Watering query...

[Hazel at the Hill]

You're point about getting things wrong sometimes has been a tough one to learn for me. I really quite strongly upbraid myself for any gormless errors I commit in life in general, so you'll appreciate how I'm learning to for errors in this pastime, nay 'area of total absorption' that I've come to love so much...

Just *breathe* and enjoy it, Herbs - there's very rarely and absolute wrong in gardening, just a 'better' and a 'not so good', but these can vary with each circumstance, so you're not too likely to totally cock things up.

Veg does grow despite us, and not because of us in most situations (and a good job too!!)

So if you sat us all down and asked us one question, we'll probably all give you a slightly different answer.

Actually, ask 10 gardeners something, and you'll get 12 answers - I'm not sure how that works, but it's a law of nature, or something!

[taff]

I probably would water things in the ground this year, if I had anything that hadn't been eaten yet, but i gave all my water butts away last year, so I'm not lugging a watering can to the kitchen and back 12 times in a row...in this heat anyway....

[Herbsandveg]

Just *breathe* and enjoy it, Herbs - there's very rarely and absolute wrong in gardening, just a 'better' and a 'not so good', but these can vary with each circumstance, so you're not too likely to totally cock things up.

Veg does grow despite us, and not because of us in most situations (and a good job too!!


Actually, ask 10 gardeners something, and you'll get 12 answers - I'm not sure how that works, but it's a law of nature, or something!

Thank you to all of you for your excellent replies, and can I can I just nominate Hazel's reply as 'Unofficial Post of the Week'? Surely there's a word of wisdom in there for all of us? Heck, I just soooo love gardening!..g

[Feral007]

Yes, I like Hazel's 10 gardeners, one question, 12 answers (or more!) it is hard to shut gardeners up!

I'm in a different area of course, but since you asked and didn't say Only those nearby...I usually try to water in the evening. The evenings are so long, and the heat here can be very severe, and if it's windy as well...most of the things are falling over for a drink. I try to water a section at a time and it would be once a week, or twice a week at most once established.
Newly planted seedlings are the hardest to keep alive in the heat. That's why I direct sow more, it comes up and copes better - or it doesn't come up at all.

I try to grow most in the ground as containers here get so dry I always end up killing them just before or after Christmas by missing a day.

The best thing tho is using mulch. I use old lucerne hay, because it's cheap, it has some nitrogen as well as bulk, and it keeps the ground moist for much longer. Without mulch everything would look like a big stirfry in January and February. Miind you, slugs do like a good mulch as well - but not mulching doesn't get rid of them.

[Two_Sheds]

mulch. I use old lucerne hay, because it's cheap

I use lucerne (alfalfa) as a green manure, but cut it while it's green, not waiting until it's straw (yellow). The plant has most of its nutrients just before it flowers, so that's the time to cut it down and use it as a mulch

[Samuel1988]

Established plants rarely get a look in unless they are producing fruit or are peas and beans.

Out of interest, how long does it take for a newly planted plant to become 'established'?

[Samuel1988]

I read somewhere that in China the farmers traditionally water their crops at the crack of dawn as it helps to slow down any pests etc but who can get up that early on a weekend to do it when you need to?

[veggiechicken]

Out of interest, how long does it take for a newly planted plant to become 'established'?

I'd say when the plant shows signs of growth - a new leaf, a bit taller etc. Of course, I could be wrong

[sam82smith]

I found some of my pots dry out to quick during the day so i learnt a little trick as i don't have time to water in the morning. Get an empty wine or beer bottle and fill it with water then as quick as you can turn it upside down and stick it in the soil. It keeps the plants watered throughout the day then water in the evening as normal.

[gadgetman]

I'm watering every 3 days using 1x 7.5litre watering can per m²

More often will lead to weak plants in my experience as they have no need to extend their roots. The more roots the longer they should be able to survive in a hot spell.

[gadgetman]

Forgot to post, watering is done approx 7pm as garden has been in the shade from at least 4pm

[Compo72]

I water like most people in the evening

Perhaps I'm over doing as next morning .
You can still see the damp soil .

I have a few plants ready to put in the garden .
Currently they are kept in old kitchen bowls .
What I have noticed is the amount of water they take up .

[mothhawk]

Watering can depend as well, on how close or far apart the plants are. If a plant has the freedom to fill all the soil around it with roots, with no competition, it wouldn't need watering. If you gave each squash 6 square metres to itself and each brassica 2 square metres, they would probably spread roots across that whole area. But who has the room to do that? So the closer together the plants, the more competition they are in for the groundwater around them.

[Two_Sheds]

I have a few plants ready to put in the garden .
Currently they are kept in old kitchen bowls .
What I have noticed is the amount of water they take up .

Yes, plants in containers do drink a lot, because they have no access to groundwater.

Plants in the ground need less human-watering, because their roots can go deeper and reach water that you don't even know is there. Weeds are still growing despite this hot dry spell, so there's water in there

[out in the cold]

Watering can depend as well, on how close or far apart the plants are. If a plant has the freedom to fill all the soil around it with roots, with no competition, it wouldn't need watering. If you gave each squash 6 square metres to itself and each brassica 2 square metres, they would probably spread roots across that whole area. But who has the room to do that? So the closer together the plants, the more competition they are in for the groundwater around them.

Does this basically mean that within reason, you can steal a bit of space and plant a wee bit closer together than recommended, as long as you water a wee bit more?

Applying a bit of common sense, obviously...