As an emeritus master gardener, I thank you for telling everyone that their mileage will vary. People think if someone says to do "this" that is what they should do. No! Growing zones is part of it. Every area is unique. Soil type, temperature, humidity, drought, rainfall, etc. changes everything. My front side garden is totally different from my backside gardens. Plus I'm growing in containers. A friend lives about 15 miles from me and is growing in the ground, but she put a few plants in pots. That's not the same as growing in ground. I water my containers lightly and then go back 20 mins later and drench them. That's because the first watering will often slip through the pot without moistening the soil. The second watering will do more for the plant. Hanging baskets often do better being submerged in a bucket of water until they have stopped bubbling. My growing season in Virginia is twice as long as Colorado's and it's also hotter and more humid here. I'm getting ready to plant my fall crops as I harvest my garden. You'd think I'd know every trick of the trade. No, I don't. Maybe I just know how to hide my mistakes. It's called replant!
I desperately wish many many gardening videos would mention somewhere in the video, preferably early and even better in the thumbnail WHERE THE CREATOR LIVES. I live in Chicago. If I'm looking to see what I can overwinter, what season extention techniques I can use, if a worm bin would survive if I bury it, etc... and I watch a whole video about cold season gardening, I can see a lot of statements like, "with a double sheet of plastic, I can keep this bed alive through the whole WINTER." And I'm always shouting at the screen, "WHOSE WINTER?! WHERE ARE YOU?" One of the reasons I love Gardener Scott. I know his Colorado climate gets cold like mine. And he mentions it often enough that I didn't need to hire a PI to figure out where he is.
In our area in NWI, 45 mins from you, the frost line is about 3.5’. So, worms need to go below frost line for the winter. You can reduce the depth by insulating your surface. Thick layer of grass clippings or straw should help your bin
@@LauraEilershe's probably in a milder climate than you up in Maine, but I imagine you would get a lot of value out of Elliot Coleman's winter gardening content. Worth a shot 🤷♀️
Man, my quinoa grow keeps getting better each year. 4 years in. Just north of you in Centennial. The biggest one has greater than 2" dia stalk and the main kola is huge. Edit: using our own slow compost as a thin topping.
I always say to water deeply and less frequently. It forces roots to drive down lower which protects them from fluctuations in temps and humidity. Help prevents plant stress and disease
This is how we've learned too. Our neighbor is a botanist and master gardener and she recommended that we don't water every day. She said watering every day (or twice a day) trains the plants to only have shallow roots. But by watering every two or three days, it trains the plants to dig their roots deep, which creates more robust plants and also helps fix the soil more.
Dealing with daytime temps well over 100 degrees, and we haven't seen rain in weeks. I have combatted my situation in a number of ways. 1) i grow a very tight garden, where it is quite difficult to maneuver. Heavily composted and regular feedings to avoid nutrient deficiencies. 2) I have planted mammoth sunflowers at the south and west ends of my garden to provide shade. 3) Lots and lots of straw mulch. 4) I use milk jugs as ollas, to provide a short term drip. 5) I aquired used 55 gallon barrels and poked a small hole near the bottom of each. I fill them up in the mornings, and they help to slowly soak the soil. 6) I grow my salads in near full shade
I definitely started off over-watering. I got very comfortable with putting my finger in the soil. I also didn't mulch my bed. Man, I'm glad I know now. Next spring is going to be awesome!
That was a great video on watering! I love the thorough explanations. After all these years of garden long I still learn a lot from your videos. I never mulched my beds before I started watching your videos. Now every bed is mulched. I have read that stressed plants cells in their leaves make a noise that insects can hear and it directs those insects to those plants.
So many spot-on points. Everything you hit on are exactly the unique CO conditions we face in our garden. Now if we could only get a good soaking rain. We’ve really had no substantial moisture since the late-May snowstorm. Storms tend to pass around us, we’re in a weird dry donut. I think Mt. Evan’s bisects the storms coming from the west and they don’t realign until just east of us. It’ll rain well a mile north, east and south of us, while the sun shines above us and to the west. Not always, obviously, but often enough to see the pattern.
