Excellent points grandpop! Most gardeners tend to way over-water their plants because they don't understand that wet soil is compacted soil and compacted soil deprives the roots of the oxygen that is just as important to them as water.

Most all plants will tolerate too little watering much better than they will too much water but it is difficult to convince folks of that fact. ;)

In addition to shallow rooting and oxygen deprivation, excessive watering encourages fungus, mold, and bacterial problems, yellowing of plant leaves, defoliation of the plant, diluted fruit taste, pollination problems, pest problems, root rot, wilting,stunting of plants, and even plant death.

Many of the most common garden problems can be avoided or eliminated simply by checking the soil moisture levels at at least finger depth, before turning on that garden hose. ;)

Dave

Wow, I bet I am definitely doing it wrong, especially since my soil holds moisture better than clay.

What would you suggest differently for raised wood beds?

Thanks!

Here is a link that might be useful: Sinfonian's garden adventure

Use the same principles, but since they're exposed on the sides raised beds tend to dry out faster.

Hi Sinfonian - raised beds are basically just BIG containers without a bottom ;) so yes they will drain a little faster and require more frequent watering than an in-ground garden will. But the same basic rule applies - stick your hand deep into the soil first and see if it really needs water down near the root level. When in doubt, don't water. ;)

Dave

i punched small holes down to the roots so that way i can get water down there and it drys in about a day. is this wrong? it seams to have worked pretty well so far

any thoughts?

So you say check plants in the morning for wilt. My tomato plants will often wilt during the day on a 'hot' one (90+), but then be just fine the next morning. So at that point I should be checking the root zone, hold off on my first gut instinct, (which is to grab said garden hose), and monitor for morning wilt instead?

I just feel so bad for them when it's sooo hot and they look soooo sad......:(

dirtdauber - Many plants look wilty during the heat of the day as a way of conserving water especially big leaf plants like cukes - this is normal and not a sign of needed water. Yes, check the root zone and restrain your instinct to grab the hose. Trust me you'll be doing your plants a favor by not overwatering. If you want to conserve water, put a 3" layer of straw around them - or some other form of mulch.

I just feel so bad for them when it's sooo hot and they look soooo sad......:(

Then just tell yourself that by NOT watering them right now you are letting them relax. They love not having to work so hard and transpiration is work. Plus you are giving the roots a breath of fresh air. ;)

i punched small holes down to the roots so that way i can get water down there and it drys in about a day. is this wrong? it seams to have worked pretty well so far. any thoughts?

My "thoughts" would depend on if these plants are in the ground or in a container?

Dave

Gosh, grandpop & digdirt, thanks so much for this thread and info. You are so right. This morning my tomatoes and cukes were happy and upright. It is the afternoon of a 94 degree day, and plants are decidedly 'conserving water' -- which is there for them! I just checked and at the 2 inch level the soil is cool, not dry, further down is damp. (we had a three inch deluge last Wednesday night) I would have watered today, but will now hold off since we have a chance of rain tomorrow.
I do have mulch of sorts on cukes, not three inches worth, maybe I should add some there, have black landscape fabric on tomato bed.
All of these plants are setting fruit, and this time last year I was bedeviled by ber on my toms, so I was trying to watch the water thing. Thanks to you, I may just get it right this year.... :)

Dave my tomatos are in a 20x20 garden in the ground with iragatioon ditches dug between them so i dont have to spray everything.

Has it been a wet summer for most of you? Mother Nature has been watering my garden this year. I've watered once since planting on June 1st. Since itÂs a half-hour drive to my veggie plot, IÂve been happy about that. However, last week the rain gage read 2 and 1/2 inches! A few of my pepper plants didn't look happy about it. Rain is in the forecast for this afternoon and tomorrow. I'm going to have to buy a dry fertilizer if it persists. Hoping the rain lets up by the time my tomatoes ripen or else I'll have a lot of cracked fruit.

Watering is a big issue for us. We have a small vegetable garden, in the city. Last year, we used drip hoses to water. Georgia is in a multi-year record drought. We get a thunder shower every week or two if we are lucky but usually with only 1/4" to 1/3" rain at most. We used a lot of water with drip hoses last year and had very low yield from our garden. This year, we decided to grow tomatoes, peppers, chard and eggplant in homemade EB's. These work great by the way.

For vegetables we put in the in-ground garden, we decided to try the "cheap" drip method of burying one gallon milk jugs with a small hole punched in the bottom to give a slow drip. They are buried right next to each of the plants we put in. We have several squash and cucumber vines (one jug for each plant or vine). I grow from seed, so we had extra tomatoes, eggplants and peppers which we planted in ground each with their own milk jug. We dug trenches and planted bush beans around the edges of the trenches.

