Make sure your garden hoses are stored away
Q. Do I really need to disconnect my outside water sources in autumn?
A. Only if you don't want to replace your hoses, fountain pumps, underground sprinkler systems and other water sources when the temperature drops below freezing.
Water lowers in density as it cools. It's why ice floats in water. When ice forms, it's because a crystalline structure is created and this structure increases the volume. Think of water molecules as two smaller balloons on top of a larger balloon. The process of water molecules becoming ice means those balloons link to other balloons, leaving a lot of empty space in between.
Consequently, when your hose is filled with water and closed off at the nozzle and the sillcock, and ice molecules form, there's nowhere to expand. With sufficient pressure and weak enough walls, pop, there goes your new, never kinked, life time guaranteed (except for freezing) hose. It's off to the store for a new hose in May.
The same process will repeat itself in your other outdoor items that hold water in a confined space. That is why your ceramic pots will crack and spall (outside layers flake off), if water has been absorbed in the walls.
In severe winters, outside sillcock valves (water faucets) can become cold enough to have the pipes inside the unheated interior walls freeze and burst. Insulated covers attached with elastic straps to the outside of house sillcocks and hose bibs will protect them from sustained subzero temperatures and ensuing damage. Although this form of damage is relatively rare in the Chicago area, they are inexpensive insurance, and a prudent protective measure.
Disconnect and drain your hoses, ensure air is blown through underground irrigation systems, pull your fountain and water garden pumps, drain and cover birdbaths and statuary that might have pockets where water could become trapped. Also empty your outdoor planters and put them in the garage, or other unheated, dry location.
Resident winter birds and animals love a water source in winter. If you desire to aid these feathered or furry friends, obtain an electric heater for a birdbath, or ground level container. These heaters keep the water just above freezing and don't use much power. If you have a garden pond with fish and are new to that hobby, ensure you have a floating heater keeping a small surface area open exchanging oxygen in the water and keeping your fish alive in winter. Shallow ponds less than 2 feet of depth may still freeze solid; consequently, fish ponds should have depth of 30 to 36 inches in at least a partial area.
With these simple precautions, you will save replacement costs, and when the winter winds are howling in January and you're sitting warm inside watching the Bears in the playoffs, you won't be nagged by concerns about your garden hose.
- Matt Steichmann
• Provided by Master Gardeners through the Master Gardener Answer Desk, Friendship Park Conservatory, Des Plaines, and University of Illinois Extension, North Cook Branch Office, Arlington Heights. Call (847) 298-3502 on Wednesdays or email northcookmg@gmail.com. Visit web.extension.illinois.edu/mg.