I WISH I had a well for watering the garden. I got into a fight with the water coop here over my bill from watering the garden last year. We had a terrible hot, dry spell at the beginning of the season and the only way to get my transplants established was to water using city water. The price per gal was perfectly acceptable, but they charged me $150 for sewer! I gave the manager a huge problem over the issue. They assume that every drop of water you use goes down the sewer pipes and there was no recognition for garden or sprinkler use! Their excuse was that the pricing policy was 'industry practice', and there was little that could be done. I was mad enough to sue, and was ready to start a nationwide push to provide an exemption form for gardeners to have their sewer use estimated throughout the year, and garden use to be exempted. The guy was fairly understanding, and instead of following through, I have swore off using city water for the garden. I'm collecting water now, and need to travel to get food grade drums. I have no good thoughts on the issue lol. Oh, and people who didn't realize the issue - like myself with the garden - have had the problem trying to fill a swimming pool.

Contact your county's Extension Service office to obtain reliable info for your region and your conditions. You can locate that office with this interactive map: http://npic.orst.edu/pest/countyext.htm

As with any plant or seed that has not been specifically screened and/or treated, there is a risk of spreading disease spores or virus if you plant them. However, that risk is similar to that of shaking someone's hand; if they don't have a disease to spread, you won't get one. The risk of spreading disease to nearby beds is small because such things are more often soilborne than airborne, so as long as you are not transporting soil from the potato containers to the nearby beds the risk is not large. However there are two more relevant cautions I have to give you. One, regular potatoes and sweet potatoes are actually not related at all, so putting a regular potato in water to sprout it is totally unnecessary. Just bury the potato and you are more likely to succeed than if you put it in water first. Second, grocery store potatoes are most often treated with a solution to prevent them from sprouting because people don't like their eating potatoes to grow sprouts. So while you might get a potato plant to grow and get a harvest from a grocery store potato, the whole thing might also just rot in the ground. All of the above are reasons why seed stores sell "seed potatoes" which are just regular potatoes which are certified disease-free and not treated to prevent sprouting.

When I do zucchini or any type of squash in the summer, I always cover the whole plant with a row cover (usually propped up with U shaped pvc) to retain moisture on the ground, keep certain bugs off them, and keep them from frying from the afternoon sun. You won't have to water as much and the plants are so much healthier. When it's hot out with no rain, I usually have to water at least once every 3 days, but it mainly depends on your soil. If it's loose soil that drains fast, you'll have to water more frequently.