The Art of Mastering Watering Your Vegetable Garden: 9 Tips and Techniques

Watering your vegetable garden is an essential part of gardening. A good rule of thumb is to provide one inch of water per week, either from rain or from irrigation. In hot weather, vegetables need even more water, up to ½ inch more per week for every 10 degrees that the average temperature exceeds 60 degrees. If the plants are in the ground, the general rule is that they need one inch of water per week.

However, this does not mean watering once a week. It is best to water about three times a week, taking into account the rain. For seedlings, water twice a day until they are established. The amount of water needed may vary depending on the climate you live in. In arid climates, it's twice as much as in other climates.

You should adjust your watering schedule accordingly. The Encyclopedia Botanica podcast has a two-part series on drip irrigation in your home garden if you want to learn more. Here are nine tips and techniques to help you become an expert at watering your vegetable garden this season:

• Keep track of the amount of rain your garden has received each week by installing a simple rain gauge on one of your beds.
• Strive to place approximately one inch of water once a week in your vegetable garden.
• If you live in an area where it doesn't rain much in summer, drip irrigation will allow you to leave your garden for weeks without worrying about whether your plants are getting enough moisture.
• If your garden isn't that big, the traditional hose with a sprayer is generally the best method.
• Know when and how to water a garden properly to ensure a healthy growing season with lush plants.
• During the height of summer, notice a big difference between the texture and color of the soil underneath the mulch compared to bare soil exposed to the sun and the elements.
• We recognize that people with small mixed gardens aren't going to water every vegetable differently.
• Lack of water is the main reason why orchards don't thrive.
• These problems can include diseases and fungi that will dramatically affect your garden's production.

Knowing when and how to water a garden properly can ensure a healthy growing season with lush plants. A few years ago I had no experience in gardening and this time I destroyed my tomato plants by overwatering them. The advice on this page should apply to any type of garden in terms of ensuring 1 inch of water per week with rain or with a hose, and how to tell if the soil is too dry.