The key to watering your vegetable garden successfully is to provide regular and sufficient irrigation followed by a length of time to allow the water to be absorbed into the soil. Either too much or insufficient water can cause vegetables to fail.
Drip Irrigation
Automate watering, conserve water and limit weed growth with drip irrigation, delivering water 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. Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/Image Point
Water applied too quickly will saturate the soil and cause either puddles or fast runoff, eroding the soil and exposing plant roots. Because they need air as well as water around their roots, plants that are left too long in saturated soil are subject to suffocation, root damage and fungal infection. Always apply water at a rate that allows it to be absorbed, and wait to apply more whenever puddling or runoff occurs. A good goal is to fully saturate the top 4-6 inches of soil with water at each watering. For most garden soils, this means applying the equivalent of about 1 inch of water across the soil surface, and watering every 3-4 days.
Watering lightly and too frequently causes plants to become shallow-rooted and subject to drought. When the root zone is dry, the plants grow hair roots near the surface to gather moisture. It’s easy to check for shallow watering. If you find that the soil remains dry 3-4 inches beneath the surface after watering, you should slow the rate of application and lengthen the time of irrigation until all of the soil is saturated.
Allow the soil surface to dry between waterings. (This usually takes 2-4 days, though it may take longer if it rains.) The soil at the root zone, a depth of 8-16 inches, should be evenly moist, yet maintain good texture and hold sufficient air.
There are five common methods used to water vegetables: soaker hose irrigation, drip irrigation, overhead misting, trench irrigation and moat irrigation. The method you choose depends on the type of plants you grow, as well as which technique you prefer. When done correctly, all will ensure your plants receive adequate and regular moisture during the growing season. (Note the photos and captions, which describe each method, as well as offer tips for use.)
Trench Irrigation
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.
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Soaker Hose Irrigation
Avoid runoff, conserve water and limit weed growth by delivering water directly to the plants with a soaker hose. Note: It’s always best to keep the hose from touching plants.
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Moat Irrigation
Used with hill crops, a moat surrounds each plant and delivers a subsurface cone of water to each plant’s roots. As with using trenches, allow the water to penetrate deeply, and water only when the soil surface is completely dry.
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Overhead Misting
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.
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