Then there are those who can be fined for watering between 10am and 6pm. In addition to being guided to water a maximum of 2 days a week. That includes reducing indoor water use 10% or more. As a result I have used grey water for trees and decorative plants. That is a topic that will become normal for those that are rain deprived.
I believe those laws are aimed at lawn watering. Honestly, for a modest garden I have about 4 beds, I use less water than a morning shower and with a Hose and sprayer it's not blasting everywhere like a lawn sprinkler.
I lined the inside of the sides of my beds with plastic. This was so the wooden sides do not rot as quickly. The bottom of the beds is still open, allowing for drainage. I think the plastic lined sides of the beds reduces water loss through wicking and evaporation through the otherwise exposed sides. That coupled with shredded leaf mulch helps maintain a good moisture level longer.
Had to chime in about the hot water from the hose. I work at a Lowes garden center. I wait, and feel the hot water from 200ft of hose before applying it. Even if the hose had been shaded. Hose stored near concrete or brick can make it too hot.
Please everyone warn young mothers about this. The water first coming out of the hose is so hot. When little kids play in the water, they can scald themselves. Run it til cool before letting them have it or squirting them please!!
I run the water from a hot hose into a five gallon bucket so I don't waste the water then use it later in the evening or the next morning when it's cool.
@@karinchristensen220 Yes . I run the hot hose water in into a 35 gal barrel in the shade then use it to water fruit bearing shrubs in the eve. I was able to get the barrel up on a platform on the side of a builing (shade) so with the additional height & natural slope down to the berry bushes it acts like a drip system under pressure with emitters. Took me a year to figure this out...Duh...
@@flatsville1 It's amazing how much you use when running the hose until you get cool water. I didn't realize it until I started running it into a bucket. I also try to keep a few watering cans full and in the shade for a few of my small potted plants that need an emergency watering instead of running the hose to get cool water for them.
If you water when the water is hot... raise the hose to a higher level so that as the water falls, it gets air cooled when falling towards the plants. This is why greenhouses have their irrigation further up towards the ceiling.
Terrific recommendations here! I would like to hear more of your thoughts about gardening in drought afflicted areas. I have switched to container gardening for many of my vegetables because I can collect gray water from inside the house and apply it in a more localized area without challenging any codes about its use. I don’t have the $ for drip irrigation at this time, and mandates can kill a garden fast.
Thanks Scott. As always, organized, on topic, clear and accurate. Gardening can get awfully complicated, and you really help to give me, and so many others, the encouragement we need to keep gardening, and not give up. So, thanks much.
Hey Scott, love your videos. About burning the plants because of water on the leaves (14:00 ish), I don't know how hot the water needs to be to burn the leaves as you said, but I think the main difference between water on the leaves from rain to water on the leaves from human-watering is the lighting conditions. When it rains the sun is usually covered by clouds and not very bright in general. But when you water it's never raining (or you need to get mentally checked), and if the sun happens to shine bright at that time you can have a lensing effect from the water drop, concentrating the sunlight on one spot and burning it like you would with a magnifying glass.
Here's an additional tip..... watering mid-day can be bad in the sun. In my early gardening career I observed what looked like a spotted disease on my vegetables. It was prevalent on the lower leaves of my tomatoes, peppers, zacinni, squash, etc. What the issue was, was my watering schedule. Water would drip on the leaves and create a magnifying effect..... equivalent to holding a magnifying glass between the sun and leaves thus burning the leaves. No disease. Just a hot sun.
