5 Watering Mistakes You're Probably Making 

I've been gardening since I was 10 - I'm 64 now. I come from a long line of gardeners, studied horticulture at the college level and am a certified Master Gardener. I feel confident in saying YOU have the best information and excellent delivery of your information - thank you!

I swear, after going through probably 50-80 different videos on gardening, it seems like this guy is speaking directly to me and answering all of the questions I have that no one else was answering. When I get through watching his videos I'm going to be a Master Gardener, I know it!

0:35 1. Wrong time 2:53 2. Watering over the top 5:01 3. over/under water 9:33 4. watering at the same time 12:42 5. Not using mulch

My 9 year old and I started a container garden this year, and oh man, he constantly worries about his “babies”, and we have to constantly keep him from overwatering! This will be a great explanation video to show him (and I needed it too!) thanks!

I’m a new gardener, never even had houseplants before. Now I’m starting a container vegetable garden in my yard and I LOVE your videos. You give great information, you get straight to the point and it’s so easy to understand and apply your teachings. Thank you.

You mentioned Ray Padula products. I once had one of their garden hoses for 3 years and it failed, just from a lot of everyday use/sun/weather. I always save receipts...this hose had like a 5 year guarantee. I contacted them with a copy of my receipt, and they immediately replace my hose at no charge without any questions. I always buy their products now.

Crazy! I live in San Diego and have totally walked passed your garden. No joke, I remember walking by while on a construction project and thinking, “Now, that’s a decent garden!” Thanks for the watering advice, neighbor.

I’m starting community school garden and your channel has helped me and my team out so much. Before I watched your videos, I knew nothing about gardening, and now I’m teaching others about gardening. Thank you so much!! I love your videos! Keep educating and inspiring!

I'm watching your video for the 2nd time cuz you are really clear. I have been a gardener for 50 years and have run into every garden problem imaginable. for the last 20 years i have been gardening in the high desert of New Mexico. A of today, June 26th we haven't had any rain since the last little snow in April. watering is the most important thing here. Thanks for all the good pointers. And pray for rain.

I use that " water,wait,rewater" with my houseplants. It helps to keep water from running through the pot too fast. Great info. Thanks.

Hi, Kevin. RU-vid recently suggested you to me and I'm glad it did. Of course I am now a subscriber. I'm a 59 year old organic gardening nut with almost no experience but with years of intensive study. I must say I love your teaching style. Despite my over-a-decade's-worth of study (mostly from reading and a horticulture class I took in college), I learn things from every one of your videos. I believe that teaching is the most noble calling. You are a great teacher, Kevin. Thank you for sharing with us all.

I started using mulch this year up in super hot, dry Northern California, and it has been SUCH a game changer.

I love this guy. Easy voice to listen too. Very knowledgeable and has taught me heaps. I’ve never been good at looking after plants but have been trying to create a little garden on my balcony. Slowly getting better thanks to Kevin.

I’m 63 & and an avid gardener. I am the Garden gal at Home Depot & watering plants in the Southwest is the most important aspect of gardening success…. Especially in summer…And SHADE!! I too water early morning with coffee, feed birds.. or after DARK so no dangerous water drops on leaves…Thanks for the information!!!

I'm totally digging the long watering wand. I live in Louisiana where the spiders think I grow the plants for them. They keep bugs off but they also jump at me if I get to close. Can't lean in and water them. I've been watering them like rain. The plants like it ok but I don't like doing it because it smushes the little sprouts into the dirt, and it can burn the leaves if the sun is to bright and it always is here. I've watered during the day and the water just became magnified droplets of death for the leaves. Definitely going to have to get a wand.

Hey, not really commenting a lot, but i have to say, i like your channel. I'm a gardener myself, and i already know a lot of what your talking about, but i think you're a really fine guy, and i really like your style of presentation. Gardeners never know everything about their business, although they sometimes act like they do. I'm more into landscaping, but love vegetable gardening, and i learned a lot from you, so, thank you. What came to my mind watching this vid, is watering seedlings. I use a spray bottle for that. That way, you can give your little babies just the right amount of water at exactly the spot they need it. keep on gardening, it's one of the most important things a person can do.

