In article ,
Jeff Thies wrote:

Billy wrote:
In article ,
Jeff Thies wrote:

Billy wrote:
snip

Jeff
I can't think of anything in a vegetable garden that would benefit from
overhead watering, and quite a few that would suffer.
Go drip (irrigation, that is).
Thanks. I had wondered about carrots and wasn't sure about greens.

Jeff

Carrots, beans, onions, garlic, potatoes, greens, lettuce, and maybe
peppers, probably wouldn't be hurt, but there wouldn't be any benefit
from overhead watering. Cucurbits, melons (including cucumbers),and
tomatoes, you may as well dance on them, as water their leaves.

So, I've noticed! Rain makes wet leaves inevitable. Have I got this
right that the mold comes from the soil. I've got a light layer of cedar
blend mulch, I've heard of the newspaper mulches. Does mulching help
with the leaf problem?


In the
fall, the mold will go why-ild. Drip is convenient,and thrifty. I turn
mine on when I get the morning paper. When I'm done with coffee and
paper, I turn it off, and I'm watering on parts of 3 lots. On the
week-end, though, I do enjoy watering by hand. I have the cane (wand) to
a long necked hand sprinkler attached to a spray gun so that I can put
the water at ground level without splattering on the leaves.

There is something satisfying about hand watering.

I've been hand watering my baby cucumbers until I rewire the lines,
being careful to avoid the early leaves. I have missed a bit, and it's
surprising to see that even a few drops affect the leaves adversely. My
veggie hating girlfriend loves cucurbits, so I'm working on it!

Thanks,
Jeff

I'm not sure how it works. I suspect that the spores are on the wind,
and that they are in a dormant stage until the plant gets wet and weak
from the cold, or they get strong from dampness and heat. Empirically
speaking, the plants appear to hold out longer, if their foliage isn't
periodically damp. There have been times when I've ignored this on
occasion, when I've found a plant water stressed from the heat. Above
100°F, about all a plant can do is to pump water for evaporative
cooling, somewhere above that, 104°F (?) it is overwhelmed. If there is
no other immediate relief, I'll hose it down. Best avoided, if possible.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arn3lF5XSUg
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html