Bonus Tip: Nourish Your Trees
Trees can increase the value of your home and property significantly. Stress from drought weakens them and puts them at risk! Don't wait for leaves to wilt before you give your trees a drink, especially young ones.
Remember this easy formula: 10 gallons/inch/week. Trees require ten gallons of water, per inch in trunk diameter, per week. The easy way to water trees: five-gallon buckets. Keep watering after they drop their leaves in the fall until the ground freezes in the winter.
Drill five 1/8-inch holes in the bottom of five-gallon buckets. The buckets cost about $5 each at home improvement or hardware stores.
Place the buckets along the tree's dripline where the roots are.
Fill the buckets with water and let it slowly drain out. The buckets make it easy to measure the right amount of water for your tree. For example: a young tree, 2 inches in diameter will require 20 gallons (4 buckets) per week.