I've experienced this as well when I was first gardening. I couldn't understand what was happening until I had this thought and tried a little experiment on some leaves. Definitely "burned" them
When and how to water has been my biggest question since I began gardening last summer. This is the best watering video i have seen. Also, to address the water on the leaves issue burning them. Couldn’t it be that rain doesn’t burn the leaves even when hotter is because the air is humid? However when water from a hose, etc. hits the leaves in lower humidity conditions, maybe the leaves can burn with that dryer air. I’ve never heard anyone address this concept of leaf burn. Yes I have had scalding water come out of my hose even early in the day so I have learned to check. My Bermuda grass doesn’t care. Ha.
Your information on incorrect information for my zone is great. I never gave that a thought. I’m in central Illinois and will pay more attention to where my information is coming from. Keep the information coming.
Covering hoses with white sheets or tarps helps prevent hot hoses and therefore water. I let my heavy duty hose soak in a tub of water to keep it cool, too.
I don't use gauges because I don't find them to be accurate. Put your gauge in the soil and monitor its reading with a physical test to determine when to water.
My biggest mistake with watering is living in Florida where it rains everyday during the summer. I can hear my tomatoes cracking from inside the house...
Thanks for all your words of wisdom. Some of my plants died including my carrots and I just realized that the water was not absorbing into the soil. Only the top inch or two was wet, then completely bone dry underneath. I used a bagged organic soil.
Yes, that's what happens here. Once the soil and organic matter dries out it is a heck of a time to get it rehydrated as the water passes either right through or beads on top of first quarter inch or so. It takes me so long to water and I have to watch the areas that are more shaded as I could over water them.
I am considering catching rain water in a rain barrel. I recently heard you can only use the water for 2 days, because it goes bad. What is your opinion?
I also use an inexpensive moisture meter to get a better idea of moisture level at different depths, and you’ll get a good feel for the watering needs for a given crop at its current size. 👨🌾👩🌾🍅
raised bed boxes make it very difficult to water veggies well. the water tends to run off and it becomes almost impossible to re-wet the soil mix in hot and dry conditions. secondly, it is more expensive and difficult to set up drip irrigation, which soaks soil much better than daily standing there and watering taking up whole time to tend to garden.
I have never put hot water on my plants. I have a mommy's instinct to spray it on the soft side (underbelly) of my arm and wrist until it cools off. It starts out scalding. One thing you can do is spray the dust off your car while the water is still hot, instead of wasting it. 7b, W. TN.
A great way to avoid watering problems is to grow in sip's. It takes most of the guess work out. Evaporation is less of a problem. But if your growing tomatoes in sips or any container, and dont add calcium you will get blossom end rot. Sips use potting soil, calcium is missing it all the potting soils I have used.
@@amymorales4622 A SIP is a Sub Irrigated Planter. The most common are made from five gallon buckets or totes. But they can really be any shape as long as they hold water. YT is full of videos on how to make them.
I have started using deep root watering. I am using 1-1/4 inch pvc pipe 24 inch long drove into soil 9 inches. Fill the pipe 4 times slow early in the morning that is after I have watered the surface. The heat here in NC has been off the charts. I'm getting fair results.
I wonder if straw mulch has any effects on soil ph cos its on top of the soil, and would be good to see soil tensiometer in action day by day video like when is right time to water by looking at the meter. over all, thanks for everything Scott. greetings from South Korea here.
Great video! I'm glad that you mentioned carrots and their water needs compared to other plants. I'm growing carrots and parsnips this year for the first time and am wondering how to tell when they need water?
Thanks GS! I am having a tough few weeks with all of the heat we are getting here. We are in the 2nd week of high 90s-100° weather. 🌞 I definitely need some shade cloth.
Hoses: to cool my hose down: I keep it submerged in a big plastic tub filled with enough water to cover it. Also, placing white sheets or another type of covering on the hose might keep it cooler than not doing that... Great video! Thanks.
