Question on watering

[nachoqtpie]

So... I have a question.

It's supposed to be BLAZING hot today. I want to hook up my sprinkler and let it do the watering for me to give them all a good drink before it gets super hot.

Is that a bad idea? Should I go out and water them by hand as to not get any on the leaves or does it matter?

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

if it is supposed to get hot down your direction i don't think the plants will mind the water on their leaves. most will probably evaporate off the leaves as the day goes on. though, if it is windy at all you will have to worry about it being taken by the wind instead of making onto you plants if you are using a sprinkler.

plus, you can always take a few trips through the sprinkler to cool yourself off if it gets that hot out today! i wish i could say we'll be seeing sunshine up this direction but, alas, still soaking rain up here in New England area!

 

[nachoqtpie]

Thanks!! I had a friend tell me on Facebook that I shouldn't water with a sprinkler because it's bad for the plants. I thought on this for a while and thought... "Well what about when it rains?! Is that bad for the leaves too?" So... I decided to ask ya'll.. ;-)

 

[lesa]

It is true Mother Nature waters whenever she wants- but as a general rule, it is best not to have the leaves wet as you go into evening. It adds to the fugus problems, mildew, etc. Sprinkling is just not a very efficient way of watering. Watering at the base of the plant is more useful. However, if you don't mind paying for the water, or if you just feel like doing it- it isn't the end of the world!
Enjoy your heat and sunshine- we are scheduled for a watering again today! Happy Gardening!

 

[nachoqtpie]

Well... I'm super super busy this morning... (laundry, dishes, cooking, cleaning, business stuff, etc) so I don't exactly have the time to do it this morning before it gets to squelching hot temps. I want to make sure they receive water tho. I put the sprinkler on the "center" position, and I have it out there now. While it is watering a bit of the yard around the garden, it's mostly staying in the garden.

I'm hoping after I get this business proposal done in the next couple of days it will slow down a bit!

 

[digitS']

My gardens have very porous soil, summers are hot and dry and there are lots of square feet to cover.

My plan is to put down about 3/4-inch of water twice a week. Once in awhile, there is some summer rain and I can factor that in.

Generally, there is no chance of the leaves holding moisture any real length of time. Our humidity hits 20% most every summer afternoon.

How do I make sure I get 3/4-inch from the garden and lawn sprinklers - by measuring it. An old pan or cut off milk carton set at various distances from the sprinkler will give you an idea of how much time it takes your sprinkler to put down about that much water.

You will learn whether it takes 45 minutes, 2 hours, or what. By the way, most lawn sprinklers cover a very small area and really dump a lot of water on it, quick. The ones I use put out about 1 inch each hour.

It kind of gripes me when I see someone leave a little lawn sprinkler on aalllll night! I'm sure they are thinking that this "good soaking" will really help. You folks with all the rain this year, maybe you could explain to people like that -- the 8 or 10 inches of water they just dumped on 100 square feet of their lawn, that was a very serious waste :/.

Steve

 

[nachoqtpie]

Oh pooh!! I was going to do that and I totally forgot!! LOL

I left it on for about 30-45 minutes... and now I'm doing the other half. I figured doing it in 2 batches with just a slight bit getting on either side was better than having about half the water hit the garden and half the water hit the lawn! LOL I'm not sure hubs wants to mow JUST around the garden twice a week!! LOL

The only things that aren't in raised beds are the melons and the corn. Neither one of those have popped up yet... but I'm going to water them anyways. The peppers and such that I started inside (the hot peppers) are just now starting to come out of their pods... so I figure that they're doing about the same outside!

 

[vfem]

I gave everyone a good soak yesterday. About 30 minutes of the sprinkler had to do (we got some rain showers recently, so this was just to help with the crazy heat and the new plantings).

Daughter threw on her swim suit and into the sprinkler she went... so 2 birds, 1 stone! lol

My concern right now is I probably won't water again, other then my potted plants, until the weekend... unless some of those storms hit. That would be nice I have a drip hose for the front garden, but that doesn't reach my raised beds in the back.

These beds are all producing now too. I picked squash yesterday, raspberries are in, I see banana peppers already forming, and even a couple of cucumbers have formed on flowers. So I'm supposing the fruiting plants will need MORE water.

I don't worry about using a sprinkler in the mornings... but I've had mildew and fungus infestations.... so I stay away from cooler night waterings.

 

[digitS']

The field sprinklers in the larger garden (same as the ones in the alfalfa, nextdoor) will put out enuf water in about 3 1/2 hours.

In the smaller gardens with rainbird sprinklers turning half-circles, it takes 1 1/2 hours . . . Given 30 minutes to move sprinklers and hoses, I can water the 2 smaller gardens in 3 1/2 hours.

You know, 3 1/2 + 3 1/2 = 7, a magic number and .001 of the time span (hours representing years) since Noah's Flood.

Steve's digits

 

[vfem]

The field sprinklers in the larger garden (same as the ones in the alfalfa, nextdoor) will put out enuf water in about 3 1/2 hours.

In the smaller gardens with rainbird sprinklers turning half-circles, it takes 1 1/2 hours . . . Given 30 minutes to move sprinklers and hoses, I can water the 2 smaller gardens in 3 1/2 hours.

You know, 3 1/2 + 3 1/2 = 7, a magic number and .001 of the time span (hours representing years) since Noah's Flood.

Steve's digits