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How Deep is Your Soil
By Dana Nichols
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| Knowing what the depth of your soil is can help you design your garden and determine its irrigation needs. | |
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The answer to this question should guide your garden design and irrigation habits. To find out how deep your soil is, just grab a screwdriver and start poking around. Verify your findings by lining up the screwdriver to a ruler.
For shallow soils (less than 4 inches), the general rule is to minimize grass, which does best in medium to deep soils (greater that 8 inches). If you do have shallow soils, choose plants that can thrive there such as four-nerve daisy, Blackfoot daisy, pink skull cap, esperanza, mountain laurels and more. Hand-watering and/or drip irrigation is all that's needed to maintain these plants.
With medium depth soils (8 inches to 12 inches), you have more options as far as turf grass is concerned. Still, try to limit the amount of turf you use. We never recommend using it as a default ground cover, but rather as a functional part of the landscape. If possible, plan for only as much grass as people or pets will use. As for irrigation, water deeper and less frequently. Also, top dress annually with compost to improve what you have.
Deep soil (greater that 12 inches) offers you the most options when it comes to turf. Grass planted in deep soil needs little supplemental water to survive. But in San Antonio, deep soil usually means clay soil. Build on what you have by aerating and top dressing with compost at least every two years. Many locations with deep soil also have large shade trees such as oaks. If you're lucky enough to have oaks or other trees in your yard, limit the grass underneath them. For the healthiest trees, remove or limit grass out to the tree drip line. Instead, apply mulch and natural leaf litter. There's a reason you don't see trees on the grasslands or grass in a forest: they prefer to live separate lives, if possible. Here in South Texas, I'd rather have the shade from trees.
Dana Nichols is the outdoor conservation manager for San Antonio Water System.
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Last Digit
of Street
Address
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Watering
Day
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0 or 1 |
Monday |
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2 or 3 |
Tuesday |
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4 or 5 |
Wednesday |
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6 or 7 |
Thursday |
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8 or 9 |
Friday |
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No watering on weekends with a sprinkler, soaker hose or irrigation system. Areas without a street address, such as medians and neighborhood entryways, water on Wednesday.
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Watering with a sprinkler or irrigation system is allowed once a week before 10 a.m. and after 8 p.m. on your assigned day, as determined by your address.
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Monday, Apr. 20, 2009 |
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0 in.
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Bermuda (Full Sun)
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0 in.
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Buffalo (Full Sun)
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0 in.
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St. Augustine (Full Sun)
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0 in.
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St. Augustine (Shade)
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0 in.
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Zoysia (Full Sun)
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0 in.
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Zoysia (Shade)
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Remarks:
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No need to water. Reap the benefits from the recent rains. We are currently in drought restrictions, when you do water please consider using only an amount of water necessary to keep plant material alive. And, remember if you water with a sprinkler, do it only on your day. Juan Soulas, Conservation Planner
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Are compost and mulch the same? Which is better?
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Compost is completely decomposed plant and animal products, whereas mulch is partially decomposed plant products, usually woodchips or bark. For compost, I find those that contain both plant and animal products to be superior. As for mulch, I prefer those that are uniformly chipped. Others base their selection on price. Really, it's personal preference.
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E-mail your question to GardenGeek@saws.org
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Get in Gear
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This is the perfect time of year to get those new plants in the ground. Design a new area and try plants you may not have considered using in your landscape before. New plantings add interest and quality to your garden, and they can reduce the size of your lawn – the landscape's biggest water guzzler.
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Lovely Larvae
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Let's face it, we all love butterflies. What we don't realize sometimes is that beautiful butterflies develop from a larval stage or caterpillar. Caterpillars can be "eating machines" and some of your prized plants will become food for these hungry creatures. Don't get rid of them. They will either become gorgeous butterflies or food for the birds.
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Garden Jazz Party
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May 3 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
San Antonio Botanical Garden, 555 Funston
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Information stations will cover topics such as garden planning, plant selection, turf, soil, wildscape, irrigation and landscape maintenance. Also, enjoy jazz music, snacks and drinks. Admission to the gardens is free during party hours.
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