Watering, When and how often?

[Firefyter-Emt]

Well, this has been bugging me. I am in NE Conn. and have a typical vegi garden with your typical vegies in it. What plan should I work with when watering? I do not want to over, or under water my garden, so I figure it would be worth asking. Should some be watered more often while others should be witheld?

 

[Cassandra]

I water my garden every weekend if it hasn't rained significantly in the previous week. It seems to have worked out alright. I am sure there is a more complicated formula you could work out for each different plant. But just to keep it simple for myself, that's what I do.

Cassandra

 

[Tutter]

There are a lot of factors. Temperature and soil are two, whether you get rain in the summer is another.

In my case, it can become very hot in the summer. We have sandy loam in the main garden, and we do not have rain in the summer here. So in hot weather, we need to water daily.

But if your weather is cooler, or it rains there, or your soil holds water, (Or any combination thereof), you'd be in a different boat.

 

[SoccerMomof7]

I water when the soil looks dry and that seemed to work last year.

 

[Baymen Moe]

Emt, let the soil dictate how oftern to water. I'm in eastern Mass and I usually water every morning. I have all the typical veggies. Unless we have a good amount of rainfall I water. My soil drains well so watering more often is key. Watering only a little will lead to shallow root systems, just like grass. Deep watering less often will allow better root developement, especially with starter plants and seed germination.

Bill

 

[OaklandCityFarmer]

Generally speaking, deep watering less times a week is recommended over shallow watering more frequently. Also, generally speaking, most plants will do well with about 1" of water a week. A rain rain gauge can be helpful for this. They do also sell soil probes that test how much moisture is in the ground.

Like a few others have said, soil is a very important factor in determining water needs. So is light intensity. For folks that have cloud cover or haze in the am and afternoon sun plants will tend to use less water because less photosynthesis is occurring. The opposite is true for people who have lots of sunshine all day. Relative humidity also affects moisture retention the lower the humidity the more water is used. Wind movement will also affect the amount of water required as will the way you water and what time of day. Watering in the early morning and as close to the ground as possible is best. This also helps prevent against disease.

Mulching is also key for moisture retention. A good thick mulch will increase organic matter, suppress weeds and hold in a lot more moisture and keep plants well watered over frequent watering.

 

[patandchickens]

Watering daily is not generally in your plants' best interest, nor in the best interests of your water bill or well Soak the garden thoroughly once every 4-14 days, depending on your soil (if it is very sandy it will need more frequent watering, but next fall/winter try to put as much organic matter into it as you can get your hands on, and it will be better next year).

Daily watering promotes shallow roots. Shallow roots promote fragile plants, poor heat tolerence, and at least in theory less nutrient availability.

It also depends how much you want to 'push' your yield. Personally I water my veg garden (clayey soil, with a decent amount of organic matter worked in) about half a dozen times per summer, if it's a dry summer. But I water the *heck* out of it when I do water

Pat

 

[Firefyter-Emt]

Thanks guys. I had been watering daily in the morning, not heavy (IMHO) but with a "shower head wand" maybe 10 seconds per plant. The ground has not been "dry and dusty" but a moist dry soil inbetween.

The water bill cost is not the issue, we have two wells here and are not on town water. My main concern is over watering, yet I want to help them as much as I can. The garden is not huge, 20' x 40' so with one of my boys helping me "feed" the hose, it goes pretty fast.

Should I be ok with a moist soil as I have had, or should I let it get dry before the next watering with out worry?

 

[silkiechicken]

I let the soil go dry. If i dig a small hand shovel into the ground and it's dry 2 -3 inches down, then I "drown" the plants in water and wait. Deep roots and I water twice a week in the hot of summer.

 

[patandchickens]

What silkiechicken says. You *want* the top few inches of soil to dry out. Otherwise the plants do not grow roots very deep. Which is bad for them.

And while you may not pay for water from your well, it comes from an aquifer shared with a lotta other people and probably deserves a bit of consideration as well


Pat