So far, I have found the milk jug method to be more effective than the drip hoses we used last year. More work but we are using less water. It does take time to fill the jugs and we are hand filling the EB's twice daily. My husband and I are retired so it is not a big deal for us. The in-ground plants are healthy this year and are producing lots of vegetables. I think because the water seeps into the ground at the root level they are staying better hydrated. Because of the drought and the heat, plus because we built up our in ground garden so it drains (sorta like a raised bed without formal walls) we add water to the jugs and trenches every other day. Sometimes every day when it is really hot.

So is it possible we may be over watering?? Our garden soil is amended, and the garden is mulched. At first I checked the soil moisture using the "finger" method, but I don't do it every time I water. Water is expensive here but mostly I don't want to waste it.

So is it possible we may be over watering??

Yes, it is still possible and I understand your concerns about wasting the water given the costs.

Continuing to check the moisture well down into the range of the roots is still your best option.

Dave

bump

Oh I am totally going to be looking out for morning vs. afternoon wilting! It is so great that I learn something new here all the time. I don't see how anyone would ignore your advice. It is so helpful! Thank you. I will be a little more excited when I can plant in the ground rather than containers. Sounds like it's a bit easier.

Wow! This is great information. I am so thankful for the guru gardening advice since I'm a complete newbie. I would have foiled up my garden without reading this, so thanks!

~Angela

^^

I've been over watering too, I'll start checking root level before I turn on the hose.

This year I will have to water with overhead sprinkler. Because of diseases, etc., I assumed this means I should do it in the early morning, but I have seen several reliable (I thought) sites lately that said to water in the afternoon. Your thoughts?

Sorry you have to go to sprinklers. No other options?

If not, then IMO the early morning is best as it allows the full day for the foliage to dry out and so reduce the possibility of disease onset.

Afternoon watering in the heat of the day and in the direct sun can cause additional problems for plants. A study done several years back at UC Davis showed a marked increase (can't recall the exact %) in pest activity on crops overhead watered in mid-day as the pests were attracted to the moisture and the cooler temps it creates so activity increased. Not that pests are ever a good thing. ;)

Still afternoons, if necessary, would be better than doing it in the evening when the plants would set with wet leaves over-night. Just some thoughts to consider.

Dave

I made some soakers out of old garden hoses by running a small drill thru it every 6in. These were to use on my rain barrels which have virtually no water pressure to work with store bought soakers.

I also use 3gal. buckets with 4 small holes drilled in the bottom-sides. I just fill the buckets then let it seep into the soil. I like this cuz I can tell how much water I am putting down. Plus I can move the buckets to another area. Remember the roots grow out away from where the plants go into the soil; many 4ft or more is where they feed. So it could very well be out in your walkway where they are feeding.

fwiw - I know if my tomatoes split due to rain that "I" have NOT been giving them the amount of water they 'want'. I started using the bucket method just to deeply water my tomatoes. I don't dig into the soil, damaging the roots. I just place the bucket on top or in a slight recess dug early in the season.

HTH,
GumbyCT

I remember that gonefishin used to use a piece of rebar (I think it was) and he would just press it into the dirt and he could tell how wet the soil was by the depth of the rod....It went in easily were it was damp and not far when it was dry...

Bill had alot of neat tricks. Long live his memory. I hope someone stepped in to help his wife.

Just info for drip irrigators. A 1 gallon emitter will water 1 cubic foot, usually in a column, in one hour. Using this info should help in determining placement and number of emitters necessary.

Bump for a valuable thread

I remember my grandpa never and when I say never, I mean never, ever watered his garden. He depended on the rain to do it. He always produced a great acre garden. In his later years, he started collecting water in barrels and if he thought they needed it, he would use that water--but that was a rare occasion.

My garden looks good, but I might be over watering. I water every evening. I think I might go every other evening to see how that goes. I have raised beds.

Raised beds in higher heat will require more water than a plant planted in the ground and even more than one with mulch. You can mulch your raised bed, too and this would help. Also, if you water deeply, you should not have to water ea. night. I would try mulching with something, and water really deeply and then wait about 3 - 4 days. I usually water my raised beds 4 - 5 times. I do this so the water can soak down each time deeper and deeper. Then I don't have to water so often.

Hope that helps.
Nichol

I've been watering more frequently and lightly trying to get seeds to germinate. The top couple of inches dries out daily. Deeper there is moisture.