An age-old question, one that many gardeners, especially beginners, tend to go back and forth on: when is the best time of day to water my veggie garden?
The answer… (drumroll please!)is in the morning, ideally before 9am. Why? Because when you water in the earlier part of the morning the water will be able to soak deeper into the soil due to less evaporation in the cooler part of the day. The water will also hydrate your veggies throughout the hot of the day.
This applies to watering with a garden hose or sprinklers, not irrigation systems.
You may be tempted to water your plants in the afternoon when they look wilted, but really the plant is just protecting itself! Tomato plants are a perfect example of that says Pat.
“Tomatoes plants by their nature in the hot sun fold themselves over to protect themselves, then people start dumping water on them in the afternoon. It’s always better for the tomato plant if you look at it in the morning and it looks like it’s starting to wilt-that’s when you water it.”
The major downside to watering in the afternoon is you just end up wasting a lot of water (and time.) During the hotter times of the day, water is much more likely to evaporate quicker before really soaking into the roots.
If you’re not a morning person, watering plants in the evening won’t hurt. The main problem with watering in the evening is plants don’t have the whole day to soak up the water. With the foliage being damp all night long, your plants will be at a higher risk for fungus and diseases.
Note: If you do decide to water before/after dinner, just make sure you give your garden enough hours to soak in the water before nightfall.
There you have it, one of the first things to do in the morning is treat yourself and your plants to some good old fashion H2O.
(And like always, if your wife or grandma says differently-throw this out the widow and listen to her instead!)
For more Home and Garden tips, check out Saturday’s highlights below:
https://omny.fm/shows/home-garden/home-and-garden-show-6-20-20
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