It’s mid-summer and we’ve had some beautiful days. Many with the sun beating down on us and our gardens. It may look like your garden, hanging baskets and pots need some attention. Do you know how to properly water your garden? There are some tips and tricks when it comes to watering your garden to keep everything looking nice and healthy.
Proper watering of our gardens is one of the most important tasks there is. If Mother Nature is providing assistance, we are looking for about an inch of water per week to keep our gardens sufficiently watered. If you have a raised bed, windy conditions can dry that out more quickly and you may need to supplement with your own watering.
You can over water your plants. If the ground becomes too saturated, then there’s no oxygen left in the soil for the plant to utilize. Not as common a problem, but something to watch for if your plants start to wilt.
You can watch our Facebook Live video if you want to hear our discussion around watering…and how I was doing it all wrong. 😉
If your plants are well rooted, they can go 10-12 days without too much attention. After that time, you will want give everything a good deep watering, 4-6 inches in the early morning. Just watering on the surface, will force the roots to the top of the soil, to draw that water in and then they will begin to struggle. If you’re not a morning person, setting up a sprinkler on a timer might be helpful. 🙂
Some hanging baskets, especially petunias and fuchsias may need to watered twice a day. Keep them moist, and don’t let them dry out. Water underneath, so the water isn’t sitting on the leaves on the plant. Water on the leaves can actually scorch if it is sitting on the leaves during the hottest part of the day. Watering your baskets and plants in the morning allows them time to dry off. Wet, damp plants, headed into humid evenings, can encourage mildew and fungal growth.
If you are growing tomatoes in a pot, you might want to set the pot in a basin or container, bigger than the pot, and put an inch or two of water in the bottom. Water your tomatoes from the top and by keeping an inch or two in the container on the bottom, this will stabilize the amount of water in your tomato pot. Managing the amount of water, and keeping the soil moist will help to discourage things like “blossom end rot” which can be caused by a calcium imbalance within the plant.
Weather conditions, types of plants and your garden specifics, all determine how much and when we should be watering. Poor watering habits can do more harm than good. A few tips and tricks can help keep all your hanging baskets, potted plants, raised beds and vegetable gardens thriving and healthy this summer for you to enjoy.
You can catch up on the last few posts in our “Grow with Me and Wile’s Lake Farm Market” series here:
How to Care for Your Plants in Pots
“Grow with Me and Wile’s Lake Farm Market” is sponsored by Wile’s Lake Farm Market located in Wileville, Nova Scotia. Their knowledgeable staff is also available to answer any questions you might have about watering your plants and garden.
