watering advice please

[garlicgirl06]

hi everyone. i hope you're all experiencing an upturn in weather conditions & have your plans for the year underway.

I'm struggling with when to water which plant and how much,etc. It's taken me weeks to ask this cos i do feel a bit of a numpty - I haven't been able to find a thread about it which probably means for most people it's not a concern. I appreciate it's probably a very complex area taking in to account all the variables so if anyone can even point me in the area of a book or website it would be much appreciated. I have the book by Bob Flowerdew but even following that to the letter just the sowing/planting i have still found i'm overwatering.

As a guide i have pots & thought the soil very dry looking with a very crumbly top 5mm+ & watered but then i get white mould within 2 days.

And for things that are planted, all in raised beds, i am feeling the soil looks very very dry but the moisture meter is saying off the chart wet. We've had 3days now without rain and i'm really unsure of picking up a watering can. I have read somewhere that watering is unneccesary at this time of year due to the reserves in the soil stored up over winter. Is that correct, and if so when should i begin watering?

My main concerns i would have to say are the soft fruit bed and the dwarf fruit trees but i'm also thinking about the square foot beds - what on earth do you do with 9 beds in one when you could have 9 different plants with different requirements?

[Davyburns]

with me its always been trial and error, I hope you get a definitive answer!!

[Newton]

You need to curtail your feelings and trust your moisture reading. You have the technology already. With regard to the sq ft garden I suppose it would make sense to grow plants with similar thirst requirements.

Good luck....

[zazen999]

Pots and modules; if they feel light then water. If not, don't.

Raised beds: will usually survive all but the hottest weather without watering but if you must, dig your finger in as deep as you can and you will find out how much water is below the ground. Unless you have very sandy soil, there should be enough in there to last after 3 days.

The more you water, the shallower the roots and the weaker the plants.

I water my raised beds only when the plants start to droop in the hottest weather; and if rain is due I don't even water them in when I transplant.

[Two_Sheds]

Pots and modules; if they feel light then water. If not, don't.

I'll echo Zazen, and add that I water all pots from the bottom, ie stand them in a tray of water to have a drink. Watering the surface soil encourages mould, shallow roots & fungus gnats

In the ground, I water a plant in while planting it, then I leave it alone. I'll water seedlings daily for a few days if the weather is dry, because I have sandy soil which doesn't retain water

[Two_Sheds]

I haven't been able to find a thread about it which probably means for most people it's not a concern. ... you could have 9 different plants with different requirements?

It gets asked all the time, you're not alone

Plants sort themselves out - having 9 different plants in a bed isn't so different to having 9 different plants in a field, or a forest or whatever. They take what they need

[Potstubsdustbins]

Over the years I have come to realise that over watering kills more plants than not giving enough water.

If you follow the advice of Zazen & 2 Sheds you won't go far wrong.

Colin

[garlicgirl06]

thank you

you really are a lovely crowd.

Potstubsdustbins don't worry i'll be following the advice here. I'm hugely relieved that i don't have to be fretting about it any more.

I look forward to a day when i can come here & offer advice rather than just ask for it - in the meantime my friends, HUGE thanks.