Question: You said if it's overcast and raining, that you still water once a day? Also, the last couple of seasons, we were watering twice a day on hot days but were told by our botanist and master gardener neighbor that because we were watering twice a day, it was training our plants to only have shallow roots, which therefore made watering twice a day necessary but by moving to once per day or once every two or three days, it encourages deeper root growth and more robust plants that require far less watering. What are your thoughts on these things? We're also in Colorado.
It depends on the soil moisture and how much more water is needed. In a dry place like Colorado, a sprinkling of rain is rarely enough for the plants and can lead to the problem with shallow roots. Watering when the surface is moist from a light rain can help the water penetrate deeper into soil so that it encourages longer roots. One deep watering is better than two shallow waterings. Adding mulch can help retain that water and lead to less frequent watering.
While we're talking about water, does it matter if the water isn't filtered? I'm not sure if the city water will have an effect on the soil, i.e. will chlorinated water kill off beneficial,. microbes and so on. I suppose it could get costly, filtering all water but what's everyone's thoughts on this?
I don't worry about it. The chlorine dissipates quickly and has minimal impact on soil biology. I've never gardened in an area without chlorinated water and had very successful gardens.
Do you use shad cloth on all your tomato plants? We grow ours in 20 gallon buckets in our garden and then put cages around them to grow them vertically to keep them off the garden floor. We grown cherry tomato varieties and roma tomato varieties. Also would you recommend a moisture reader to see if you should water or do you recommend getting down in the soil with your hands to check to see how moist the soil is?
I do. Many moisture meters lose their effectiveness in time. I prefer using my finger to determine soil moisture. Here's how I protect my plants: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LTmmneUbjnM.html
Now for a little farm humor. Q. What kind of vest should you wear in fall? A. Har- vest. Q. What is a tree's least favorite month? A. Sep-timber. Q. What is a pumpkin's favorite sport.? A. Squash. Q. What falls but never gets hurt? A. Leaves.
What do you think about wickingbeds? Im going to try it out this year and put som garden soil and worms in it. Like the idea of wicking except that the micro organisms cant get in i closed system so easily
They can be good in some situations but not all. My humidity is so low and my wind is so regular that the top of the soil is always dry. A wicking bed ends up being very saturated at the bottom and dry at the top and only the middle is evenly moist.
I watched your wartering video an enjoyed it. However, my question is “can I water with beaver / muskrat enfested water? I have a stream of water next to, inreach of the garden that could be used to water but about a half mile up stream is a beaver / musktat living area. I don’t want to harm the garden or me as I eat the vegetables.
I’ve recently found your channel, am going into season 2 in my new suburban homestead in Thornton, CO and so appreciate all you do. Also, thank you for having some weeds in your pathways…I can’t keep up! Lol….
We've had lots of rain where I am. Unfortunately, it's led to many of the cardboard boxes on people's doorsteps from deliver to your doorstep online places like Hello Fresh, Amazon Prime, Freshly, Farmer's Dog , etc. to get all soggy and wet, which ruined the content of the boxes, spoiling all the food inside. Better to support your local farmers, gardeners and merchants.
Does the amount of water in the beds have anything to do with the distance from the water source? Meaning does the ones at the end of the line get more or less water than the ones closest to the source? Also, do metal beds retain more water than the wood ones? Seems like metal would do that. Just some curious questions rolling around in my head.
Depending on your water pressure, a long hose may supply less water than a shorter one in the same amount of time. I haven't noticed a difference in soil moisture by bed type, but a wood bed might absorb some of the water.
In Sacramento, CA, I check the water temp. in a bucket & use the water later if it is too hot. When it runs cool, then I water. On my day off, I can do that several times. I often get home to wilted plants, & they spring back after an evening water. I have considered an automatic system, but have not green lighted it because I like to be there & inspect, check the plants out when watering. . . I am sure that if everything was automatic, I would not do that as much... yep, 3rd generation American, getting lazy. :-) So, I just keep it simple.
