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It is 101.5 degrees today in the shade. Clear skies. Brilliant Sun.
I have often heard that it is not good to use sprinklers in the middle of such a day. Two reasons given: (1) too much loss of water to evaporation before it gets into the soil; and (2) the water can act as a prism and actually scorch leaves.
As far as item 1: Not a problem for me. I have a practically inexausible supply of pond water, using a 2" trash pump and 2" polypipe feeding a double-headed high-volume set of pop-up sprinklers. I put out about 60 gallons a minute across 90 feet. I can get things wet. Some evaporation loss is of little concern. But attempting flood irrigation is troublesome at best; the water comes much too fast, and the highs-and-lows of the terrain just don't let it work well. Sprinkling with this high volume over a broad area is very effective.
My question has to do with item 2. Has *anyone* ever actually seen scorching of plant leaves due to sprinkling in the middle of a bright, hot day? I often read it, but have never found anyone who has actually seen it. Even on this forum I found two or three people in one thread saying they have "never experienced a problem" with it. So, I'm wondering, is this a clever idea some master gardener thought up one day and put it out there, and it's become an urban legend? If anyone has ever had scorching problems with water on leaves in a bright day, please I'd like to hear from you.
There are a couple of valid concerns for wetting leaves mid day, and that's fungus-prone plants such as tea roses. Wouldn't do it. I would also avoid sprinkling my tomatos and other vegetables; I have a good water-tower flooding system I fill with the pond water, so sprinkling never occurs on the veggie garden.
I'm more interested in the typical ornamental flower beds and trees and such. Any thoughts appreciated. Until someone speaks up, I'm going to sprinkle like a demon due to the heat/dry wave we're in. (Central Kansas)
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