The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Texas Master Gardeners will present a drought landscaping and water conservation workshop on June 16 in San Angelo.
The free event will be held from 6-8:30 p.m. at the AgriLife Extension office in San Angelo, 113 W. Beauregard Ave.
Advance registration is requested at https://tx.ag/CVDroughtReg.
Allison Watkins, AgriLife Extension horticulturist for the Concho Valley, and Kay Thompson, Concho Valley Master Gardener, San Angelo, will be speaking at the event.
The event will cover rainwater harvesting, landscaping practices for drought survival and water conservation.
“Even after the much-needed rainfall we finally received in May, the Concho Valley is still under varying levels of drought from ‘severe’ to ‘exceptional,’” Watkins said. “We will focus on what to do right now to help plants make it through the heat of summer after a dry spring, as well as what to do all year long to train plants in the landscape to have deeper roots and be more drought tolerant when needed.”
Dealing with drought
Watkins said planting things that are tough and can handle the heat, combined with efficient irrigation that minimizes evaporation while making the most of applied water, can help plants make it through a drought.
“It’s been a very discouraging year for gardeners and home landscapers – the early heat and overall lack of rainfall is making water conservation more important than ever,” said Watkins.
Thompson will cover rainwater harvesting, a key tool in water conservation efforts.
Harvesting rainwater makes efficient use of a valuable resource, reduces flooding, erosion and the contamination of surface water with sediments, fertilizers and pesticides from rainfall run-off.
“Rainwater is also really good for plants because it is free of salts and other minerals that harm root growth,” Watkins said.
She said as rainwater percolates into the soil, it will force salts down and away from plants’ root zones, allowing roots to grow better and therefore making plants more drought tolerant.
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