Springtime is the rainiest season for Texas and brings about some issues to homeowners regarding their soil moisture levels. Water management really comes into play so your yard doesn’t get too much water and stays healthy. With just a little effort you can maintain your yard to the perfect standard every homeowner deserves.
Spring Rains Affecting Soil Moisture
Spring is the rainiest season in the Northern Hemisphere because warmer air can hold more moisture than colder air. Warmer, moist air is less than the colder, dryer air of the upper atmosphere during this season. As the warm air rises and cools, it can no longer hold on to the moisture. This results in water droplets coming down as rain. Excessive water availability in your yard can lead to problems including rotting or mold in a basement and/or crawlspace, poor foundational support, and plant growth.
Taking Action To Protect Soil Moisture
Never mind your soil type, it is important to manage your soil’s water content, while still keeping enough for it to soak up. Remove all gutter downspouts that dump available water into flat areas and areas sloped toward your house. This prevents foundation issues and your soil getting too wet. Replace with downspouts that will send water content to the parts of the yard that have a natural slope leading down to a storm drain or street gutter. Parts of the yard that have standing water can be aided via the use of a french drain or swale. This drain system allows for some relief on the soil surface.
Soil Moisture Pros For Plants
In planting areas holding an amount of water too high, amending those soil locations will help through irrigation water. Using compost, leaf litter, and manure on the topsoil layer helps moisture move into the soil and plant roots. Without this layer water will sit on top of the soil, overall leaving you with worse soil moisture content. Be sure when planting that planting holes contain the same soil as the soil around them. The reason being, soil that is lighter or heavier than the soil around it can restrict water movement and root growth. Overwatering is one of the most common reasons homeowners have excessive moisture in their landscape. Water use is needed for plants according to their required soil moisture level to get the appropriate amount of water to the root zone. Your yard going above its water holding capacity can actually “drown” turfgrass and some other landscape plants. Overall, management practices can lead to great crop productivity and soil characteristics given the right moisture conditions
Finding The Solution
Having the perfect soil is important for many reasons. By getting the outcome you want and deserve pertaining to the health of your lawn most specifically. Irrigation management towards your soil moisture can give you a strong soil structure, shown through a great growing season and impressive crop yields. Finding professionals with proper knowledge about soil management can be a challenge. Chorbie has experts specializing in aiding homeowners reach the results they need and they are never more than a simple phone call away.
