You cannot have a successful garden without water. That is the end of the post. No water, no garden. No garden, no tasty home-grown vegetables. And no, you can't rely solely on Mother Nature to water your garden, you're going to have to put in some work. Every summer brings a stretch of hot, dry days when garden irrigation is essential for success.

A lack of water can wreak havoc, even if it is just for a few days. All plants draw in nutrients through their roots and move those nutrients through the plant in a water solution...a lack of water equals a lack of nutrients.

Quick Tips/Facts

• Sandy, well-drained soil will need to be watered twice a week
• Heavier clay soils or loamy soils rich in organic matter hold moisture better so you can water only once a week
• Soil covered by mulch will retain water better, so you may need to water less frequently

Under drought stress, garden plants may produce small fruit (like undersized tomatoes or melons), or no fruit at all - which no one wants! They may become tough, fibrous, or bitter, as with cabbage or turnips. They may bolk, sending up a flower stalk and stopping growth, as with lettuce and spinach. Or, worse yet, they may wither up and die.

Check Your Soil Conditions

Do not wait until the perfect time to water (or wait for rain). Check your soil to determine if you need to water your garden. Use a spade or trowel to dig into the soil; the top inch of dirt may be dry, but the soil below should be somewhat moist. If the soil is dry two inches below the surface, it is time to water.

• Do not wait for rain to water your garden. If your plants need water today, a rain shower forecast for the day after tomorrow does not help
• If your plants are wilting or showing other signs of heat stress, water as soon as possible! This may be in the heat of the afternoon or evening
• Although watering early in the day is best, do not wait to water until plants are wilting & under drought stress

Rain, Rain, Rain

Your vegetable garden needs at least one inch of rain per week. By using a simple rain gauge or following weather reports, you can determine if your garden received one inch of rain over the last week. One inch of rain is a lot of water. For a 100-square-foot area, one inch of rain is 62 gallons of water. 

Do you know how to determine the size of your garden? Measure the length and width of the area in feet. Multiply those numbers to get the total square footage. Let's say your garden is 20 feet by 30 feet. 

• 20 x 30 = 600 square feet of space
• After a week without rain, your garden would need 372 gallons of water to be successful
• Maybe you got some rain, but only 3/8" over a week (& it even rained twice!)...you will still need to supplement your garden with the other 5/8" of rain.
  • 5/8 of 372 gallons is 232 gallons of water

Water gardens on sandy soils twice a week, supplying 1/2" of water (31 gallons per 100 square feet) each time.

Do You Know How Much Water You're Using?

A water meter on your hose is the easiest way to determine how much water you are using in your garden. But, did you know you can also use a clock and a bucket?

• Start with a bucket of known volume, like a 5-gallon pail
• Measure water into the pail & mark the level that is the actual 5-gallon line
• Turn on your hose & set it as you would water your plants. If you use a pistol grip or a sprinkler, put the attachment on the hose. 
• Use the volume of water you normally would when watering your garden
• Begin timing & find out how long it takes to fill the pail to the 5-gallon mark
• It may be a matter of seconds
• Do the test again to confirm your results
• Whatever you come up with, it will take 12 times as long to apply 62 gallons of water to a 100-square-foot area

Many Ways to Irrigate

No single method of watering or measuring water use will work for all gardens. Do what is right for your garden in your area.

• Drip, trickle, or soaker systems
• Slow flow from a hose near the base of the plants
• Sprinkler(s)

Mulch or plastic film used as a cover for low tunnels will change the way water reaches the soil and the amount of evaporation from the soil. They also make it more difficult to irrigate unless you have a drip system set up before placing the cover. Non-plastic row covers are permeable to rain or water from a hose or sprinkler.

If you are using a hand-held hose, you may underestimate how much water you have applied, so measuring the rate is extra important.

• Reduce the water outflow & place the hose at the base of the plants to allow more water to soak into the soil
• Lower volume will take longer to water - but this method is best as higher flows/volume can wash away the soil from plant roots

Plant roots need water, not the leaves. Wet leaves, especially in the spring, can cause leaf diseases. Low and slow watering will allow the water to soak into the soil and be available to plant roots. However you choose to irrigate, be sure you are applying the water slowly enough so it does not puddle and run off the soil. Sandy soil will accept water faster than heavier soils.

Too Much Water...Oops

Not enough water can cause issues in your garden, but so can too much water.

• Plants may decline & die if roots get too wet
• Roots take in oxygen from the soil to survive. If water saturates the ground, there is little to no oxygen available
• Some plants may collapse & die after a few days if flooded
• Other plants may survive too much watering, but their fruit may be bland
• Crops raised for storage, such as winter squash, rutabaga, potatoes, or onions, will not keep well after an overly wet season
• Most leaf diseases do more damage during wet seasons

You can't control the weather, so if you live in an area where you consistently get a lot of rain, you may want to look into planting your garden in raised beds.

Hopefully, we've given you a few tips and tricks to keep your garden perfectly watered all spring and summer...right up until when you collect your beautiful bounty! Looking for more garden tools or supplies? Check out our Horticulture supplies here.

Did we miss any watering tips or tricks? Drop a comment below! Still have questions? Give our experts a call today at 888-433-5275.