Watering?!
September 2025 Newsletter
Welcome to September! The last few days, I have felt some crispness in the air. Yay! I love love this time of year, but more specifically when you can feel the seasons changing. Now don’t pull out the coats just yet or go completely nuts and plant lettuces in the hot sun. :) It will die a quick death because it is still way to hot. September and early October have been some of our warmest months in the last few years!
“How much do I water?” This is the everlasting question from all my clients. Let’s dig into it. :) It all depends on how healthy your soil is.
Did you know healthy soil needs much less water? Healthy soil is dark in color, clumps, has worms, organic matter (leaves and sticks) and feels moist to the touch. This type of soil needs less water because when it gets watered it quickly absorbs into the soil and holds onto moisture overtime. Now think about unhealthy soil, typically looks light in color, it could be rock hard clumps that are light brown and grey or it could be more sandy in nature. If you pick up a pile of this dirt it will likely be super dusty and sandy in your hands. What do you think happens when you water the unhealthy soil? There is nothing living in the rock soil or sandy soil so when it gets watered, it will pools off and runs away with any loose top soil. When we get a hard rain in west sonoma county in all of our farm lands you will see brown rivers pooling off that are caring our top soil away.
If your soil falls into the healthy soil category you can probably water every other day or every two days. If plants are new planted they need water everyday for the first few months (in the heat of summer) to get established. If your soil is on the less healthy spectrum then you will want to water everyday because the water doesn’t absorb into the roots of the plant easily.
As we head into the hottest part of the year make sure your irrigation is turned to 7:30pm to water deeply in the evening so it can absorb before the heat of the day the next day.
For either type of soil above, you definitely want to have a very good absorbent mulch, not just playground bark, which does help a little, but not as much as a composted mulch.
Be sure to schedule a consultation soon if your want help with your garden in the next few months because we are already booked through October.
September - remember to water your garden deeply. Be prepared for heatwaves and increase water accordingly. It is better to not let plants / soil become too dry because otherwise it is harder for the water to absorb.
Now is the time to plant sweet pea flowers for spring. There was a blurb about sweet peas in the July Healthy Soil For Life, be sure to check it out. If your vegetable garden area is not in more than 6 hours of sun a day you can begin planting your winter garden veggies, seeding carrots, raddish’s and planting other winter veggies. If you get more than 6 hours of sun, it is better to wait till October to plant the winter garden because heatwaves will be too much for baby veggies. Be sure to continue dead heading zinnas and cosmos for continuous blooming through the end of fall. Harvest veggies often to promote longer harvest seasons. Enjoy all the process!
Common Ground Film - Must see follow up film from the same makers of Kiss the Ground. Common ground is about how our food system has changed to the current model of industrial farming to make food less healthy to consumers and degrades the soil! This is a must see for EVERYONE!!
If you haven’t yet seen Kiss the Ground be sure to watch that one first!! And remember the cure to our climate crisis is right under out feet!
Food for thought, lawns used to be a sign of wealth. If you didn’t have to grow food on your land then it meant you were wealthy. What if your garden was your very own farmers market right outside your door? Those who grow food on their land are doing so to benefit their families, community and of course the soil. Let’s change the story together!
We are here to support you in getting the garden of your dreams that is beneficial for the planet too. Schedule a consultation today to find out how!
