Organic Gardener

How to Water your Garden

Author: Susan Harris

More plants are killed by watering mistakes than any other single cause, so listen up.

Water deeply but less often
Shallow watering causes roots to grow close to the surface, which makes them MORE vulnerable to drought - never a good thing.  Using a light spray is fine if you're watering tiny grass seeds, but larger plants have much deeper roots and need to be drenched.  Use a soaker wand, the "drench" setting on your hose nozzle, or no nozzle at all, simply pointing the hose end to the base of the plant.  Or for large plants like mature trees, leave your hose on a slow drip for hours.  Fortunately, mature trees can go a long time between these thorough drenchings.  A great way to tell if any plant needs watering is by using a soil-water gauge, or for shallower plants, by thinking your own pointer finger a few inches in the soil around your plants.

Careful with new plants
Plants that were planted in the late spring or during summer are in grave danger of being killed by the summer heat and drought because their roots haven't had time to get established - a far greater problem in most climates than the cold of winter - so make sure they're watered regularly (by you or by soaking rains) through their first summer.  Here's what I do: Water small plants like perennials immediately after planting, then again the next day, then 3 days later, then weekly throughout their first summer. I water new (or newly moved) shrubs and trees deeply after planting, then again in 3 days, then weekly for a month and twice a month for the remainder of their first season.  These guidelines assume no drenching rains, of course.

And here's a tip:  New plants that are "drought-tolerant" still need to be babied like this for their first season.  Even succulents like sedum need time to get settl ed in their new location.   

If you're planting at the optimal time - fall or early spring, it's best to soak them thoroughly after planting, apply mulch, and don't water again for a week.

Watering tips

• Just because it rained, that doesn't mean your plants got watered, especially if the rain was a thunderstorm.  How to know?  Insert finger in ground, or use that rain gauge.
• Group plants according to their watering needs.
• If, like me, you water by hand, hose guides help to protect your plants from decapitation by garden hose.  Some guides are even good-looking.

More special-needs plants

• The soil in containers dries out faster than in the ground, so plants in pots (especially small ones) need frequent watering. 
• Annuals as a group need more frequent watering than other plant groups. 
• And if you're growing plants under the overhang of your roof, they're not getting watered by rain and need your attention.

For more about watering, this article is great.

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