Watering your garden in the warm months

Hello all -

As we enjoy the warm days full of light and increasing garden greenery, I think this is a good time to have a discussion about watering.

You don't need a very green thumb at all to be able to list watering as a basic gardening chore. It is common for new gardeners to think of watering as it is shown in movies or TV - light overhead watering that lasts about two minutes. Novices tend to lightly water their plots at least once a week, sometimes more.

Unfortunately, frequent shallow watering doesn't accomplish very much other than use up water. A few minutes of watering won't put down enough water to soak the first few inches of soil, and will really only distribute enough to evaporate or osmose deeper and farther away from your plants' tender, thirsty roots. According to Adam, one of our garden workers, "The problem with light watering (just wetting down the top of the soil) is that it promotes shallow root development which in turn requires more watering and a lot of the water evaporates before it is accessible for the plants".

Instead of light watering, optimize your time and resources by planning to only water when you really need to, and then water DEEPLY. "Stick your finger in the ground and if it's moist 1/2 down no water is necessary," explains Adam. "If it's dry an inch down then it's time to take the time to water." Look out for these conditions after a week or more without rain.

Watering deeply is the best practice which can be done lots of ways (hand watering, soaker hoses), all of which water the plant's root zones, not the plants themselves or the soil surface. Thorough watering also takes considerable time, as the water is slow to soak down deep into the soil. If watering is indicated by the soil conditions, don't plan to get in and get out quickly. Be patient, and really take the time to soak the soil. 
 
Adam points out, however, that "the trick to watering is to prevent the need to water". This can be done easily and cheaply through the use of mulch. He advises putting down mulch (including leaf mulch or straw) around plants at least 3 - 4 inches thick, and an additional 3 - 4 inches after the first deposit of mulch has settled (ideally, a final total of 6 - 8 inches). You can do this serially as the plants grow up, putting down the first layer as soon as the first true green leaves of your spinach and carrots poke up out of the soil, and the second at the end of Spring when transplants go in and the plants are more developed. Take care not to cover your plants, but of course pile leaf mulch on top of weeds to your heart's content. Leaf and straw are also great mulch for paths, and can be laid down even thicker. "If you do this," counsels Adam, "unless we have an extreme drought year, you'll only water once a month... at most". Sounds good to me.
 
Only water fruiting plants during flowering and fruit set. When watering fruiting plants, don't lazily water overhead; it's not good for the plant foliage to remain wet. Instead, water at the base of the plant, with an eye on soaking the roots. Adam's final word of wisdom: NEVER water ripening fruit, no matter how long it has been since the rain. "In fact, if it's going to rain on your ripening fruit it might be best to pick it a little early and finish ripening inside. Ripening fruit can split (like tomatoes), go mushy (raspberries), go mealy (melons) and flavor gets watered down (all fruit) if the plant gets an influx of water."

Regardless of how you choose to water, be mindful of garden rules and neighborliness. We have already had an incident this year involving a sprinkler left on overnight in the gardens. While we understand that deeply watering is a long, involved, tedious task, we have to insist that you be present for it. If you choose to use a sprinkler to water, you must remain in the garden to oversee it and turn it off when ready. We do really prefer that people not use this approach; sprinklers may be great for your lawn at home, but at EHCG they are rather wasteful, sending water great distances with no regard for whether it lands somewhere helpful (carrot roots) or harmful (the paths already populated by grass and all manner of weeds). 

Please also consider your neighbors with whom you share access to a spigot. There are probably at least 6 other plots that call your spigot their own, and it is impolite to monopolize the shared water source for very long. Finally, when finished watering, be certain to shut off the water flow completely, to avoid water dripping into the path. Even a minor drip adds up over several minutes or, worse, hours, wasting water and encouraging weed growth in the path. If you find a spigot that just won't shut off, email Gretel the registrar right away (ehgardens@rso.wisc.edu) and we will get it sorted out.

Thanks for dropping by the blog, and don't hesitate to send us your questions and comments.

Happy gardening!