Did you ever think that she might be afraid to overwatering it?

Here is a link that might be useful: Propagating Perennials

Watering your garden for 5 or 10 minutes would not be nearly enough water, what you need to do is set the watering system you are going to use out there and find out how long it takes that system to deliver enough water to soak the soil to at least a 4 inch depth.
If installed properly the timer should not leak and the above information is necessary to set that timer so it does deliver the proper amount of water.
Is this garden well mulched, so soil moisture is better retained, "weed" growth is suppressed, the soil is kept cooler, and organic matter is added to the soil over time?

Hi,

A few thoughts. I can see where you would be confused by her mixed messages. Communication can so easily go wrong. Older people sometimes have a very good reason for why they do things but might not express themselves well, might feel others won't understand or agree with their reason, so they keep it to themselves. I am surprised that if she suggested you both do the garden together that she has no interest in going back there to see how it is doing. I wonder if something has changed? I would be talking it over with her a little more if she were my Mom, to make sure that everything is okay. Could arthritis pain be making her move around less, or could she be getting depressed and therefore having less interest in things. Does she live alone? Maybe you could turn a problem into an opportunity. She might be lonesome and you could kill two birds with one stone, plan on having lunch or dinner with her and water while you are there, if you don't want to use the timer. It's also pretty early in the season. Things could change once the tomatoes start putting on some growth and fruit. Good exercise if she can see it that way. Maybe her memory is the problem and she's afraid to let you know?

If Mom bought the water timer, then she must feel the task of keeping up with the watering is too much for her for some reason. She is afraid she is going to forget and ruin all your hard work. I agree, I wouldn't think that the timer is going to leak or use up water. I would connect it to soaker hoses placed just under the mulch. Sears has some excellent ones, that I use. This is a very acceptable solution and would probably give you both what you need in the situation. A lot less potential for conflict too. I would also invest in some quick connect attachments for the hose. You will love them and use them a long time.

Good luck :-)
pm2

Thanks for the replies, folks.

I don't think my mother has any health problems, physically or mentally really. She's in her early 60s, enjoys working in the front yard gardens and is no stranger to gardening in general. I think watering the vegetable garden is just a task she really doesn't care to do.

She works some fairly long hours as an assistant principal at an urban middle school - a job she really doesn't like sometimes. She has other things to do around the house along with school stuff, and often just wants to get home and go to bed. Fortunately retirement isn't too far off. She has regular visits and outings with family and friends.

So far as the proper amount of water goes - I decided late last season that I wasn't gonna worry too much about creating perfect garden conditions anymore. I tried to get over there to water when there hadn't been any rain for several days (I became a doppler addict), hoped for an inch of rain per week and put down lots of mulch, but I realized it wasn't worth it to be too concerned about a garden I can only tend once or twice per week. Still ended up with more tomatoes than we could use or give away, so it's cool.

I've decided to give the watering timer a shot. There's a hill next to the garden and I think I'll try staking one of those loud machine-gun type sprinklers on it at an angle that will hopefully cover the garden nicely. At first I figured on one of the oscillating bar sprinklers that kids jump through, but I read the 'impulse' sprinklers don't need as much water pressure to operate.

As an aside; I stopped by these forums pretty regular last year, but am still fairly new to posting, and vegetable gardening for that matter. I should try to post some pictures of the garden this year.

Thanks again, and happy gardenings, everybody