When to water?

[Matthew Reed]

If I dig down 3-4 inches, the soil appears moist. Should I wait until it's
dry to a depth of several inches before watering? My garden is doing well,
even my beans are doing good now that the weather is warm. If anything, I'm
overwatering. My nieghbors say that our wells will run dry in August, and I
will have to switch to city water to keep plants alive. At that time I will
need to cut watering to a minimum while still maintaining health and
productivity.

So - what is a good indication of the need to water? Wait until plants start
to wilt? Wait until soil is dry at a depth of several inches. Water twice a
week, needed or not?

[Jangchub]

On Tue, 11 Jul 2006 14:54:31 -0700, "Matthew Reed" <nospam at zootal
dot com nospam> wrote:

>If I dig down 3-4 inches, the soil appears moist. Should I wait until it's
>dry to a depth of several inches before watering? My garden is doing well,
>even my beans are doing good now that the weather is warm. If anything, I'm
>overwatering. My nieghbors say that our wells will run dry in August, and I
>will have to switch to city water to keep plants alive. At that time I will
>need to cut watering to a minimum while still maintaining health and
>productivity.
>
>So - what is a good indication of the need to water? Wait until plants start
>to wilt? Wait until soil is dry at a depth of several inches. Water twice a
>week, needed or not?
>

Of course containers need almost daily watering, but I only water in
the ground when I first see the start of a wilt on the least drought
tolerant plant in the garden. In "general" one inch per week is
ideal, but not always necessary.

[betsyb]

I watch the leaves, they will tell you.

--
I am beginning to wonder how four years
with no Governor in NJ would be?

Betsy
"Matthew Reed" <nospam at zootal dot com nospam> wrote in message
...
> If I dig down 3-4 inches, the soil appears moist. Should I wait until it's
> dry to a depth of several inches before watering? My garden is doing well,
> even my beans are doing good now that the weather is warm. If anything,
> I'm overwatering. My nieghbors say that our wells will run dry in August,
> and I will have to switch to city water to keep plants alive. At that time
> I will need to cut watering to a minimum while still maintaining health
> and productivity.
>
> So - what is a good indication of the need to water? Wait until plants
> start to wilt? Wait until soil is dry at a depth of several inches. Water
> twice a week, needed or not?
>

[sg_fla]

I agree. It's actually good for plants to get to the "soft wilt" stage
before you water. When they first show signs of wilt, water them.
They will grow to be stronger plants.


betsyb wrote:
> I watch the leaves, they will tell you.
>
> --
> I am beginning to wonder how four years
> with no Governor in NJ would be?
>
> Betsy
> "Matthew Reed" <nospam at zootal dot com nospam> wrote in message
> ...
> > If I dig down 3-4 inches, the soil appears moist. Should I wait until it's
> > dry to a depth of several inches before watering? My garden is doing well,
> > even my beans are doing good now that the weather is warm. If anything,
> > I'm overwatering. My nieghbors say that our wells will run dry in August,
> > and I will have to switch to city water to keep plants alive. At that time
> > I will need to cut watering to a minimum while still maintaining health
> > and productivity.
> >
> > So - what is a good indication of the need to water? Wait until plants
> > start to wilt? Wait until soil is dry at a depth of several inches. Water
> > twice a week, needed or not?
> >

[Matthew Reed]

Even when plants like squash or cukes or corn are producing?


"sg_fla" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>I agree. It's actually good for plants to get to the "soft wilt" stage
> before you water. When they first show signs of wilt, water them.
> They will grow to be stronger plants.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Those plants will do fine. But, it's good not to let tomatoes go through
extremes - very dry soil followed by lots of water. It can lead to cracks in
the skin. Would it be practical for you to use a watering can or rain wand?
http://www.dramm.com/html/main.isx?sub=18

These tools put the water only where you need it.


"Matthew Reed" <nospam at zootal dot com nospam> wrote in message
...
> Even when plants like squash or cukes or corn are producing?
>
>
> "sg_fla" > wrote in message
> ups.com...
>>I agree. It's actually good for plants to get to the "soft wilt" stage
>> before you water. When they first show signs of wilt, water them.
>> They will grow to be stronger plants.
>
>

[TQ]

"Matthew Reed" <nospam at zootal dot com nospam> wrote in message
...
> If I dig down 3-4 inches, the soil appears moist. Should I wait until it's
> dry to a depth of several inches before watering? My garden is doing well,
> even my beans are doing good now that the weather is warm. If anything,
I'm
> overwatering. My nieghbors say that our wells will run dry in August, and
I
> will have to switch to city water to keep plants alive. At that time I
will
> need to cut watering to a minimum while still maintaining health and
> productivity.
>
> So - what is a good indication of the need to water? Wait until plants
start
> to wilt? Wait until soil is dry at a depth of several inches. Water twice
a
> week, needed or not?

Short answer: it depends.

Shallow rooted plants, such as peppers and beans won/t appreciate having the
top two inches dry out.

Corn roots OTOH, go much deeper, but corn likes 1-2" / wk following
pollenation when the ears are filling.

Melons, strawberries, and brambles like water while their expanding, but not
while they/re ripening b/c it dilutes their sugar content.

Tomato likes an even water supply, especially while ripening to minimize
splitting.

Best overall advice is to apply mulch and irrigate in the morning to
supplement rainfall so that your plants get ~1" / wk. Like me, you/re on
well water, so drip irrigation is the best method.

[Zootal]

"TQ" <ToweringQs AT adelphia.net> wrote in message
...
> "Matthew Reed" <nospam at zootal dot com nospam> wrote in message
> ...
>> If I dig down 3-4 inches, the soil appears moist. Should I wait until
>> it's
>> dry to a depth of several inches before watering? My garden is doing
>> well,
>> even my beans are doing good now that the weather is warm. If anything,
> I'm
>> overwatering. My nieghbors say that our wells will run dry in August, and
> I
>> will have to switch to city water to keep plants alive. At that time I
> will
>> need to cut watering to a minimum while still maintaining health and
>> productivity.
>>
>> So - what is a good indication of the need to water? Wait until plants
> start
>> to wilt? Wait until soil is dry at a depth of several inches. Water twice
> a
>> week, needed or not?
>
> Short answer: it depends.
>
> Shallow rooted plants, such as peppers and beans won/t appreciate having
> the
> top two inches dry out.
>
> Corn roots OTOH, go much deeper, but corn likes 1-2" / wk following
> pollenation when the ears are filling.
>
> Melons, strawberries, and brambles like water while their expanding, but
> not
> while they/re ripening b/c it dilutes their sugar content.
>
> Tomato likes an even water supply, especially while ripening to minimize
> splitting.
>
> Best overall advice is to apply mulch and irrigate in the morning to
> supplement rainfall so that your plants get ~1" / wk. Like me, you/re on
> well water, so drip irrigation is the best method.
>

Ahhh...did not know that about peppers/beans. Might explain why some of my
beans did not set fruit. And why my peppers are growing slowly and for the
most part just sitting there. So are my Eggplants. My tomatoes and
tomatillas are exploding - I had no idea tomatillas would grow so big! And
my first planting of corn is just now sending up tassels, plants are 6' tall
and growing - I figure they will hit 8' or so. Appreciate the water
advice -)