Friday, May 31, 2013

Red Sky at Night, Sailor's Delight..Red Sky in the Morning, Sailor's Take Warning.

 This is a saying I found on the web.  It's referring to rain.  It means that if there is a red sky in the morning, there is rain on the way. Thus the reverse, at dusk weather should be good.  I would think it the opposite but it implies a red dawn is rain.  

The reason why I bring this up, is because watering my plants has always been something I couldn't get a handle on.  I felt better when I looked up the historical rainfall records.  Click HERE for the link.  It took me a while to figure it out but I am not sure if we are in a drought.  What the database did show me is how variable rainfall amounts can be.  I am not including in the equation the temperatures.  There needs to be an algorithm for watering your plants.  In any event, I did buy a moisture meter that helps me a lot.
    I did not feel comfortable about the fertilizer aspect of this meter...(it gauges fertility, moisture, pH  and light).  It was very useful with container plants.  Currently, I think everything needs watering as month to date rainfall totals are 2.05 inches (as of 5/28/2013).


Here I am testing Green Ice Rose, an it shows it that it's on the dry side.



Sorry for the blurriness but I couldn't get my camera to focus.

Drought or no drought, the pool is so far down we may have to fill it soon.

So how much do my roses need in water?  Here is an excerpt from roses.org and the link to the source.

"Roses should receive 1 to 2 inches of water each week. Rule of thumb is to water two to four times a week for about 30 minutes, especially if there is no rainfall, or in very hot or windy conditions.
Container roses will need to be watered frequently because water evaporates more quickly from plants above ground. Initially, water the plant well to get it firmly established."
The link to this information.  Click HERE.  So when they mean water, do they mean a hose straight into the plant?  I am close to irrigating the rose beds and I need to understand what it means.

5 comments:

Jean Campbell said...

When they say 1 -2 inches of water a week, they're talking about water applied as rain would fall (sprinkler), which can be measured with a rain gauge or tuna can.

I don't know of a way to measure using a hose straight into the bush, unless you figure out a formula for how many gallons per minute or hour are flowing and how many gallons each bush needs to properly soak the ground.

Jean Campbell said...

Well, actually there are a number of sites that tell you how to figure Gallons Per Hour and its application.

Here are two:
http://www.digcorp.com/DIY/208-Drip_Irrigation_design_and_Installation_Guide/pages/4

http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/research/agmech_eng/rr773.pdf

It makes my head bizzy. I just stick my finger in the ground.

Cerberus German shepherds said...

I wonder how many seconds that would mean with a hose. As an accountant, I love a mathematical solution to anything. Last week, I used fish oil on the roses and I don't know if they were responding to the water or the oil, but they seemed to like it.

Jean Campbell said...

You can easily find how many gallons per any measurable time by running your hose into a bucket while you time it.

Bear in mind that watering with a hose at full blast where it runs off quickly is not the same as watering at a trickle while it soaks in.

Cerberus German shepherds said...

Appreciate it. I bought a book on the subject but I usually take a lot of references until I soak it in,