant your purchases. We’re not nosey folks, we just want to make sure you put the plants in the best place so you and your new plants are both happy. We ask about the orientation of your home and outbuildings, the presence of large trees or big shrubs, your soil type, and the presence of water that might puddle up, especially during springtime snow melt. We always ask about how and at what time of day the sun shines on where you intend to plant. These may seem like easy questions but unless you have considered them you might have to think a bit for the correct answers.

In addition to good information about where you want to plant, we try to be sure you know how to plant in a time of drought. I mention this because yesterday a customer arrived with three plastic baskets of astilbes that had been purchased from us 2-3 years back and they were not doing well. It was fortunate that the customer brought the plants with soil included so I could figure out the mystery. Astilbes are a great plant for New England landscapes as they are very hardy, grow wider each year and produce more scapes. They like damp soil and can tolerate springtime puddles. In fact, at an old garden that I have at our house, many of the astilbes are in a low spot that holds water like a vernal spring each April-May. Despite being under water for much of their height, they always survive and look bigger and better each year.

As I examined the customer’s astilbes, the planting problems were obvious to me. The first clue was the presence of peat most. There appeared to be a one-two inch layer of peat moss that lined the bottom of the planting hole before the astilbe plants were added. The peat industry has done a great job explaining how great peat is but they have not told us that it’s expensive to buy, hardly fertile at all, very acidic and to top that off, if it is added to a planting—annuals, perennials, shrubs, trees—before it is thoroughly mixed with water to the consistency of soup, it will never, never absorb water once it is buried. Need an experiment to confirm this? Put a handful of peat in a glass of water and watch it—float, and float—and float. As I examined the astilbes, the peat moss was as dry as the day they had been planted 2-3 years earlier. That meant that any roots that tried to develop grew into the dry peat and stopped growing and then died. I was happy the plants were still alive and could be saved when replanted correctly but frankly was surprised.

The second issue with the astilbes was the soil they were planted in. It was clay soil and lacked any organic material at all. Between the peat and the clay soil, there was nothing of benefit for the plants to use to grow. I summarized the problems and the solutions and suggested the plants be replanted. The customer had a source of good manure and I suggested as I usually do that composted maple leaves are another readily available example of an amendment which has many inert minerals by its nature and will improve the soil and provide nutrients to the plant. Mystery solved.

This week another customer appeared with a hosta leaf (lost the name tag) and a description of her disappointment that the plant hadn’t grown in three years. I asked my usual questions and found that the hosta was planted on the north side of the house, under a tree (competition with major tree roots), without any soil amendment and without being watered during previous years. Case closed.

Our gardens are like our bodies. They need attention. The rules are simple. Still have questions? Stop by at 2263 US Route 2 Marshfield or drop us an email at vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com. We’re here to help all gardeners.