When managing a vegetable garden, there are many things to learn - how to sow seeds, how to take care of your plants, and how to prevent disease. This article will give you an overview of when to water your garden, but more importantly, it will explain why.The following content also has some reference value for raised garden beds.
Absolute best watering time: as early as possible in the morning
Morning is one of the best times to water the garden. In the morning, the temperature is lower, the wind speed is lower, and the humidity is higher. This helps the water gradually penetrate into the soil, reducing the evaporation rate, and making it easier for plants to absorb water. You will be happy to know that early morning is undoubtedly the best time to water plants (or any garden).
The reason is very simple, because the sun has not yet risen in the morning, and the temperature is still very low. Water has time to truly penetrate the soil and enter the roots of the garden without being lost by evaporation.
Watering plants early can also prevent them from being affected by extreme high temperatures at noon (the worst time to water them), because when the heat of the day really hits, the plants become full of water. This is much better than "saving" plants by watering them in the afternoon on hot days.
The second best time to water the garden: at night
If you don't like getting up early, you can water the plants at night. Evening is a good time to water the garden. At night, when the temperature is low and the plants are dormant, watering the garden helps to keep the soil moist and avoid the impact of excessive evaporation on the plants.
Although watering at the end of the day is slightly worse than watering in the morning, if you have no choice, it's definitely better than not watering at all! If you water plants at night, try not to get water on the leaves of the plants. Wet leaves are the root cause of many pathogens and diseases.
Now that you know the best time to water your garden, let's talk about a few other mistakes gardeners make when watering: avoid watering the garden too much.
Overwatering is one of the biggest mistakes gardeners make. This is easy to do, and the consequences of excessive water use can be catastrophic. Based on experience, it is a good idea to give your garden and container plants about an inch of water per week. But it's like any rule - it's broken. Some plants need a lot of water, while others hardly need water. You should study the plants in the garden and fully understand their needs.
You may need to water the garden and container plants 2-3 times a week, and if so, only water the other parts once a week. To determine if your garden needs watering, you can use a finger test: place your finger in 2 inches of soil. If there is no water at all and you find the soil very dry, you need to water the garden. If it gets wet to about an inch deep, it may not need watering.
Most importantly, regular watering is the most important rule. Try to water near the surface of the soil, not on your leaves. When you water the garden, you are trying to get it into the root system. Avoid casually pouring it onto the top of the leaf. This is just wasted water that will evaporate from your plants. You can irrigate at the best time, but doing so will lose valuable H2O.
Instead, water the soil in the root zone. This can promote root growth and watering as effectively as possible. Plus using morning time to water plants, your garden will receive proper irrigation.
Instead of watering several times a week on sunny mornings, consider deep watering once a week. This means staying in one place until you are sure that the water has gone deep into the soil. The deeper the water is, the less likely it is to evaporate from the soil, and the more it can promote the diffusion of plant roots to deeper areas, thereby developing healthy roots. The deeper the root system of a plant usually means that the plant grows better, so even using a watering stick to water the plant for a long time is often better!
The best time to water plants on hot days is before the sun warms in the morning. This provides the best irrigation for your plants.
A good rule of thumb is to water at least 2-3 times a week in hot weather. Sometimes you may want to water at a higher frequency, once or twice a day. Let your plants tell you what they need to decide how often to water them.
In the temperate season, you can water it at night, but don't water it at noon. This is the worst time to water plants because evaporation is much faster.
In short, the best time to water a garden is in the morning or evening, which is conducive to the growth and health of plants. However, the specific watering time should also be determined based on the local climate and plant needs.