Thats all nice and good, however, those of us that work away from home and cannot check our crop throughout the day have no choice but to water at certain times, so when its going to be 90° during the day I water in th early mornings otherwise I come home and find whithered leaves and stressed out plants. If its between 70 & 80° I can hold off until evening.
What about the difference between watering, and deep watering. I've heard people say that if you do a shallow watering all the time your plants will not send roots deep down into the soil, so you should not water every day, but water a lot less frequently so the water seeps down and the roots have to go after it. This sound logical, but also a little hokey. I can say one thing I've learned this year is to mulch around my cherry trees. I had some cherry trees in different areas, but one of them that got a lot of sun and son on the ground around it was just about dead before I decides to see if there was something I could do about it. When I put a plastic edging strip around it and filled it with 2-3 inches of mulch I was amazed at how happy those trees looked. Every summer they used to be so dehydrated and droopy. Not so any more. The difference is amazing.
If you when it's 85to90 degrees you water even once a day don't. I have 6 double stemmed tomato plants in a bed that is 7 5in. x 2ft.x10ft. I water that bed no more than 2 times a week and those plants are some 6 foot and some 7.
Glad I watched again .. in particular I enjoyed the very end with the lesson on watering in a mulched area. The moist soil below the dry mulch was enlightening.
Thanks for another great vid. You bring up a good point about high water temps in the summer. When that happens, I fill containers in the shade to cool it down. Then fill watering cans by submerging them. I prefer a small watering cans with a long spout and very small holes on the rosebud. That type of discharge pattern allows me to water very precisely and close to the soil surface with minimal splashing.
@minute 10:45 you indicate to maintain consistent moisture levels in the soil... Does this mean that the soil should always be moist/wet for ALL plants? And do certain plants commonly need more moisture than others? For instance, I feel like my tomatoes, peas & mint need more water than the others. It would be great if you could do a video on which plants generally need more water than others based on your experience and knowledge! :) And perhaps include info on whether it helps to add peat moss or coco coir to the soil so that the watering-loving plants can soak up more (because peat moss/coco coir will increase water retention).
Most vegetable garden plants benefit from consistent moisture. There are plants that use more water than others, which is why it helps to check the soil moisture before regular watering. Organic matter of all types helps retain water. Compost works like peat and coir too.
This year I setup a watering system with a timer. Holy hell! What a game changer! I just bought cheap 50’ hoses, laid them on the ground all around the yard and garden, positioned the hoses near the roots of the plants I need watered and I drilled holes in the hose where they need it. Attached the hoses to a timer, and VOILA! The whole yard gets watered, easy peasy. And I put down lots of mulch this year. I also installed a 30% shade cloth over the entire garden and yard, it has really shielded my tomatoes, lettuces and herbs. I haven’t lost a single plant this whole season, I’m very happy with the setup
Hello Gardener Scott, I have a question. So many gardening channels say to water once a week. Here in SW Co, zone 5b, I hand water daily. My beds are no till, no dig and mulched. Still, the hot sun and spring winds are very drying. Am I overwatering?
I have to water every day too. There's no way in our dry CO region that weekly watering is a good idea. Check your soil moisture regularly and on cloudy days, and early spring and late fall days you may not need to water, but it's hard to overwater during the peak of summer.
Speaking of watering, do you have a cheap diy way to make a watering ring to plant seedlings inside? I tried cutting plastic pots in half and burying them in the soil with only 2 inches remaining above ground. Works great because as I water, there is NO runoff. The water goes straight down deep to the roots. The rings are already degrading though so I'm hoping you have a better idea for them..
Thanks for this Scott. Love these videos. QUESTION: My garlic is getting close to finished and I need to stop watering. However it's in the middle of a 4x8 raised bed jam packed with crops. I should of planned better. The soaker hose is also an inch or so under soil and mulch now. Can I cure the garlic without discontinuing the watering?
You can cure after digging up the garlic. Stopping the water helps the outer skin dry. Just be a little careful when harvesting garlic with moist skin because it can damage easier.
