Watering Your Vegetables

Watering your garden vegetables seems an easy enough task. If it's dry, water it. as simple as that. But can your really be sure about that? How much water is enough? And how can you tell when it's too much? This could really confuse you.

How Much Water Do Vegetables Need?

The standard rule of thumb is to make sure your vegetable garden gets at least an inch of water weekly. There are some factors required to correctly gauge how much water your plants require. For instance, if the weather is hot and dry, you will need to water your plants more. If it's cold and damp, reduce your watering. Another factor is your soil. Depending on your soil type, you can gauge the amount of water to give your plants. An ideal soil type is one that retains water well while providing adequate drainage.

Best Time To Water

The best time during the day to water your vegetables and plants is early morning.  This helps protect the plants from wilting during mid-day when the sun is at it's highest. The next best time would be late afternoon, so that the plants can dry out before sunset. Damp and wet leaves and foliage left overnight encourages the growth of fungus and other diseases. Avoid watering during midday as this not only wastes your water due to rapid evaporation, but hot son on wet plants would most likely bring damage to your plants, vegetables and fruits.

How Often To Water

The ideal time to water would be about six to ten days. It is ideal to water less but deeply rather than water less but frequently. Every time you water, give your plants a good soaking, leaving around several inches of water in the soil and the base of the plant.

Conserving Moisture

Conserving water is not only good for saving money, it’s also good for the environment and saves time spent watering. One way to conserve moisture is by using mulch. A layer of compost, well-rotted manure, shredded leaves, lawn clippings or water-permeable fabric mulch will prevent water loss. If high winds are a problem, a windbreak can be a good idea: drying winds can cause moisture loss. Frequent weeding also reduces competition for water.

Understanding the principles of effective watering can end the guesswork of when and how much to water, increasing yields and saving time, money and the environment in the process.