by Texas Homesteader
RancherMan & I often do some light traveling during the summer months. This year Mother Nature has dealt us yet another hard blow – drought has once again returned to our part of NE Texas.
No rain has fallen on our Homestead in over a month. The grass is brown & crunchy, leaves are falling from the trees and even mature established drought-resistant plants like my rosemary are fading fast.
But we have a road trip planned & we’ll be away from the homestead for almost two weeks and I’m worried about the small pear tree RancherMan bought me this spring – how and I going to keep it alive in my absence with this weather?
Botanical Hole Of Death
You see, when we decided to build we apparently planted our house right in the botanical hole of death. Getting any plant life to live in either my front or back yard has been a challenge.
I’ve lost count of the number of fruit trees, shrubs or flowers that I’ve planted and babied only to have them succumb. Typically 18 months longevity at the most.
So when RancherMan bought me this pear tree I opted to NOT plant it in our yard, but down the driveway closer to the front fence where it would stand a fighting chance. After it was planted rains kept it well watered during the spring.
Drought Conditions… AGAIN!
But then the rain tap turned off and it turned frightfully hot for days on end here in NE Texas. We endured record-high temps and went through two of our hottest summer months without a drop of rain. Our area once again slipped into a drought…
Since I planted it down the driveway (in an effort to give it a fighting chance) this small tree is not within range of our water hose. So I’d been attempting to hand water my little pear tree.
While that worked well at first, as the ground dried out more & more any water I poured on it was wicked away like a sponge. So keeping it adequately watered became a challenge.
And now that we’re planning to go out of town for a few days I won’t be able to water it at all. I can’t stand to think about losing this special tree too. What to do??
Slow Watering Idea to Water Trees In Drought Conditions
RancherMan suggested we take our 100-gallon water trough, set it on the forks of the tractor and fill it with water.
Then he drove it to the tree and gently sat it down right next to it. Finally we unscrewed the plug just enough to allow the water to drip slowly.
Over the course of the next several days that we were away that slow drip kept the tree watered. And even the hard ground surrounding it finally received moisture as well.
Although it continued being extra hot and dry while we were away, my pear tree remained happily watered. So it did great!
We’ll continue on with this watering method until the drought breaks to make sure my tiny tree stays healthy. I’ll just unscrew the plug to allow it to drip for a few days as needed, then tighten the plug to stop the water for a few days. #UseWhatchaGot!
~TxH~
My Favorite Garden Hacks
- Easy Garden Planning Spreadsheet
- Getting A Jump: Planting An Indoor Greenhouse
- Repurposed Cardboard Seed-Starting Pots
- 3-Sister’s Garden – The Original Companion Planting
- Low-Cost Vegetable Gardening
- Planting A Large Galvanized Trough
- Using Cheap Biodegradable Weed Block
- Tricking Birds AWAY From Your Strawberry Plants
- Easy Compost For A Healthy Garden
- Propping Tender Seedlings
- Cheap (or FREE) Wood Mulch For The Garden
- Homestead Hack: Remember Where You Planted Seeds
- How Vegetable Gardening Can Change Your Life!
- Easy Deep-Soak Watering For Potted Plants
- Planting Potatoes In Galvanized Trough
- Planting A Blueberry Bush In Galvanized Tub
- Stevia – Growing Your Own Sweetener!
- How I Use EcoBricks In The Garden
- Making An Inexpensive Temporary Cold Frame
- Compost Old Confidential Documents
- Repurposing A Coffee Can For Deep-Soak Watering
MORE Gardening Posts
This is a powerful post, I love tree, they build so many homes here, that I feel for the tree, wish they can create a wood that is just for building and not use so many tree. and thanks for sharing this on Dream Create and Inspire.
Maria
Smart idea to water plants far from a water source. We’re dealing with a severe drought in SoCal and many of our plants have died. I’m trying a new product to help move water into the dry hard ground.
Good idea.
I might suggest that you put a large piece of plywood or something to completely cover the top of the tank to help keep it from evaporating when the sun beats down on it. By covering will also keep the mosquitos out of the standing water.
Have a wonderful and safe trip
Good idea. We have filled five gallon plastic buckets with water and nailed a little hole in the bottom for saplings in the summer but that would not last for days like your water trough.