>> at the moment is hard summer so it's very hot most of the time and the area is very sunny. Hard time to start anything without copious amounts of water. Heck, itâÂÂs a hard time. Period. I would strongly suggest an airy mulch such as straw instead of a flat mulch such as bark or wood chips. Both can work well, but in your high temperatures you need insulation on the soil. >> should i use those small water sprinklers or drippers at the beginning? If you can, itâÂÂs easier to control the watering with slow drip emitters and you control the amount with time. Most plants do not need to have their leaves watered, so the less water that gets sprayed, the better. Sprays can be helpful when seeding, but I use lines of drip tubing (with the holes all along its length) covered with lots of airy-type mulch to keep the surface, and thus the small seeds, from drying out. It seems to work well. I do hit it with a hose occasionally. However, end emitter drip in the desert carries the possibility of a hidden problem. With very stingy drip and good drainage, such as with "sandy compost" ground, you can have underwatering in a way. You can drip water for an entire day and although the water has gone down quite a bit there might be no trace of moisture in the soil just one foot away. Be sure to check often for what is NOT getting watered. >> how long to water each session depending on what method will be used to watering. Your times depend on your results. HowâÂÂs THAT for a wimpy answer! We have had less than an inch/25mm of rain in the entire year so far, so the drip system is everything. At times I watered cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers every single day. Now itâÂÂs every three days at 100+F/39C+. The tomato roots are huge and the plants wilt at about four days in the full sun. Most everything else gets watered along with them since the drip system has only two circuits.

Yeah, maybe consider (or extend) container planting to give more options away from the wet source. As far as wet garden beds go, my Houston-area bed has gotten soaked several times lately from storms, with standing water for a day or so. It didn't seem to bother the broccoli, kale, kohlrabi, carrots, or peas. With the exception of kale, I think the rest of those are colder weather crops, which might not do well with warmer temperatures. It's all still new to me, so I'm learning the "temperature toleration" for each as I go. I'm also not sure how an extended soak would do. Maybe you can shield and/or divert the water somehow away from your garden. Time to get creative and inventive!

Kelly I agree with Glen, your seeds got too wet and rotted. I have veggie gardened for over 25 years and have decided that veggie seeds, like those you are questioning, seem to like warmer weather and not as damp as it has been to sprout. Once sprouted the rains we get don't bother them, but excel their growing. I planted mine a week or so before you and there was more days dryer than wetter and all of the beans came up (even had some year old seed), 3/4 of the mellon seeds and pretty much all cukes came up. Now I need to be brave and thin them out - I am bad at that. Get some new seeds planted soon!

I'm not sure. The bottom layer was just cheap cypress mulch. The black mulch on top (bought before I found out wood mulch shouldn't be used with vegetable gardens) just said hardwood. I've moved the top mulch well away from all the plants. My cucumbers now have lots of leaves and even a few flowers, but they're still only a few inches tall. We'll find out I guess! Even if I don't get a good crop this year, I learned a lot and I'm having fun. I think I will be a life long gardener :)