When the vegetables in your garden are flowering and forming tasty fruits, they need a good supply of moisture to help set a good crop. Although rain is the best source of moisture, there usually are a few dry periods during the year when you'll need to water your garden. During dry periods, one thorough watering each week is usually enough. When watering, apply 1-2 inches of water. This will wet the soil to a depth of 6-12 inches. Don't water again until the top few inches of soil dry out.

If you water for only a short time each day, you'll only wet the upper few inches of soil. This practice causes the roots to grow too close to the soil surface. A sudden hot spell could severely damage your plants if you forget to water or are out of town for an extended period of time.

Any watering practice that wets the foliage increases disease problems, especially if the leaves remain wet overnight. If you water with a sprinkler, water your garden in the morning or late afternoon so that the foliage will dry before nightfall. Plants, like tomatoes, can be watered individually or in groups by trenching between plants and allowing the water to flow down the row.

If you can't water your garden or don't want to water, give each plant plenty of space. Extra plants are just as harmful as weeds. Good soil fertility, protection from drying winds, early weed control, lack of tree root competition, proper spacing and plant thinning are all necessary for successful gardening without watering.

This page was last updated April 2003

Go to Information Page

Go to Horticulture Page