There is a way for you to get those amazing green thumb memories back!
Soil amendments can help if we have lost moisture in our garden. Read on to find out what you can do!
Retaining Soil Moisture
The best way to retain soil moisture is by weeding your garden beds and mulching.
Excessively growing weeds can rob the desirable plants in an area of their water, nutrients or both; some types are better than others at fighting off drought conditions like sandy soils while other species may struggle more heavily depending on what type they grow upon (such as grasses).
So not only does this help you out with retaining precious resources for yourself but also helps keep those beautiful flowers alive longer too! When you use mulch for moisture retention, use a thicker layer (2-4 inches deep).
When you mulch, make sure that it’s an inch or two away from where roots are growing so water can flow down towards them instead of being blocked by leaves on top.
What to Do When Soil Dries Out too Fast
In order to retain moisture in the soil, you should mix organic materials that are high in water holding capacity.
For example: sphagnum peat moss can hold 20 times its weight and Humus rich compost has even higher rates of retention! Other possible additions include:
- Worm castings
- Leaf mold
- Straw
- Shredded bark
- Mushroom compost
- Grass clippings
- Perlite
A number of these amendments have added nutrients that your plants will benefit from too.
Some other ideas for retaining soil moisture include:
- You can create a moat-like basin around your plant or cross-cross irrigation ditch.
- Also you can bury unglazed terra cotta pots with the lip sticking just out of soil surface;
- Or poke holes in plastic water bottles leaving enough space for liquid(water) to flow from them before placing these into desired location near plants; don’t forget to put the lid back on in order to slow the flow of water from the holes.