Question on watering

[nachoqtpie]

Haha!

Have another question about watering for you guys... (I knew there would be more... LOL)

I've been kind of eyeballing it and just watering a bit every few days, but what do you think about the weather.coms' Watering Need Indicator? Is it worth even looking at or is it complete junk? It's showing me right now that we're in "low need" but it's almost 90 degrees out there and it's just now noon!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't know about that Watering Need Indicator, but a possible downside to watering with a sprinkler, other than the possible fungus/mildew problem, is that if you have a disease in your soil, the water drops can splash that soil up on your plants. Tomato blight for example. So, if you can, it is usually best to water with a drip hose or something like that.

That is another huge advantage of mulch. If you mulch, the water drops cannot splash the soil up on your plants. The disease has to be there to start with for this to be a problem, so no huge need to panic.

 

[patandchickens]

what do you think about the weather.coms' Watering Need Indicator? Is it worth even looking at or is it complete junk? It's showing me right now that we're in "low need" but it's almost 90 degrees out there and it's just now noon!

I take it this is some online or on-the-air thing, like their pollen or UV index forecast?

If so, I would say IGNORE IT. You should water based on the actual conditions of the soil and plants in your garden, NOT based on how much rainfall you've had. Some situations dry out FAR FAR faster than others.

It is good to get in the habit of a) occasionally poking your fingers into the soil about knuckle-deep to see if things are still nicely damp at fingertip level down there, and b) observe your plants til you can notice the signs of them being *about to* wilt unreasonably. No substitute for experience, in guiding you about watering

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[AmyRey]

My garden is taking a beating right now with the 96* temps and no rain for weeks.

I bought a cheap sprinkler timer from the big blue oversized store (I think it was $10-$12). I turn it on to run for half an hour or so before I leave the house in the mornings. Works like a charm.

 

[nachoqtpie]

Well.. I would HOPE that we don't have anything in our soil.... considering almost all of it came from a bag this year... hehe. I don't actually LIKE watering from a sprinkler... I was just in a pickle yesterday.

On the other hand... I'm kinda actually glad I DID water with the sprinkler because yesterday a couple hours after I had watered everything real good, seeds started popping up out of the ground!!! I couldn't believe it!! We just put them in the ground on Saturday!

I will go ahead and do the finger in the dirt test as an indicator of watering need from now on. I did that yesterday as well... which prompted my need for the sprinkler! LOL

 

[Smiles Jr.]

qtpie - I love reading your posts as I feel your excitement and enthusiasm with your new-found hobby. You are learning some very valuable gardening basics and it looks like you are going to be an excellent gardener. Please do not be too devastated by some of the inevitable failures in your gardening future. It's called the school of hard knocks. Just smile, say hmmmm, and keep on truck'in. Sometimes it takes a muddy thumb to acquire a green thumb.

 

[nachoqtpie]

Thank you! That means quite a lot to me actually. My father was a prolific gardener! I cannot remember a year without him having a garden. Trouble is, my parents split when I was VERY young and he lived a couple states away so I never got to spend much time with him. I remember right before he passed away in 2004, they had purchased the lot next to their house and turned the entire thing into a beautiful veggie garden.

Mom always told me that I had a green thumb as well! I once grew a popcorn kernel in one of her potted plants. BOY was she mad! LOL When I turned 18 and got married and moved out she gave me her aloe plant that she had had since SHE was 18. Unfortunately my ex husband broke the beautiful handmade pot that it was in and then killed it. :-( (Another reason he's the ex husband... LOL)

Sam, my husband, is Native American, so I'm always picking on him that he should be able to make the ground super fertile and build me perfect tee pees. We managed to get the soil somewhat fertile... but we're still working on the tee pees! LOL

We're trying to have a good sense of humor about everything... so.. if something does or doesn't work this year... we'll be okay.

I think we might have planted our bush beans a lil too close tho.. So... we may have to weed some out. :-(

 

[Reinbeau]

I think we might have planted our bush beans a lil too close tho.. So... we may have to weed some out. :-(

Nachoqtpie, you sound like the gardening is in your blood - as it is in mine and so many others here!

For your beans, how close is 'too close'? I plant mine 3" apart around my bean trellis, but I try to keep them 6" on center for bush beans.

 

[nachoqtpie]

Well maybe they're not too close then!! LOL

We planted 4 rows, rows are about a foot apart and about hand width apart in the rows (about 4 inches or so)

 

[Reinbeau]

I post in 'beds' rather than rows, so I consider spacing on center. Yours may be a bit close, but if your soil is well prepared, I think they'll do fine - plus every seed doesn't germinate. Beans are pretty forgiving