Jun 9, 2026 · 48 min · 12 segments
In this episode, Lisa Taylor returns to share tips on saving water while gardening. Lisa focuses on how being intentional with water use improves soil health, efficient watering techniques, and…
Lisa TaylorGuestErin HooverHost
So we're, we were talking about growing vegetables, but I think we need to think broadly across the landscape as well, because some of the things in your landscape are edible as well.
So for annual crops, whether it be edibles or flowers, they're just gonna look dried out.
The way plants look when they're thirsty is also the way they look when they're overwatered.
Now what do I do?" So before we go any further, I just wanna talk about, like, we need to know what is going on in the soil and whether it's dry or wet or moist to know really if it's time to water plants or not, because one of the first things we wanna do if we're conserving water is water only when the plants really need it.
And so for many of the things in your landscape, they really don't need added water, maybe a little for a couple of months if we have a particularly dry time.
It's with you everywhere, but not everybody wants to stick their finger in the soil, and you can't go down very deep, so you can't really see what's going on deeper in the soil where the roots are really taking up that moisture.
So somebody during one of my Zoom classes put in the comments, and I happened to see it, that they bought a moisture meter, and it was the best $10 they ever spent.
And so I was like, "Moisture meter? I should check that out." And so if you, if you search hydrometer, you're gonna get something way more scientific than you need.
What you just need is, I think as a gardener, like is it dry, is it moist, is it wet? That's, that's it.
So if you, if you search for a moisture meter or tester, what you'll come up with is something with a big dial, and it'll have like a little needle that goes across dry to wet, and a long probe that's like about 10 inches long.
You can use it for your indoor plants, and that's one thing that we use all the time because, uh, when do you water indoor plants? Um, but also when we're getting things established, when we're starting to, to plant new things in the landscape or we're wondering about different areas around the garden, we can just go around and stick that thing in.
It either says it's dry or moist or wet, and then we can take action from there.
So, um, I think I even found a, a, a set of two, and they were like less than $10 each.
So, uh, usually I, I'm not gonna a-advocate a, a brand or whatever, but I did go to that big online distribution place that's named after those awesome women that lived on that island.
Um, I found it there, um, simply because sometimes you, you're, you're not gonna find it out in a retail setting.
So we're, we were talking about growing vegetables, but I think we need to think broadly across the landscape as well, because some of the things in your landscape are edible as well.
So for annual crops, whether it be edibles or flowers, they're just gonna look dried out.
The way plants look when they're thirsty is also the way they look when they're overwatered.
Now what do I do?" So before we go any further, I just wanna talk about, like, we need to know what is going on in the soil and whether it's dry or wet or moist to know really if it's time to water plants or not, because one of the first things we wanna do if we're conserving water is water only when the plants really need it.
And so for many of the things in your landscape, they really don't need added water, maybe a little for a couple of months if we have a particularly dry time.
It's with you everywhere, but not everybody wants to stick their finger in the soil, and you can't go down very deep, so you can't really see what's going on deeper in the soil where the roots are really taking up that moisture.
So somebody during one of my Zoom classes put in the comments, and I happened to see it, that they bought a moisture meter, and it was the best $10 they ever spent.
And so I was like, "Moisture meter? I should check that out." And so if you, if you search hydrometer, you're gonna get something way more scientific than you need.
What you just need is, I think as a gardener, like is it dry, is it moist, is it wet? That's, that's it.
So if you, if you search for a moisture meter or tester, what you'll come up with is something with a big dial, and it'll have like a little needle that goes across dry to wet, and a long probe that's like about 10 inches long.
You can use it for your indoor plants, and that's one thing that we use all the time because, uh, when do you water indoor plants? Um, but also when we're getting things established, when we're starting to, to plant new things in the landscape or we're wondering about different areas around the garden, we can just go around and stick that thing in.
It either says it's dry or moist or wet, and then we can take action from there.
So, um, I think I even found a, a, a set of two, and they were like less than $10 each.
So, uh, usually I, I'm not gonna a-advocate a, a brand or whatever, but I did go to that big online distribution place that's named after those awesome women that lived on that island.
Um, I found it there, um, simply because sometimes you, you're, you're not gonna find it out in a retail setting.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.
