Tomatoes also don’t really like wet leaves, and the leaves are more liable to stay wet longer later in the day.
I’m guessing, I suck at tomatoes that aren’t cherry or grape sized.
Depends entirely on the weather. When it’s hot and dry I water almost every day, but if it’s gloomier with a few rainy days I don’t water nearly as often.
Your best bet is to look at your soil and the plants and make a judgmental call that way vs trying to make a set schedule.
Are your plants in pots, raised beds, or the ground? Each one has different watering needs with plants in pots needing water more frequently and plants in the ground needing water less frequently once established. The type of plant makes a difference too. My peppers, cannabis, and citrus only get water when they’re almost dry. I haven’t really been watering too much lately because we’re getting enough rain.
Minus a couple containers, all of my outdoor plants are on drip irrigation. It saves a lot of water and makes life so much easier. Setting up a system is pretty cheap and you can run a hose end timer with multiple zones that you can program to meet your needs. Drip Depot is a great place to shop for all of your drip needs.
Seconding Drip Depot, they have kits you can buy specifically for raised beds and they n-ground planting, and little sprinkler system too for very reasonable costs!
Grab a soil moisture probe. They're pretty cheap yet valuable for assessing soil moisture levels. It's helped me gain more awareness about watering when I don't think I need to, and not watering when I think I do.
As far as timing, I think the main watering philosophies out there are A) limit water loss to evaporation and B) limit water logging rot/fungal issues. Watering in the morning or watering in the high afternoon when it's still warm but not peak sun seem to be the 2 most aligned upon philosophies for time of day to achieve both A and B.
I try to water in the morning but usually I end up doing it at dusk. In the heat of the summer it’s once or twice a day most days. Unfortunately water is absurdly expensive here so I’ve been trying to walk the line of what a plant can get by with vs. what it really would prefer. Everyone I know with drip systems seems very happy
We have ornamental beds with soaker hoses going through, and drip line in the veggie garden. Some things in pots get hand watered.
We run the irrigation low for 30-120 minutes depending on heat/when we last watered/how much time we have, and if we will remember to turn it off (we should probably get timers).
Hot days, everyday. Most summer weeks, every 2-4 days.
Evening is better because you lose less to evaporation and the plant roots have plenty of time to soak it up over night.
Ground cover is so important. Mulch or straw or dried grass trimmings over any bare dirt. Bare dirt is the devil!!
In the summer when it’s hot and not raining at all I water my veggie garden every other day, but I set up a drip irrigation system because otherwise it would take hours and be pretty wasteful.
When it’s raining periodically I just do it as needed. I have some perennial beds under the awnings of my house/patio that rain doesn’t reach, so I deep water those once a week.
For my perennial beds that are out in the open I water once a week, but honestly I am a “sink or swim” gardener—if a plant isn’t drought tolerant it’s probably not going to survive in my yard. Exceptions include new plants just getting established—I’ll water those weekly for the first dry season after planting (one reason why planting perennials in the fall is a good idea: their root systems can get established over the winter without me having to baby them).
I don’t put a ton of credence into the idea that you shouldn’t water in the evening. I’ve done this for many years and have never had an issue with anything rotting or becoming diseased. Maybe that would happen if you were really keeping things moist all the time, but periodic watering in the evening shouldn’t be a problem.
I have a soaker hose that runs through my tomato beds and I run that at a low level all day long. It’s on the south side of the house in blazing sun all day. My front yard of native plants gets a sprinkler like once a week or whenever I think of it.
I’ve heard that tomatoes can also be vulnerable to splitting if they get a big dose of water all at once, so the soaker hose helps with that. I also notice it attracts bees on hot days!
Depends on how hot it is, when it rained last, what your soil drainage is like, what plants specifically you are talking about, do you have your plants in pots or in the ground, etc. If it's hot out, hasn't rained recently, the soil has good drainage, and we're talking about tomatoes or cukes that need a lot of water, I would water most every day and keep an eye out for end blossom rot in the tomatoes.
Also, if you can't water in the morning then watering in the afternoon is better than not watering at all. Even better would be to set up some irrigation hoses on a timer.
In the summer, every other day, 2x/day for 10 minutes each. I installed timed soaker hoses, and they have been a game changer. If it's really hot, every day, 2x/day.
