How Often Should You Water Your Garden?

How long and how frequently do you water your garden? This is the most common question I receive, especially from people who are experiencing garden overwhelm. To be honest, this is probably the most important question for a gardener to answer. It might surprise you, however, that my answer based on my garden may be wrong for you and your garden, because the answer will be different for every garden. Some people water their garden by hand while others are set up on an automatic watering system. If you are using drip irrigation, your emitter output may be different than mine. Since the method of watering varies from garden to garden, this is a question you have to figure out on your own. The good news is I’m here to provide guidelines for you to follow in figuring it out. 

Determine Water Frequency

In order to figure out watering frequency and length of time for your particular garden, you must first follow a few steps. 

1. Water your plant as normal.

2. Wait 30 minutes. It is important to allow the water to penetrate the soil to best determine the amount of time and volume of water needed.

3. After 30 minutes, measure the depth the water has reached in the soil. It’s important to find out how deeply your water is penetrating so that you can establish a watering schedule. Once the water has penetrated the soil, you can measure the depth it has reached. To measure, insert a long screw driver, soil probe or simply your finger into the soil to see how far the water has soaked into the soil.

4. Note the depth to which the screwdriver, probe or your finger easily slides into the soil. You will know when you reach dry soil because your method of measurement will encounter resistance and will stop. Determine, in inches, how far the water has soaked into the soil. Refer to the watering chart below for optimal watering depths based on the type of plant planted.

5. If your plant has not been watered to the optimal depth, repeat steps 1-4 until the optimal depth has been achieved.

6. Once you have found your optimal watering depth, calculate the amount of watering time required to achieve that depth and this will be the standard for your watering.

7. Monitor your plant every day to determine when you should water next. Once the top 1 inch of your soil has dried out, it is time to water again. The exception to this is trees- you should water trees once the top 3 inches of soil has dried out. This will take some time to figure out, but once you get used to observing your soil conditions and the rhythm of your garden, it will become second nature to you.

8. Make sure that you re-evaluate your watering schedule every season as temperatures and weather conditions change and adjust your watering accordingly.

Container Gardening Water Needs

If you have planted in containers, you will need to water more frequently. Containers do not hold moisture as long as something that is planted in-ground. Because they are raised above the surface of the ground, the sun and wind will cause the soil to dry out more rapidly than other plants in the landscape. As the sun shines on the sides of the container, it causes the container to heat up, thus increasing the soil temperature inside the vessel, which in turn causes accelerated evaporation of the moisture in the soil. 

Be sure to monitor your container-planted plants more closely and create a watering schedule accordingly. You can do this by following the same steps as above.

Automate if Possible

Because life happens, it is best to have your garden and plants on an automated system. This will ensure that they are continually receiving the water they need and are not being over or underwatered. 

Become familiar with your automated system and program it to fit the needs of your plant each season. Figure out what the needs are and write them down so that you have something to refer to each time the season changes. If you can look back at your notes from the previous summer and what your garden required, you have an automatic starting point. This is helpful because, even though this summer may be hotter than the one before, you will have a starting point and you can adjust accordingly.

Finding Your Happy Place

As you adjust to finding the right amount of water for your plants, you will begin to learn what to look for in a happy, healthy plant and you will notice when your plant is in need of water. Be observant and follow your instincts. Once you have found your rhythm, your efforts will pay off and you will find contentment in growing all the things!