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The Green Thumb Tips for Irrigating with Secondary Water May 6, 2015, 7:21 pmHaving salty irrigation water means that residents must be smart about what they plant, how they water, and how they improve the soil. It is possible to create and maintain beautiful outdoor spaces if we adhere to the following principles when landscaping and gardening. Choose plants wisely. Gardening success will be more easily achieved with plants that are salt tolerant. Valuable resources can be found online at www.treebrowser.edu (for trees) and by searching other education-based sites for lists of salt-tolerant shrubs and perennials. Use drip irrigation. Most evergreen trees and several types of shrubs dislike being sprayed with secondary water. Leaf and needle burn will occur during the hotter months. Drip irrigation solves this problem and also allows for deep watering, which helps leach out salt from previous irrigation cycles. Water less frequently. Frequent, shallow watering causes more salt to build up in the soil and exacerbates salt toxicity. Test sprinkler effectiveness to make sure each watering cycle is saturating the soil. Then repeat only every 3 to 7 days (depending on daytime temperatures). Wise gardeners will water less frequently in the spring and fall, when temperatures are cooler, and will make adjustments to their watering schedules throughout the growing season. They will also delay irrigation when it rains. Wait to water in spring. Consider waiting as long as possible to begin watering in the spring. Spring rains help leach salt out of the soil. Use mulch. Mulch has many benefits, but one includes reducing the evaporation of water from the soil. When water evaporates from the soil in hot summer months, the salt is left behind, making salt damage to roots more likely. Apply fertilizer to plants sparingly. One of the ingredients in fertilizer is salt. So use fertilizer only when needed, usually just as shrubs and perennials start to leaf out in the spring. Be generous when adding organic matter to the soil. Adding organic matter to soil helps to improve the structure of soil and lets heavy soils drain better. Organic matter is anything that was once alive and has been composted. Salt can then leach away from sensitive plant roots. Know the symptoms of salt toxicity. Symptoms include stunted growth, burnt leaf margins, premature leaf drop, general stress and slow demise. Jennifer Klingonsmith is a landscape designer and coach in the Saratoga Springs/Eagle Mountain area. She specializes in landscape plans and teaching gardening success. Find more information on her blog: saratogablooms.blogspot.com. The community news source for Eagle Mountain Utah, Saratoga Springs Utah, Lehi Utah, American Fork Utah, Highland Utah, Alpine Utah, and The Cedar Valley, including Cedar Fort Utah and Fairfield Utah. Copyright 2025 The Crossroads Journal LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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