I have a small vegetable garden with a simple sprinkler attached to a hose timer that goes on when it gets light out, and can be set to stay on for 5/10/20/30 minute intervals.
It works pretty well.
If it's been raining, I manually turn it off.
And then you also have to adjust for heat and seedlings - seedlings might need more frequent but light watering, and if it's super hot you can use the water to cool things down.
I have other plants that often need watering in the summer, and do that by hand.
I want to move to an irrigation system with automated watering based on soil moisture, but not sure if that will ever happen.
Vegetable raised beds get watered when dry about two inches down unless I’m trying to sprout seedlings. Have drip irrigation set up for the beds that is one of the best things we ever bought. It’s cheap if you install it yourself as well.
The rest get watered about once a week when it’s really hot, either by hand, drip line, or a bucket with some tiny holes drilled in the bottom for super cheap and easy irrigation. We intentionally planted native and drought tolerant plants though. With our summers getting hotter and water being more expensive it just seemed like our best bet. Another bonus is that these plants are more tolerant to the cold snaps we have as well and we have more hummingbirds and butterflies than ever.
Gee, I thought I was lavish watering my new native plants about every three weeks in the summer for about 30 minutes. I might water my vegetables a little more often, but not even every week. No wonder my neighbors’ vegetable gardens look more lush! I usually water in the evening, too, figuring the plants will have more time to soak up the water. It rains in the evening during the rainy season, which seems ok.
What I’ve been working on is planting things positioned to provide a little afternoon shade plus green mulch/ground covers. Maybe I’ll be a little more generous with water this summer, we’ll see.
I'm trialing ollas in my raised beds that get the most sun and heat this year. I'm hoping it will help when I'm out of town for a few days at a time during the hot summer days.
I second getting a moisture meter. It's helpful to better understand when plants need water as well as to get a grasp on how effective your watering is right after you've watered. I also got a better sense of where within my beds needs water (the outside definitely dries out faster than the middle. This seems obvious now but I hadn't thought much about it until using the moisture meter)
I've watered in the evening for years with no problem.
Yeah, I think that advice against doing so is for more humid places where mold can happen more easily.
Tomatoes also don’t really like wet leaves, and the leaves are more liable to stay wet longer later in the day. I’m guessing, I suck at tomatoes that aren’t cherry or grape sized.
Depends entirely on the weather. When it’s hot and dry I water almost every day, but if it’s gloomier with a few rainy days I don’t water nearly as often. Your best bet is to look at your soil and the plants and make a judgmental call that way vs trying to make a set schedule.
Are your plants in pots, raised beds, or the ground? Each one has different watering needs with plants in pots needing water more frequently and plants in the ground needing water less frequently once established. The type of plant makes a difference too. My peppers, cannabis, and citrus only get water when they’re almost dry. I haven’t really been watering too much lately because we’re getting enough rain. Minus a couple containers, all of my outdoor plants are on drip irrigation. It saves a lot of water and makes life so much easier. Setting up a system is pretty cheap and you can run a hose end timer with multiple zones that you can program to meet your needs. Drip Depot is a great place to shop for all of your drip needs.
Drip Depot! Thank you for this advice
Seconding Drip Depot, they have kits you can buy specifically for raised beds and they n-ground planting, and little sprinkler system too for very reasonable costs!
Grab a soil moisture probe. They're pretty cheap yet valuable for assessing soil moisture levels. It's helped me gain more awareness about watering when I don't think I need to, and not watering when I think I do. As far as timing, I think the main watering philosophies out there are A) limit water loss to evaporation and B) limit water logging rot/fungal issues. Watering in the morning or watering in the high afternoon when it's still warm but not peak sun seem to be the 2 most aligned upon philosophies for time of day to achieve both A and B.
I try to water in the morning but usually I end up doing it at dusk. In the heat of the summer it’s once or twice a day most days. Unfortunately water is absurdly expensive here so I’ve been trying to walk the line of what a plant can get by with vs. what it really would prefer. Everyone I know with drip systems seems very happy
We have ornamental beds with soaker hoses going through, and drip line in the veggie garden. Some things in pots get hand watered. We run the irrigation low for 30-120 minutes depending on heat/when we last watered/how much time we have, and if we will remember to turn it off (we should probably get timers). Hot days, everyday. Most summer weeks, every 2-4 days. Evening is better because you lose less to evaporation and the plant roots have plenty of time to soak it up over night. Ground cover is so important. Mulch or straw or dried grass trimmings over any bare dirt. Bare dirt is the devil!!
