How much water?

[cookiesdaddy]

My crop was quite good last year on the same watering plan as described. But I thought maybe I watered too much unnecessarily, so thinking about cutting back. But then afraid to cut back too much. From what I'm hearing, I should put in mulch heavily (straw is an easy option for me) and then only drip irrigation every 2 or 3 days, for about an hour, instead of everyday.

My soil is pretty good now. was quite clayee about 4 years ago.

The problem with the finger test is ... I'm inexperience so can't tell if it moist enough or not.

 

[ninnymary]

CookiesDaddy, where in the bay area are you located? We have alot of microclimates here that determine how much to water. I'm in Alameda where it's fairly cool. I water about 3 times a week. My tomatoes in the ground and my container plantings are the only things I mulch. Everything else is planted very closely where the leaves cover the ground and keep the soil cool.

I've been thinking of putting in soaker hoses but haven't gotten around to it. My garden is fairly small and since I work from home, it's easy for me to water by hand. I like the fact that I can water my lettuce more often and skip the rest of the plants.

Mary