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Watering Methods
On this page find different methods used to water and irrigate vegetables in a home vegetable garden, including:
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- The five most efficient ways to water vegetables.
- The water needs of commonly planted vegetables
- Top choices for vegetable irrigation methods.
- Where should I plant?
- What vegetables should I grow?
About Watering Vegetables
Here are the five most efficient ways to water plants in home vegetable gardens.
Your choice depends on the needs of the plants being watered, conditions in your garden, and your garden’s soil, drainage, and texture.
The quality, texture, and drainage of garden soil makes great differences in how vegetables will grow and the irrigation methods they’ll require.
Clayey Soils—Garden soils in which very small mineral grains compact and very little organic material exists will absorb water slowly and, once saturated, hold very little air. They will dry out slowly as well. Watering plants requires many short applications at intervals to prevent runoff and water deeply.
Sandy Soils—Garden soils in which sand makes up 50 per cent or more of the mineral components often drain very quickly, leaving no water for the plants.
Loam—Loams are ideal garden soils, with even, loose mixtures of clay, silt, sand, and small pebbles in a matrix of organic matter, air, and water. Such soils readily absorb water and hold it for several days before it percolates into the subsoil beneath plant roots.
Finding the Water Needs of Vegetables
Take a moment to learn about the water needs of your vegetable plants.
Look up each vegetable and review the information about its moisture and water needs. Find this data under “Soil” and “Care” headings on this website [see Vegetables].
Seed packets and plant care-tag labels also list water requirements.
Water Requirement: Moist Soil—Plants that require moist-soil conditions in average soil generally use 1–1-1/2-in. (25–38-mm) of total water per week, including both natural precipitation and irrigation. Under higher temperatures or wind, the interval between waterings should be decreased so that soils remain constantly moist.
Water Requirement: Average—Plants that require average watering generally use 1/2–1-in. (12–25-mm) of total water per week. Again, decrease the watering interval and apply more total water per week under high-temperature or windy conditions.
Water Requirement: Low—Plants that require low volumes of water are generally drought tolerant and adapted to warmer climates. They generally use 1/2-in. (12-mm) or less total water per week. These plants are adapted to heat and wind, often having hairy or waxy foliage, traits that reduce transpiration. Always apply water when they begin to droop or show color changes due to water stress.
Irrigation Alternatives
The most common choices of irrigation methods for use in home vegetable gardens include:
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- Soaker-hose irrigation
- Drip irrigation
- Overhead misting
- Trench irrigation
- Moat irrigation.
Each irrigation option is described in the table that follows, with tips for using it:
Avoid runoff, conserve water, and limit weed growth by delivering water directly to the plants with a soaker hose. It’s always best to keep the hose from touching plants.
Automate watering, conserve water, and limit weed growth with drip irrigation delivered directly to each plant. Lay supply hose from a timer-controlled valve to each plant, choose the emitter type—drip, spray, or bubbler—and match its flow rate to the needs of your vegetable plants.
Apply water by filling a trench alongside your row vegetables and allow it to penetrate deeply into the root zone before watering again to promote strong, drought-tolerant plants.
Best used with cool-season vegetables. Apply early in the day, setting a hose-end nozzle to a fine mist and slowly saturating the soil. The plants will dry thoroughly before temperatures drop in the evening.
Hills of pumpkin and squash are raised mounds with surrounding watering basins or moats. Applying water in the moat prevents wetting the plants’ foliage, which helps avoid many fungal diseases.