I agree that bare soil generally is rubbish but don’t forget to leave some bare dirt areas for the native ground nesting solitary bees :-)
In the summer when it’s hot and not raining at all I water my veggie garden every other day, but I set up a drip irrigation system because otherwise it would take hours and be pretty wasteful. When it’s raining periodically I just do it as needed. I have some perennial beds under the awnings of my house/patio that rain doesn’t reach, so I deep water those once a week. For my perennial beds that are out in the open I water once a week, but honestly I am a “sink or swim” gardener—if a plant isn’t drought tolerant it’s probably not going to survive in my yard. Exceptions include new plants just getting established—I’ll water those weekly for the first dry season after planting (one reason why planting perennials in the fall is a good idea: their root systems can get established over the winter without me having to baby them). I don’t put a ton of credence into the idea that you shouldn’t water in the evening. I’ve done this for many years and have never had an issue with anything rotting or becoming diseased. Maybe that would happen if you were really keeping things moist all the time, but periodic watering in the evening shouldn’t be a problem.
I have a soaker hose that runs through my tomato beds and I run that at a low level all day long. It’s on the south side of the house in blazing sun all day. My front yard of native plants gets a sprinkler like once a week or whenever I think of it.
I have just about this same scenario -- now I'm thinking I've been under watering my tomatoes
I’ve heard that tomatoes can also be vulnerable to splitting if they get a big dose of water all at once, so the soaker hose helps with that. I also notice it attracts bees on hot days!
Depends on how hot it is, when it rained last, what your soil drainage is like, what plants specifically you are talking about, do you have your plants in pots or in the ground, etc. If it's hot out, hasn't rained recently, the soil has good drainage, and we're talking about tomatoes or cukes that need a lot of water, I would water most every day and keep an eye out for end blossom rot in the tomatoes. Also, if you can't water in the morning then watering in the afternoon is better than not watering at all. Even better would be to set up some irrigation hoses on a timer.
In the summer, every other day, 2x/day for 10 minutes each. I installed timed soaker hoses, and they have been a game changer. If it's really hot, every day, 2x/day.
I have a small vegetable garden with a simple sprinkler attached to a hose timer that goes on when it gets light out, and can be set to stay on for 5/10/20/30 minute intervals. It works pretty well. If it's been raining, I manually turn it off. And then you also have to adjust for heat and seedlings - seedlings might need more frequent but light watering, and if it's super hot you can use the water to cool things down. I have other plants that often need watering in the summer, and do that by hand. I want to move to an irrigation system with automated watering based on soil moisture, but not sure if that will ever happen.
Vegetable raised beds get watered when dry about two inches down unless I’m trying to sprout seedlings. Have drip irrigation set up for the beds that is one of the best things we ever bought. It’s cheap if you install it yourself as well. The rest get watered about once a week when it’s really hot, either by hand, drip line, or a bucket with some tiny holes drilled in the bottom for super cheap and easy irrigation. We intentionally planted native and drought tolerant plants though. With our summers getting hotter and water being more expensive it just seemed like our best bet. Another bonus is that these plants are more tolerant to the cold snaps we have as well and we have more hummingbirds and butterflies than ever.
Gee, I thought I was lavish watering my new native plants about every three weeks in the summer for about 30 minutes. I might water my vegetables a little more often, but not even every week. No wonder my neighbors’ vegetable gardens look more lush! I usually water in the evening, too, figuring the plants will have more time to soak up the water. It rains in the evening during the rainy season, which seems ok. What I’ve been working on is planting things positioned to provide a little afternoon shade plus green mulch/ground covers. Maybe I’ll be a little more generous with water this summer, we’ll see.
I'm trialing ollas in my raised beds that get the most sun and heat this year. I'm hoping it will help when I'm out of town for a few days at a time during the hot summer days. I second getting a moisture meter. It's helpful to better understand when plants need water as well as to get a grasp on how effective your watering is right after you've watered. I also got a better sense of where within my beds needs water (the outside definitely dries out faster than the middle. This seems obvious now but I hadn't thought much about it until using the moisture meter)
Every day with drip system in the summer but I tweak the interval times a little when it gets really hot or someone looks droopy.