It’s easy to remember to water a garden in the summer. The growing plants remind us that they need care and attention to thrive. But in the winter when nothing seems alive, do plants still need water? Absolutely! In other areas of the country, rain and snow take care of winter watering, but here in the desert (zone 7b here) we still need to tend to our gardens. This post lays out an easy approach to watering a garden in the winter to ensure healthy plants come springtime.
If you didn’t know plants need water in the winter, don’t feel bad! I only realized the importance after killing some of my new fruit trees during their second winter. The first winter had enough rain and snow that they survived just fine, but the second was much drier and unfortunately they didn’t make it 🙁 Now I use a schedule to water my garden in the winter and everything has been doing much better.
Step 1: Establish a Watering Schedule
Watering in the winter is hard since many of us leave for work before it’s light and come home in the dark. During the summer I spend time in the garden after work, but there’s no way I want to be watering the garden in the winter when it’s cold and the dark. To try to get the warmest, sunniest time possible, I typically water mid-afternoon on Sundays. Pick a time and stick to it! If it’s rained or snowed substantially in the past week, feel free to skip a week of watering. The main goal is to make sure plants don’t dry out too much–especially plants being grown in containers.
Step 2: Figure out a Water Source
We disconnect our drip irrigation system in the winter so the lines don’t freeze and burst. Our backyard has two rain barrels fed by the gutters on our roof, so I use those to water the garden in the winter. I keep the faucets on each covered with an insulated cover when I’m not using them to prevent any damage. Even with the extremely small amount of rain we get (~9″ per year) our rain barrels have never run dry.
If you don’t have rain barrels, you can always hook up a hose. Just be sure to empty out as much water as you can after you’re done watering, and re-cover the faucet.
Step 3: Water Trees and Plants
Our native plants that are well-established don’t get a weekly watering, but everything else does. This includes fruit trees growing in the ground and in large containers, rose bushes in containers, and all perennial plants. Each tree gets about 3/4 of a mop bucket full of water. The other plants get watered until water drains out the bottom of their container.
Step 4: Look for Signs of Life
Plants may look dead in the winter, but there are little signs of life if you look closely enough! The branches on our peach and nectarine trees stay green during the winter. I’ve learned if they turn brown, those branches have died and won’t come back in the spring.
Since we cycle between cold snaps and more mild weather here, there are also little plants that pop up every once in a while. Today I found some tiny mint sprigs poking up through the leaves.
Step 5: Do a Quick Check of the Rest of the Garden
While you’re outside, use it as an opportunity to do a quick check of the rest of the yard and garden. This is when I make sure our planter covers are still rolled and secured, and that our larger apple trees are still staked against the wind.
That’s all there is to it! It takes me about 20 minutes to water our garden in the winter. I wear gloves and a winter jacket, and it’s not bad at all. This is an easy way to make sure all your plants stay alive through the colder months and are ready to greet you in the spring!
