Keep your vegetable garden healthy with these watering tips.
Have you ever wondered how often you should water yourvegetable garden?
The way you water your plants is essential for them to grow and thrive.
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Spraying the whole plant can lead to problems.
Watering the leaves can promote pests and plant disease, says Shah.
Instead, water at the plants base to ensure it reaches the roots.
Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez
There are a couple of methods to water your vegetable plants.
Watering in the morning is ideal.
Theres another advantage ofwatering early, which helps roots grow deeper.
And if the leaves get wet, they have the day to dry.
A rain gauge is an easy tool that reliably measures how much water your garden received.
One way to do this is by feeling the soil with your bare hands to check moisture.
Feel the soil’s moisture content at that depth.
If the soil feels moist, it may not require immediate watering.
And she shares that if its excessively wet, then its a sign of overwatering.
Giving your vegetable garden too much water can cause the soil to be too soggy.
Overwatering can lead to root rot and fungal diseases, says Hovis.
If you underwater your vegetable garden, there can be some consequences for your plants.
Underwatering can cause wilting, loss of leaves, and reduced vegetable productivity, says Hovis.
Want an idea of how much water your vegetable plants need?
In general, vegetable gardens need about an inch of water a week, shares Shah.
