How do you know when you need to water?

16 years ago

I've read in various places, including here, that the garden needs one inch of water a week. But I'm finding at this time of year (winter is gardening season down here) the soil will sometimes stay moist even if it does not get an inch a week. Sometimes the top 1/2 inch of soil is dry, and just below is moist, and when I pass the hoe, the dry is mixed in and even the top is somewhat moist again.

If I wait longer, perhaps the top one inch of soil is dry, but does this matter with a well-established full grown vegetable whose roots go deeper than one inch?

Or will veggies generally do better with one inch of water a week even if the soil is already moist?

I want to avoid stressing plants. I want good harvests. But at the same time I don't want to water when it's not necessary. Any one have advice, or general guidelines I can follow?

Thanks,

Bill

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Comments (6)

zeuspaul
16 years ago
I use a moisture meter. It was about ten bucks?

Zeuspaul
crabjoe
16 years ago
I use a finger test. If I stuck my finger in the soil and it feels moist or is visually moist, no watering needed. If it's dry, I water.
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barrie2m_(6a, central PA)
16 years ago
You didn't say which crops you are talking about Bill. My response would be crop related. And I would lean on the side of water conservation for typically better plant performance.

One main reason for siding with less water was presented at last weeks vegetable conference. The speaker reasoned that since nutrients are water soluble they will move in the soil in a soluble state. If you overwater you may just be pushing the plant nutrients down beyond the root zone.

Likely, since you didn't mention fertigation, you will not only be wasting water, you will be starving your plants for certain nutrients as the season progresses.
castorp
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks to you all for the information. I'm going to try watering less and see what happens.

Crabjoe, I've been using the finger test too. I was just wondering how deep I should let the dry surface layer get. Something I read yesterday said 1/2 to 1 inch. Would this be a good rule of thumb?

Or maybe I should just go with the moisture meter. I've never used one before.

bmoser, I'm growing pretty much a little of everything, but by veggie books only give very general info on the water requirements of specific veggies. I'll do more investigation.

Thanks.

Bill
crabjoe
16 years ago
Bill,

If everything is growing good, just keep doing whatever you're doing. And since you're in FL, you probably have to water more often then I do, with all that sand down there.

BTW, if you want to really test to see when you need to water, don't water. What I mean by this is to not water until you see wilt. If you see wilt, then do the finger test to see how dry the soil is. Once you know at what point the veggies need water, you'll know when you need to water based on the finger.
barrie2m_(6a, central PA)
16 years ago
Your method might be ok for many vegetables, crabjoe, but there are crops like tomatoes that should never be allowed to wilt if possible.

Alot has to do with the crop growth stage and most certainly your soil. I find that cucumbers can almost never get enough water from single daily waterings once they start pumping out fruits. Any crop producing heavily will need more water. Also crops with a larger vegetative canopy will transpire alot of water on a hot day. Surrounding weeds add to the mix; mulches can lessen the needs substancially. I agree with the good comments but there are so many variables that come into play with watering that it is almost an artform to do a good job at it. Fortunately most plants are forgiving if you are not too exacting at it.

How do you know when you need to water?

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How do you know when you need to water?

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