Irrigating Your Garden

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All types of gardens — windowsill, vertical, in containers, or in the ground — will require irrigating. It’s a good idea to develop a way to irrigate your garden before you plant anything. You may start by hand-watering with a hose and later install a drip irrigation system, but your plants will be happiest if you have some method of providing them with water from the minute you put them in the soil. Below are basic irrigation tips:

Watering is fun for kids but can lead to clothes getting soaked and children either laughing hysterically or in tears. If you want to avoid this kind of chaos, have one or two children water at a time and show them where to water and how much water the plants need.

In general, germinating seeds and small transplants need soaking every day or every other day for just a few minutes. At this stage, kids are so excited about the potential of raising a plant that they tend to overwater. More mature plants with deeper roots and perennials of all kinds need less frequent, deeper irrigation depending on the season and climate.

Read the back of the seed packet or the directions that accompany a nursery seedling to find out its watering needs. If you get seeds from other gardeners, be sure to ask them about the necessary growing conditions.

Group plants with similar watering needs together. Some plants require soil that is always moist, while others prefer that soil dry out before the next deep watering.

Many plants vary in their needs for watering throughout their life cycles. For example, beans and peas are particularly susceptible if insufficiently watered when flowering, while root crops are susceptible when establishing their root systems. Talk to other gardeners about the idiosyncrasies of various plans.

Water by hand when you are watering seeds and smaller plants, and remember always to water them immediately after transplanting. Many gardeners prefer to hand-water all the time because it allows time to pay more attention to the particular needs of the plants.

If you lack time and want to save water, think about installing a drip irrigation system, especially for deeper-rooted, longer-season plants such as tomatoes, squash, flowers, and perennials. As you lay out the drip emitters (small tubes that carry water throughout the garden), put them near the plants but not right next their main stems. Making plants reach for water helps them develop more vigorous root systems.

Sprinklers can also be useful as they can reach a large area using minimal water. Unfortunately, much of the water is often lost to evaporation. Sprinklers are ideal for larger perennial beds that don’t need frequent watering. And, they are fun to run through!