Our readers found these articles – on our water blog – the most valuable. Lets celebrate the year 2021 with our Top 10 Articles from our Water Blog.
10. Beginners Guide: Irrigation Filters
Installing a filter on your drip irrigation system prevents clogging of emitters and reduces wear and tear on the system. Sand and organic materials are the primary objects you want to remove. Filters require minor maintenance are fairly inexpensive and help provide reliable use of drip irrigation season after season. Read More
9) 5 Tips To Grow Great Onions
You want to grow great onions and save water, right? This article shows you how to do both. Whether you prefer your onions chopped, diced, grilled or sautéed, you need to know the best way to grow onions while maximizing water savings. Onions are an annual short-season crop that can generally be grown in a variety of conditions ranging from a light sandy loam soil to a heavy peat/muck. With approximately 75,000 acres planted annually in the U.S. representing approximately $900 million, growers are learning that onions require an aggressive approach to maximize yield and quality. Read More
8) What No One Tells You About Softened Water
Rainwater is soft water and the preferred type of water for your plants, however; do not confuse softened water with rainwater. Softened water is often hazardous to your plants. Rainwater is free of the salts, minerals, and chemicals that are found in municipal treated water, groundwater, and surface water. Rainwater is also higher in nitrogen. Plants typically absorb most of their nitrates from the soil, and those nitrates come from rain. Read More
7) Chlorine In Your Water: Does It Harm Plants?
If you are living in a major metropolitan area, and receive water from a water company, chances are either chlorine or chloramine is added to the water as a disinfectant. This is actually great news because the chlorine or chloramine kills disease-causing germs like salmonella and norovirus. However, when I was shelling out money for yet another load of worm castings for my garden (worm castings contain a highly active biological mixture of bacteria) it dawned on me that I was adding bacteria to my soil and then watering it in with chlorinated water formulated to kill bacteria. Is this a sustainable practice? Read More
6) 5 Signals You Are Underwatering Plants
Unfortunately the signals you receive from your plants for under watering are similar to the signals you receive when you overwater plants. Under watering and overwatering plants many times reach the same outcome – sick or dead plants. Below are some important signs to look for that will help you determine if you are overwatering or under watering your plants. Read More
5) 4 Types of Water
Living in the United States we expect access to clean drinking water each time we turn on the faucet. For most of our lives it has always been this way and we expect this in the future too. We feel secure about our water and our water future. While feeling secure about our water future most of us have no idea where the water comes from or where it goes. A better understanding of types of water will help make us better managers of our most precious resource. Read More
4) 6 Signs You Are Overwatering Your Plants
If you are living in a major metropolitan area, and receive water from a water company, chances are either chlorine or chloramine is added to the water as a disinfectant. This is actually great news because the chlorine or chloramine kills disease-causing germs like salmonella and norovirus. However, when I was shelling out money for yet another load of worm castings for my garden (worm castings contain a highly active biological mixture of bacteria) it dawned on me that I was adding bacteria to my soil and then watering it in with chlorinated water formulated to kill bacteria. Is this a sustainable practice? Read More
3) 6 Signs You Are Overfertilizing Your Plants
When it comes to fertilizing plants Mae West’s advice can be deadly. Plants receiving the proper amount of fertilizer respond quickly in growth and look great. The result makes it temping to give them more fertilizer (in dose, frequency or both) and often this is a mistake. Below are six signs you can easily recognize to determine if you are giving your plants too much fertilizer: Read More
2) 5 Causes Of Drought
The “new normal” of water management across the United States suggests we need to consider the regions we live in are either heading into a drought or coming out of a drought. California is in a mega drought and most data indicates water is becoming more available. Georgia is heading into a drought. For the past year things have been getting worse and according to the U.S. Drought Monitor today over 30% of the state is in a severe drought. This is nothing like the drought of 2008 when Atlanta was days away from running out of water, but as cycles go, they are headed into a drought and it’s hard to say when it will end. Ohio, who has been in a sports championship drought and moving out of it is headed into a water drought. Read More
1) My 7 Favorite Quotes About Water
1) “Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.” -H. Auden Read More