It may not feel like it quite yet, but temperatures are about to cool down substantially! With that, please keep in mind that your plants will need some attention – or rather, a little less attention – as the temperatures come down. Average day and nighttime temperatures will come down ten to twelve degrees in the next four to five weeks.
You’ll still need to keep up with your watering, as cooler certainly doesn’t mean cool or comfortable. However, plants that suffered because of the high temperatures and dry weather this summer (that you’ve likely been watering harder than normal to help them cope) won’t be fond of the same watering schedule at the end of September that they were practically begging for at the beginning of August, particularly if we have some cooperative rainfall. Let’s hope it happens!
The simplest moisture measuring technique: nudge the mulch aside, and poke your index finger into the soil down to the second knuckle of your finger. If the soil is dry, go ahead and soak the plant well; if the soil is noticeably wet, additional water won’t help as the soil is already moist enough. Just leave yourself a reminder these next few weeks to go out and check how your soil moisture is doing from time to time, and adjust your irrigation as needed.