Start the summer season with a new intention – to check the soil before you water your garden. Only water, if your soil needs it!
- Overwatering creates fungus and encourages sappy, pest prone foliage.
- Underwatering ergo dry soils – means minerals aren’t converted and plants are stressed. Either way soil life, the key to our whole operation – disappears.
Plants perform far better and the reduction in disease is stunning, when you water on a needs basis, not just cos its the end of the day and that’s what you always do when you get home.
The 3 best times to water are in the morning, when its cloudy or when its drizzling.
An easy test for soil moisture
- For established crops, the tall and the sprawling – test by pushing your finger in. The tip of your finger tells you whether to water or not. Yes, really! All the way down there. I know gardeners who push it out further than this to two fingers deep – go on I dare ya! (I dare myself!) If it’s moist at your fingertip let it be. If it’s dry – water.
- For newly sown seed, new transplants, shallow rooters and little guys soils needs to be moist at the topsoil. Test by squeezing a handful of soil together. Open your hand out giving it a small shake as you do. If the soil mostly holds together and a few crumbs fall away then it’s perfectly moist. If it holds its shape and you can infact shape it into something – way too wet. If nothing holds together – way too dry.
Watering for different phases of growth
Baby phase: direct sown seed/ new transplants/ newly emerged seedlings
Begin on a win by soaking the soil at planting/ sowing. Where the water goes the roots will follow. Roots that go deep bring strength and lasting power. Keep soil moist at this vulnerable stage. Never wet, just moist. This is key. Make barely moist your mantra.
A layer of mulch is really effective at making moisture last, as is humus rich soil.
Teenage phase: Pre flowering
Make ’em work for it! Create robust/ resilient plants by rolling out a bit of tough love once they can handle it – at about the 6 leaf stage. This is different for every crop, so use common sense.
Load on the mulch and push the gap between waterings as far as you dare to force their roots deep. Testing using the tip of your finger as a moisture guide begins here.
Mumma phase: flowering/ fruiting
This is a key time for consistent moisture. Pull back on the tough love, and go mother love – keep the soil moist.
I leave the topsoil to dry a tad between waterings for plants prone to fungal disease like zucchini, basil and tomato.
Exceptions To The Rule
Of course, there are! Different crops have different water needs, and understanding this is the journey to a food gardener. The differences are subtle – a little more or a little less makes alot of difference.
- Chillies develop more spice with less water
- Tomatoes are tastier by far with less water – think of the watery tasteless offerings in the supermarket.
- Squash and cucumbers, need more water than tomatoes and potatoes.
- Beans rot easily at the seed stage – water once and then leave them until germinated. Consistent moisture from flowering for best performance.
- Avoid fungus-y basil foliage by letting soils dry out between watering’s.
How much water do your plants need?
There is no rule here. Sorry guys. I know you want one. I see all sorts of measures and guides, but every plant is different, every stage of the plant growth is different, and every soil is different – how can there be one rule?
Here is a helpful table with different crops and their water needs.
Plants give you all the feedback you need – listen to what they tell you. Do all the things we’ve talked about, keep checking in with the soil, trust your gut and overtime you’ll become a pro.