For the well-being of plants in the vegetable and ornamental garden, it is important to water at the right time. But it is also necessary to bring this water food with common sense, that is to say neither too much nor too little. Let’s take stock of the best way to water your plantations, on the one hand to keep plants healthy, on the other hand to avoid wasting water, a precious commodity to be consumed in moderation in the garden.
Watering your garden every day is not recommended
Beginner gardeners generally make the mistake of watering their garden moderately every day with clockwork regularity, especially throughout the summer months. However, by acting in this way, they do not really respect the cycles of nature. Daily watering tends to deplete the soil in nutrients and also promotes cryptogamic diseases because the growing medium is constantly damp, even soggy.
On the contrary, it is highly preferable towater generously at each session but less frequently. This may be every 3 or 4 days for some plants, or even once a week for others, except in cases of extreme drought of course.
Choosing the right time to water your garden
Depending on the season, you do not water your garden at the same times of the day. In springat least until the end of April or even until the Ice Saints (11, 12 and 13 May) as well asin autumnit is best to water the morning, once the sun is up. In this way, in the event of night frosts or a frost at dawn, the plants will suffer less.
In summerand even more so in the event of scorching temperatures, The evening is the best time to water the vegetable patch and the ornamental garden, as well as the potted plants on the terrace or the balcony, especially if they are very exposed to the sun’s rays. In this way, rapid water loss due toevaporation mainly during the hottest hours. Moreover, watering during the afternoon in high summer is not wise because the water is then quickly heated by the sun and its temperature is too high when it reaches the root system. This is without taking into account the risk of burns on the foliage due to reverberation.
Every gardener should adjust your watering schedule depending on climate and climatic conditions.
Beware of over-watering!
Here again, it is often because of the lack of experience that we fish by excess with regard to watering. However, it is easier to save a plant that has suffered from a lack of water than to rescue plantations that have literally been drowned day after day. The latter risk seeing their asphyxiated roots. Excessive watering leads to the rotting of plants as well as the development of pathogenic fungi responsible for many fungal (or cryptogamic) diseases.
Always consider plant needs and soil type
All plants do not have the same water needs and these also vary according to the vegetative stage, the season, the temperatures… There is another factor which is very important for just water : the nature du sol. Beware of clay soil, which tends to retain water by becoming compact, whereas sandy soil requires moderate but more frequent watering, around twice a week in dry weather.
L’plant water supply should be distributed as fairly as possible. The role of the gardener is to adapt to the nature of the soil, the calendar, the outside temperatures, the climatic conditions, and he must take into consideration the vegetative state of his plantations. In the vast majority of cases, from sowing until each plant has reached full growth, this is the period during which water needs are greatest.
Avoid wetting the foliage!
Except for seedlings and plants that need to be sprayed from time to time, such as lettuces and cabbage, it is strongly recommended not to wet the foliage of garden plants. For this you can water either with a drip hose, or with a watering can but without the apple. In other words, we perform a watering at the neck so that the water is distributed only at the foot of the plants. This limits the invasion of gastropods (snails and slugs), diseases, the development of weeds but also the waste of water.
When and how to water your potted plants?
Plants grown in containers (perhaps with a pierced bottom) such as pots, tubs, planters, pots and others need special attention. According to the principle seen above, they are watered in the morning or in the evening depending on the season, but their watering should not be absolutely modeled on that of plants installed in the ground. The reason is simple: in a pot, the growing medium (compost, various substrate) dries much faster soil from a rockery, a flower bed or a vegetable garden, on the one hand because there is a smaller volume of matter and on the other hand because the container itself stores heat (in particular if it is located in full sun all day), which increases the evaporation process.
If care is not taken, plants in pots or containers can very quickly suffer from lack of water. A few days are enough for certain plant species to look gloomy. They wither, stunt, leaves curl, curl, flowers wilt at lightning speed, and flower buds dry up so quickly they abort, producing no flowers (and others no fruit). We understand that it is more complicated to catch up in these growing conditions than for plants in the ground.
The correct method is therefore to first check the degree of humidity with your finger of the substrate at a good 2 centimeters depth. If the soil is dry, it’s time to water. Simply placing your finger on the surface is not enough to perform this check because the soil may seem completely dry on top while there is still enough moisture deeper down.
Finally, watering your garden is an art, but one that remains accessible to any gardener. It is enough to observe nature to know how best to meet the needs of its plants. Finally, logic prevails in this area. Plants for dry ground are not watered in the same way as those that require a lot of water or have only moderate needs. It is when choosing the species to cultivate that it is essential to be well informed on this subject in order to make no mistake. Note that a mulch is an excellent thermal regulator which limits watering.