How to protect your trees and whole property from the drought.

With the coming heat and with less and less ground water, we must take measures to insure that your trees and whole property are well protected from damages that can occur from this type of weather combinations.

Keep water below ground. Did you know that you lose around 75% of the water you give to your plants to the air if you water above ground? By keeping the water below ground you can use only 25% of your past water usage and still have beautiful plants and trees. There are many types of drip systems on the market that allows them to be buried and not get clogged. I would simply lay down a line in the proper areas and then start the rock dust compost and mulching process. I would lay down a thin layer of rick dust twice a year, a layer of compost several times per year as needed and another layer of mulch. Wood chip pebbles would work fine. You get get a good deal from your local tree trimming companies, just make sure its clean and nothing toxic.

Over the years, you keep building up a certain amount of layers that protect the soil while allowing a small amount of measure needed by plants to grow. You should not see any barren soil, everything should be covered over. In areas where you are always planting different plants etc, you should apply a fine mulch like azalea mix. The mix will help to keep moisture at the roots of plants where they belong.

In a vegetable garden, you should rely on mulch as your main tool for keeping water around longer to your plants. Raised beds provide 7 times more food in same area as in ground while using 75% less water! In a raised bed , you should bury the soaker hose or that special drip line at around mid way up from the base of the bed. Should be about 2 feet below the top of the soil level. This will allow you to plant without damaging the line (yes a good raised bed should be 2 feet deep and 2 feet high). I would always recommend that you apply a good layer of azalea mix as a mulch for all your raised beds.

There is no need to remove your lawn and replace it with astro turf! Here is a simple solution: reseed several times per year with a California native grass called Red Fesque. This wonderful native grass will look great with very little water and loves the foggy days. While it may not stay green during winter months, Malibu winters are often very warm and the ones I have tented to have managed to remind green year round!

You do not need to pull out the old grass, simply reseed every few months until the new grass has started then reseed once or twice a year as needed. This grass will reseed itself if allowed to grow otter wise you will need to reseed it. I would feed it a good organic fertilizer which it needs a small amount of as well as some rust dust to keep it green.

To protect your trees from stress from lack of water, I would deep root feed them once a month during really hot times. I would use a good micro mix that provided all of the beneficials as wells a blend of minerals.

Any questions? Email me andy@invisiblegardener.com 

 Andy Lopez

Invisible Gardener