Watering a garden is not a big deal but many experienced gardeners learned to water their garden properly after they made some mistakes watering. Let me walk you through some of the principles applied to watering a garden in the right way.
Watering a vegetable garden in the morning is preferable to watering the garden in the evening or at night. The best time to water your garden is in the early morning between 5 am to 9 am when the sun is still weak and water will not be lost due to evaporation. If you water your garden in the morning, the foliage of the plants will have plenty of time to dry off before evening falls again. Roots will have the best chance to soak up the water and strengthen the plant before the hot sun hits. The surface of the soil and the foliage will dry off before evening when night pests like slugs are most active to prevent them from being attracted to your plants. Dry foliage is also less likely to be susceptible to mold and fungus.
What is the best time to water a garden?
The best time to water your garden is in the early morning between 5 am and 9 am. There are several reasons why early morning watering works best. One of the reasons is that the sun is still not intense and you will not lose as much water to evaporation. Morning watering will also give the best chance for your plants to dry off before the evening, while the soil below the surface will be nice and moist. Early watering ensures that the roots will have time to soak the water up and deliver it to the body of the plant to be strong and hydrated when the scorching sun hits. A healthy and well-watered plant is much stronger in the sun than a plant that is thirsty. A thirsty plant will become droopy, weak, prone to disease, and attractive to garden pests. If a plant is not well watered the leaves can become dry, shrivel, and brittle.
At some point in my gardening adventure, I decided to water my garden in the evening because I wanted to give my plants plenty of time to sit in moist soil before the hot sun hits them again the next day. I did that for a couple of evenings. One morning I found out I had an invasion of slugs, which were attracted to the wet soil, foliage, and wet mulch. Slugs were all over my herbal garden in the morning. I also live in a humid climate so in addition to the humid evening air I let the foliage be wet through the night. Some leaves were affected with fungus and white mold, or became yellow and then browned. I stopped watering my garden in the late evening. However, for some gardeners who live in dry climates evening watering might work just fine.
What time of the day should I water my vegetable garden?
Watering your garden early morning will give it the best chance for your garden to thrive. However not all of us have time to water during the morning rush, and I understand that. The second best time to water your garden is in the afternoon after 4 pm on. The sun intensity is lowered and foliage will still have some time to dry off. I also understand that some gardeners have families to care for or multiple jobs. For those with very busy schedules, water when you have time, just do not neglect, delay or forget to water. If you have time to water in the middle of the day, then water! A garden watered in the middle of the day is better than a garden not watered at all.
I once heard a doctor’s advice to a mom asking what vitamins are best for the children. The doctor said the ones that your child will actually take are the best. It goes the same with gardening. When you have time get things done even though if it is not THE best time according to the industry standards. Things done are better than things neglected or not done at all.
When should I water plants before a hot day?
Get your plants ready for an extremely hot day and high temperatures with a good soak of water in the early morning. Watering deeply before high temperatures hit is ideal as your plants will have enough time to soak up all the moisture which will give your plants the best chance to face the heat of the day. Before watering, however, check the soil if it needs to be watered.
How to check if the soil needs to be watered
To check if the soil needs to be watered put your index finger inside the soil and feel the soil around your finger. If it feels well moist then it does not need to be watered yet. If, however, you feel the soil is dry then it does need to be watered.
When should you not water your garden?
Believe it or not, there is also a time when you should not water your garden. If your soil is still moist you do not need to water your garden. You should not water your garden in the late evening or night as the water would linger on the foliage of the plants for hours without drying which might attract insects, fungi, and disease. You should also not water your garden if the temperatures at night consistently fall below freezing and your soil is therefore frozen beneath the surface and is not able to absorb water.
To gain more knowledge about when not to water your garden, please visit my article When you should not water your garden.
Some crop becomes more intense in flavor when being grown on the dry side, as less water is moving through the plant and the flavor becomes more concentrated. The roots will also grow deeper in search of water and the plant will become sturdier. It is called dry farming. I have never tried it, but might give it a try will this year on some of my tomato plants. Some farmers dry farm tomatoes, apples, grapes, melons, and potatoes to increase more flavor of these crops.
Should I water the garden every day?
A garden should be watered 2-3 times a week. An inground and raised bed garden in general does not need to be watered daily. If you grow in a container garden, a pot garden, or a vertical one it might need to be watered daily, or even several times per day.
Last year I grew some of my veggies in vertically stackable pots and I was very surprised at how often I had to water them. It was the most demanding part of my entire garden. I felt like I had to babysit it ten times more than the rest of my garden. I do not plan to build any vertical garden in my area, especially during the hot summer months. Perhaps a vertical garden could work for my area in spring and autumn when the weather here is really wet, but once summer hits, a vertical garden in my area is very demanding when it comes to watering.
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