When to Water

12 years ago

I see a lot of posts asking when to water. What works best for me is to lift the container right after watering to get a feel for how heavy it is, then check it again every couple or three days. Once it gets real light (or I'm able to actually lift the larger containers without too much effort), and before the plants show signs of stress*, is when I water. I'll even compare the weights of all the like-sized pots before deciding which ones to water.

*Stress - Not to be confused with daily wilting in sunny 95+ degree weather. If they perk back up by morning and the container isn't relatively light, don't water or you'll likely end up over watering. It's a plant defense mechanism to wilt in extreme heat. Consider solar shade screening if high temps are the norm in your area.

PS There are some good watering tips in this thread...

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/pepper/msg0511233721256.html?18

I particularly like the one where you just leave the skewer in the pot and treat it like a dipstick... pull out to check the moisture level.

This post was edited by mecdave on Wed, May 21, 14 at 12:59

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Comments (4)

StupidHotPeppers
12 years ago
Most simple answer: when they start to wilt. The leaves will get soft and droop. It's more tough to recognize when they are only 3 inches tall but I give it at least 4 days or so
tomt226
12 years ago
I have several species of plants, including peppers, in 60+ pots and hanging baskets, and have dripped them for ten years or so.
IMHO, you should NEVER stress a plant by not watering it. You should provide even moisture regularly, and a drip system is the most convenient and accurate way to deliver a set amount of water. Emitters are adjustable and timers allow you to control the amount and duration of the watering schedule.
Nightshades, including peppers, are really bad about ruining fruit by under watering and then giving them too much water. It's like a starving person. Give'em a little at a time over a period. Just my $0.02 worth...
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Original Author
12 years ago
Posted by MorugaMan 4
"Most simple answer: when they start to wilt. The leaves will get soft and droop. It's more tough to recognize when they are only 3 inches tall but I give it at least 4 days or so."

The problem with this method, at least where I live, is the plants will wilt every day in the heat of the summer no matter how well watered they are. Watering by wilt would quickly lead to over watering. Better to move them to the partial shade of a mesquite tree or use solar shade cloth to help keep them cool. Then use other methods besides stress to determine when to water.

Tom I wish I could use an auto emitter system like you have, but our tap water is loaded with chloramine and really sucks. The best it does is keep the lawn and garden alive until the next rain. Zero growth in the meantime. Once my rain barrels run dry I do refill them with tap water to at least let some of the chlor/ammonia evaporate before using it to water with. They're nearly empty again now. ;(
tomt226
12 years ago
mecdave,
Our water is no great shakes either, full of chlorine etc. but I find if I keep either granular/time release fertilizer in the area of the emitter the plants don't suffer with the mineralized water. The big problem with our water is that it stops up the emitters, and I have to clean'em out regularly. We can't depend on rain here...anymore.
All plants are pretty good filters for evapotranspiration of water. That's why a lot of progressive water treatment plants use them as primary filters for cleaning wastewater.
Of course, that'll be in the wind when the frackers get here and our water starts burning...;-)