Most vegetables need about an inch of water (about 62 gallons per 100 square feet) per week to survive. In most years, in most places, rain alone won't supply enough. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Pull back any mulch, dig down 4 or 5 inches, scoop up a handful of soil and squeeze it. If the soil holds together, it's moist enough; if it crumbles in your hand, you need to water. Very sandy soil never forms a ball. If it feels gritty and sticks to your fingers, it's moist; if the particles flow through your fingers, the soil is too dry.
2. Cultivate before you water to loosen the soil; otherwise, the water will cause a crust to form on the soil's surface, preventing both water and air from reaching the roots.
3. Water in the morning. Avoid watering during the heat of the day, when a lot of water will be lost to evaporation, or in the late afternoon or evening; water that remains on stems or foliage overnight encourages fungus disease.
4. Apply water slowly and uniformly to a depth of 5 to 6 inches; you'll encourage deep roots that can seek out water at different levels in the soil. Adapt your technique to the particular needs of vegetables - flood the furrows if you grow in rows; sink a reservoir made of a perforated pipe or coffee can next to melons and squash; and locate sprinklers close to the ground for less evaporation around large leaves.
5. Install a drip irrigation system for maximum watering efficiency and ease. This will deliver water to individual plants, not to your driveway or the weeds growing in the garden path. A large nursery can supply and install the system for you. It's not cheap, but it can cut your water costs in half.
6. Accomplish similar results at a lower cost with a drip soaker: either a hose with holes punched in it or a porous hose that oozes water along its length. You simply lay the hose in place so that it reaches the base of each plant.
Tags: water will, your fingers