How to Water a Garden

There are specific ways to water your garden that will enhance the growth of plants, and production, and reduce diseases that can impact your plants.

I will explain how you can water your garden and the tools that will help you to accomplish this making it much easier and better for your plants.

How to water a garden successfully

The first key to watering your garden plants is to keep the water off the leaves and get it to the base of the plant allowing water to seep down into the ground to the roots.

How to water a garden starts with using the best equipment by using a drip system or soaker hose to keep the water from splashing on your plant’s leaves.

Be sure you water consistently, the best time of the day is morning to allow the plants to absorb through the roots as much as possible instead of the water evaporating from the sunshine.  It is important to set your watering days to reduce stressing the plants or overwatering them.

If you have your system on a timer you can set the time and days of the week you water.

Most garden plants need 1 inch of water per week under normal summer conditions, if there is a heatwave your plant’s needs will increase slightly.

By watering your garden with a drip or soaker hose you will avoid issues such as mildew, blossom end rot, and other diseases that can impact the plants and the crop negatively

What to avoid when watering

Do not water in the heat of the day since you will have a lot of the water intended to be delivered to the plant being evaporated by the heat of the sun.

Do not use overhead sprinkler systems since the water will be evaporated and not get to your plant’s roots.  It also will lead to diseases being introduced to your plant either through the wet leaves or splashing from the soil onto the leaves introducing bacteria to the plant’s leaves.

Do not water too often which can cause blossom end rot depleting the soil and plant of valuable nutrients.

Do not water too infrequently either since this will stress your plant and reduce the crop it will produce.

If your plants wilt slightly in the heat of the day do not water them since this is normal as long as the plant returns to normal appearance later in the evening.

How much water do vegetable plants need?

In most instances, your vegetable plants need approximately 1 inch per week.  This can be influenced by the type of soil you have and how hot or humid it is.

If you have well-draining sandy soil watering twice a week providing 1 inch in total is enough.

If you have heavier clay soil watering once a week providing 1 inch of water may be enough.

If the temperature is above 70 degrees on average for the 24-hour period 1 inch is good, for every 10 degrees above that you should increase water by 1/2 an inch.

To calculate the temperature for the entire day take high temp and low temp for the day and divide by 2 to get your average temperature for the day.

Mulch, Mulch, Mulch

To retain the water you are providing your plants you must mulch the plants to not only retain water for the roots of the plants but also it will promote growth and help to prevent weeds from growing.

How to water a garden using the best equipment

Now that you have all the information on how to water a garden to grow the healthiest plants it is time to get started.

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