I like the analogy of a dry sponge. If a kitchen sponge is really dry and you run it under a steam of water, most of the water just runs off because it is slightly hydrophobic. So, as Kevin said, water a little, give it time to soak in &open up and be receptive to absorbing the next watering. For$10-15 you can buy a water & pH combo meter for house plants (which I realized I needed cuz, yes, I over watered too many of them) So now, when I water I carry around a little bucket with my meter & a few tools and before I water, I use the meter instead of my finger, cuz it can go deeper and test different levels in the soil then sometimes, especially when the weather changes, I check again AFTER watering to see if I watered enough. and since Im Spending a few extra minutes at many of the plants, I have my bucket & tools to take care of weeds, trimming, harvesting, etc. Soon I hope to have 96% of my plants automatically watered with drip or sprinklers.

You have no idea how helpful this video is, I've been looking for a detailed explanation on watering for so long. Thank you thank you thank you!!

Mel's mix: 1-1-1 equal parts compost, peat moss, vermiculite/perlite. That's what I'm trying out for first time this season as it promises to hold moisture and keep the soil soft and nutrient dense for those roots. I definitely needed this class on watering. Thank you sir!

Between you and Mark from self sufficient, I've learned so much. Best two channels on RU-vid. Thank you.

That planter/container you held when you talked about over watering has a drainage hole, the black button on the bottom is removable, I kept mine one when I was putting soil in, but once I planted I was able to pull It off ☺️

I'm in the process of planting my FIRST garden and am I glad I found your channel. TY for this valuable watering wisdom.

Over watering and under watering are best prevented by soil with a high percentage of organic matter to hold water and a high percentage of sand to allow good drainage. Easiest method is planting in raised bed with a good sized reservoir then you just water until the reservoir is full.

I’m lucky if I remember to water my plants 😣. I’ve done better this season thank to your channel. I mainly garden because it’s relaxing and it’s time for myself, if anything survives my “black thumb” then even better. These tips are definitely where I’ve gone wrong in the past so thank you

This is my second season gardening and I am learning so much from your channel. I am also glad that you explain in a newbie way, meaning that you break down the meanings and gardening lingo. Feel more confident on taking care of my garden.

When I think of tomatoes, I remember that the best, most productive years were the very dry ones. Dry and hot, but not above 90. I do not ramp up the watering when the plants are fruiting. One of the key factors with tomatoes seems to be even watering. You can water them a lot or water them a little, but you have to be consistent. One trick that I have discovered is the way I cage them. I use welded wire cylinders that are about 2 or 3 feet in diameter. I find that I can plant 3 or 4 tomatoes around the outside of the cages, and I try to make the plants grow inside the cages. I throw some straw or old leaves inside the cages to about 6 inches, and this keeps the soil underneath moist. I rarely water the plants at all, except for in drought conditions. The roots grow under the moist mulch. Prune off low foliage to help prevent disease from splattering soil.

Perfect timing! My neighbors have asked me to attend to their raised beds (veggies) while they vacation. THIS helps tremendously! Thank you!

I love watching you. I am a brand new gardener and I love how you talk about what seems complicated for me. Thanks for being such a good teacher and showing clear examples. ❤️

if you live in areas with lots of direct intense sunlight, waterdrops on the leaves are like a magnifying glass. many sensitive plants get their leaves burned...

I have 3 raised gardens, as I have limited space here in town. In addition to that, I've been collecting tea and coffee grounds and rain water for over 4 years. One thing I've found is that raised garden dry out faster than ground-level gardens. This is especially true after this many years of working coffee grounds into the soil. Worms don't feed on the grounds, but feed on the mold that grows on the coffee grounds. Aside from that, the decomposed coffee grounds loosen up the soil which is great. But mine may be a bit too loose, as it dries out rather quickly. As hot and dry as it is in Missouri, I must water each morning and each evening. After my morning watering, my soil is as dry as a bone by evening. Concerning spraying water on top of the plants, where does rain water fall, other than on top of the plants? My system is rather primitive as I use 1 gallon plastic jugs to water my plants. I mulch my plants with leaves and grass clippings, saw dust or wood chips, if available. This begs the question as is it even practical to raise a garden of corn, peas and beans when they are cheaply available from your grocery store? I've decided to move my strawberry plants to my gardens, and not waste time and energy on vegies.

