How much should you water your veg

[Cameron91]

How much would you suggest watering your veg or fruit.

I have a few veg plants that aren’t doing very well and am new to this so any help would be greatly appreciated. I am starting to see leaves looking like they are dying and currently watering once a day at evening and once a week tomato feed.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

The commonest error with watering is only getting the surface wet, easily done if you are watering daily. If you really soak the ground so the water penetrates deeply you will need to do it much less frequently, and the roots will be encouraged to grow deeper rather than spreading out on the surface. Drying happens through the surface, moisture will be drawn up through the soil, if it is damp eighteen inches down it will be damp to within an inch or two of the surface even if the surface dries out. Better to flood it every two or three days than wet the surface with a sprinkler daily.

 

[pepper]

It also depends on what you are growing. For example the root system on a tomato plants has a much deeper root system then lettuce or cucumbers. Cucumbers do have a tap root but most of the roots are just below the surface. So some plants can go much longer without water then others because of deep roots and are better off getting a lot of water to soak down into the soil. Shallow rooted plants don't. But they do require watering more often. You can grow lettuce in a 6 inch deep container and that's plenty deep enough for their roots. A tomato plants needs much deeper.

 

[Susan BBPM]

The commonest error with watering is only getting the surface wet, easily done if you are watering daily. If you really soak the ground so the water penetrates deeply you will need to do it much less frequently, and the roots will be encouraged to grow deeper rather than spreading out on the surface. Drying happens through the surface, moisture will be drawn up through the soil, if it is damp eighteen inches down it will be damp to within an inch or two of the surface even if the surface dries out. Better to flood it every two or three days than wet the surface with a sprinkler daily.

This is good to know.

I'm guilty of watering too much. The compost layer on my raised beds dries out very quickly. The clay underneath is still moist but I worry that the roots of my newly planted seedlings aren't going down deep enough.

Are you saying I just need to have faith that the moisture will be wicked up?

 

[pepper]

If unsure I would get a moisture meter to know for sure what the moisture content is below the dry top layer of soil, especially if you have seedlings and are unsure. When they start wilting from thirst it's a sign that they are literally dying of thirst. That's not healthy for a plant to thrive.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Young plants with immature root systems will soon let you know if they are not finding enough water, they droop, then you water and they stand back up. Until then have faith. If they are standing up and looking cheerful, no worries.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

If unsure I would get a moisture meter to know for sure what the moisture content is below the dry top layer of soil, especially if you have seedlings and are unsure. When they start wilting from thirst it's a sign that they are literally dying of thirst. That's not healthy for a plant to thrive.

You Yanks and your machines. drooping a bit is not dying, and it can actually help the plant thrive, stimulating it to produce a better root system. Of course you keep an eye on them and don't let it go too far, but a moisture level maintained at exactly the 'right' level at all times is unnatural in the extreme.

 

[pepper]

You Yanks and your machines. drooping a bit is not dying, and it can actually help the plant thrive, stimulating it to produce a better root system. Of course you keep an eye on them and don't let it go too far, but a moisture level maintained at exactly the 'right' level at all times is unnatural in the extreme.

I'm a canuck not a yank lol. But it's 2023, even professional gardeners usually grow now with help from technology. If a plant is droopy from thirst it means it is dying of thirst. I didn't say it is dead but obviously if left without water will die.. drooping is the first sign it is not happy and thriving. I don't think it's extreme, it's gardening. To each their own but I like my plants to thrive not just survive.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

And I say it will help them thrive, not taken to extremes, of course not, but they are like any living thing, us included. Having to strive a bit sometimes gives you strength, the kid who gets everything on a plate is wet and weak.

 

[pepper]

And I say it will help them thrive, not taken to extremes, of course not, but they are like any living thing, us included. Having to strive a bit sometimes gives you strength, the kid who gets everything on a plate is wet and weak.

Yes I totally agree but we are talking about plants not people lol. But like I say to each their own.

 

[Susan BBPM]

And that is an interesting topic in itself.

Do you make plants weak and vulnerable by 'molycoddling' them?

Or is it more a case of natural selection - any seedling that survives your rough handling will survive anything?

One thing that supports Peppers argument is the notion of 'growing days'. A plant is said to take X number of days to reach maturity. But that's days with acceptable growing conditions. So for example, put your plants out too early they can get checked by the cold - they not only don't grow that day, but can take weeks to recover and start growing again.

Yet for some reason my gut is with you on the issue of watering Oliver. I think that's perhaps down to keeping the plants less well watered forces them to grow deeper roots? It might take them longer to reach maturity, but they'll be more likely to survive future droughts.

So, unless you can guarantee them perfect conditions for life you're best introducing them to some tough conditions early on in life to make them stronger?

 

[pepper]

And that is an interesting topic in itself.

Do you make plants weak and vulnerable by 'molycoddling' them?

Or is it more a case of natural selection - any seedling that survives your rough handling will survive anything?

One thing that supports Peppers argument is the notion of 'growing days'. A plant is said to take X number of days to reach maturity. But that's days with acceptable growing conditions. So for example, put your plants out too early they can get checked by the cold - they not only don't grow that day, but can take weeks to recover and start growing again.

Yet for some reason my gut is with you on the issue of watering Oliver. I think that's perhaps down to keeping the plants less well watered forces them to grow deeper roots? It might take them longer to reach maturity, but they'll be more likely to survive future droughts.

So, unless you can guarantee them perfect conditions for life you're best introducing them to some tough conditions early on in life to make them stronger?

It really depends on what you want in the outcome. From what I constantly research people who grow award winning veggies and flowers etc take epic care of their plants and that's what makes them win awards. If someone just wants a simple average looking harvest then not much care is needed to do that. I am somewhere in the middle depending on the plant.