Watering is a key component to maintaining healthy and productive vegetable gardens at home. Learn how to water more efficiently and responsibly by following these 8 tips!
- Water infrequently, deeply and thoroughly. This will train the roots to tolerate dry spells better and it will force the plants to spread out extra shoots in order to seek water in dryer conditions.
- Water responsibly by choosing to water early in the day to reduce evaporation loss.
- Condition your soil to naturally retain more moisture by adding organic matter to clay or sandy soils.
- Mulch around your plants. This prevents excess water from evaporating. Try to mulch at least 2 inches deep.
- Shelter any container plants or move them to an area that gets partial shade during the day. Containers can dry out quicker than plants that are growing in the ground and by providing them with a little bit of shade you can conserve a bit of water.
- Install a drip irrigation system to your garden. This can drastically reduce the amount of water that is wasted because the water is directed right to the plants roots instead of being lost on the extra surface area surrounding plants.
- Try collecting rainwater from your roof in a barrel.
- Discourage plants competing for water by removing and weeds that are growing near your edibles.
