Should I Water?

We've had an interesting spring in Central Minnesota. With the rapid snow melt, some areas flooded. In my yard, we had a mini lake of melted snow and rain. Yet now we are under a burning ban, due to the dry, windy conditions. So this leads to the questions, should I water or not?

Here's what a gardener should consider: Is the soil dry on the surface? How deeply does the soil moisture go? Do I have good drainage in the dry area? When is rain predicted?

For me, I am not going to water what was under water since it is clay soil and retains moisture. Also, I am not going to water the grass.

What I am going to water are the raised beds on a south-facing slope. The soil seems dangerously dry, and I do not want to damage my strawberries and blueberry planted there.

I was lucky enough to hook up my rain barrel during the March thunderstorm, which filled it. I have a feeling that I will use up that water. Rain is predicted for Friday so I will hopefully restock my water supply then.

I've got bulbs and perennials peeking through the garden beds. Spring is definitely here.

Garden Update

While it's chilly today, I took advantage of the recent balmy weather to remove some of the mulch from my garden beds and to trim the trees. We trimmed some oaks so I gathered the branches, some of which were tree-sized themselves. I pruned the apple trees (I have a very difficult time pruning--I never know what to cut and what to keep!). Also, I found some lettuce. Yes, that same lettuce that I nibbled on the first of December last year. I had left my plastic cover in place and the snow covered it. I peaked under the plastic and there were a few leaves growing. I suppose the root systems survived. Will they survive this next blast of cold air? I can only hope. Maybe I'll be eating fresh garden lettuce in March!

Bad, Bad Girl

I am a bad girl. After yesterday's thunderstorm (yes, lightning and thunder and heavy rain!), I hooked up my rain barrel. I know it's too soon, but I wanted all that beautiful fresh rain. Later in the spring, the rain washes tree pollen off the roof, turning my rain barrel water green--a side effect of living in the woods. Now I will carefully watch the temps since I don't want a cracked rain barrel!