Watering the Garden Suggestions.

I had a neighbour years ago who would water his garden with a sprinkler for so long that I would have to ring him up at about 11pm at night to remind him to turn off his water sprinkler. I see people doing this still today.
Some people don’t realise that the gardens only need some water and should not be over watered.

One reason is that too much water causes rot.
There could be so much water on the roots that they start to rot, or on the stem or leaves, and this could cause disease and other issues.
Heat + Lots of Water = Rot, disease, mold and so on.

Another reason not to over water the garden is that we can basically wash away all the goodness in the dirt.
You ever see the sprinkler going on someone’s garden and a trail of water going down the path, road? That is the goodness that was in the dirt being washed away. We are supposed to be giving the plants a drink, not a shower or rinsing them.
If the water is trailing away then that is a sign that the dirt is nice and wet, the plants are drinking, and thats enough water for them for now.
You put in all sorts of goodies to make your dirt healthy for your plants, you want growth, lots of healthy vegetables, but over-watering can wash away the goodness and you are left with dust after a few weeks or months, and then you rush out and get more compost and so on because the ground is all thin, dusty and the plants are struggling in it.
Its best to only water for a short time, at least not too long. I just remind myself, “Don’t wash away the goodness.”

I was told as a teenager that watering the garden in the sun meant that the plants would burn.
I have never seen any burnt plants, but I have seen some suffering struggling plants that need some water. I water them in the sun and it seems all right, and I only do this when the plants are really suffering on an especially hot day.
These days people are saying that watering the plants in the sun causing the plant to be burned is a myth. if you are worried about watering the plants in the sun, water the ground around the plants instead.
I tend to remember the times that I have been in the sun and when some water is thrown on me I feel refreshed and great, so I will leave it up to you to think about what you should do.

The best time to water the garden is in the early morning when the sun is rising, but it is not too cold so that the water does not chill the plants, or in the evening, especially on hot days and the sun is going down. This can leave the plants on hot days drinking water all night giving them a boost for the hot days.

The best water is not tap water which has fluoride and chlorine and whatever else the local authorities put in the local water supply, it is rain water. So if you can store rain water go for it, use this for your plants.

If you live near a factory or in a city it can be wise to not use the rain water until a few hours have passed so that the pollution in the air gets washed away first. One suggestion is that we water the gardens with hose water first so that the polluted rain water washes off over the gardens, and once the rain water is healthy the garden is keen for more to drink an hour or so later.

These are some things to think about.

If you want less weeds, only water around the plants and leave the rest of the ground dry.

All the best from
James M Sandbrook.
20th of December, 2021.