Drought in parts of metro Atlanta

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Parts of Cobb, Douglas, Paulding and Fulton are in the grip of severe drought, despite Friday’s rains. More rain would be welcome for many.

“We need good, long rains, and this isn’t even going to scratch the surface,” said Rob Trawick, Cobb County’s agricultural natural resources agent.

Trawick, who works with UGA Cobb Extension, said June was very dry, which caused the plants to suffer.

“We’ve been getting a lot of calls because people think a lot of what we’re seeing is disease related,” Trawick said. “It’s actually drought related issues, especially in the last few weeks.”

To help explain, Trawick said to think of a one-acre plot of land.

“If we get one inch of rain, that’s 27,154 gallons of water. The average 18×36 pool that people have in their backyard only holds about 18,000 to 20,000 gallons of water,” he added, noting that the area typically gets more than 50 inches of rain a year, on average.

He said that when rains occur for weeks on end, the region loses an extremely large volume of water.

“A lot of plants that were particularly thriving heading into summer are starting to get stressed now,” he said.

Trawick offered some advice for people facing drought.

“Irrigate deeply, but infrequently, so every other day,” Trawick said.

He said watering early helps too.

“You don’t want to water in the afternoon, especially when it’s sunny,” Trawick said. “It’s very hot. If you water at 2, 3 or 4 p.m., you’re going to lose a lot of the water to evaporation before it can really get into the soil.”

He said it was essential to get water to the roots.

“If we take care of the roots, 99 times out of 100 the top will take care of itself,” Trawick said.

He said the better you care for the roots, the better the plant will fare during the next drought.

Trawick said people can start watering as early as 2 or 3 a.m.