I made self watering planters out of storage bins and plastic bottles/cans. They are amazing. My veggies always look healthy so far and I only need to water every 1-2 weeks!

At 7:48 Your container there actually does have a drainage hole on the bottom, it's just plugged, no need to drill it. If you're concerned about possibly over-watering that particular container, pull out the plug before you fill the container and the water can drain out. That will solve your over-watering concerns. The larger container of the same style has two plugs on the bottom. I have several of those exact containers myself. I came up with a new watering system for my tomatoes this year. I've tried many things in the past and was not as happy as I could be with the results. First, I planted my tomatoes spaced farther apart than I have in the past in order to keep diseases from spreading through plant contact. My rows are about 5 feet apart and I have about 3 feet between each plant. Between each row I planted other plants, such as pepper plants. I created a bowl shape in the soil for each plant in order to capture water and drive it straight down into those specific areas. I then took an old hose with no end on it and ran it along the base of my plants on top of the soil, burying it as needed within the ridges of my bowls. I drilled a hole, about 3/16", in the hose next to each plant, facing up. Since the water then shoots out of the hose under pressure, I needed a way to control the spray, so I used plastic 16.9 oz Mr. Dew bottles to solve this. I cut one of the 'feet' off each of the bottles large enough for the hose to fit through. With no end on the hose I made the hole fit moderately tight around the hose, but even if it is a sloppy fit it will still work fine. I decided to place the hole I cut in the bottle up with relation to the ground, then cut slits along the opposite side of the bottles, which I planned to place directly on the ground. I then ran the hose through all the bottles, placing a bottle over each hole I cut in the hose. I then took and old spark plug and screwed it into the end of the hose, no leaks. Now I can water my tomatoes with ease, in just a few minutes a day. The soil between the plants can be as dry as as a desert, but all my plants are happy and putting out beautiful tomatoes. I also expanded this same operation to water my pepper plants and my cucumbers. All my plants are doing great, other than bug issues. This is a very simple, highly effective watering system I will use from now on. Thanks for the tips! Take care.

Rain = overhead watering. I've been deliberately overhead watering over 300 shrubs and tress for 5 years with no issues.

Thanks for all the suggestions on when to water. I live and grow in the heat of the Arizona desert in Phoenix. I found that watering early in the AM so the water on the leaves will dry BEFORE the sun hits them, is so much better for my plants. I water heavy every other day. My garden is still growing tomatoes and peppers. It's mid June already, and this is the latest I have ever had tomatoes! SO! I guess I finally found the right amount of water! Happy growing!

I have to do my gardening in containers. Last year, I set up double totes, as a bottom watering system. I may have just had beginners luck, but it worked AWESOME!!! I watered every morning till it leaked out the weap hole, then checked in the evening (mainly during the hotter periods) and added a little more. I hope to reproduce the exact same on a larger scale this year.

Im entry level 0. Thank you for having the first video that i could pay attention to and not get super bored.

I’m at Home Depot now awaiting clearance to enter and realize I need a quick connect. This will make life much easier for hand watering. Fantastic video!

You did a pretty good job in explaining the do’s and donts in watering plants. Thank you.

When was growing up after my dad mow the lawn he would take the mow grass and put in on top of the soil in our garden and I never knew what the purpose was until my dad explained it to me about locking moisture of the soil just like you said. I have been using the method all my life. It works.

I’m a master gardener who was surprised to learn that a drip hose and a soaker hose are not the same!! Obviously, I’ve been watering by hand for many years. Thank you for your clear, short informational messages.

A 16-minute video on watering plants? RU-vid, you're spoiling me!

For newbie gardeners like me, this is a great video. Thank you!

Great video with lots of practical advice. With seeds and new sprouts, I lay down enough water to keep the bed moist. After a little growth, I pull in the mulch and cut back a little on the watering, going from 2X a day to once in the morning. My experience with tomatoes is just the opposite of what you're advising. I've found that during the fruiting stage, the tomatoes easily split if they get a lot of water. Nothing I can do about the rain, but I tend hold back, watering once in the morning every other day.

So useful! My mom is a huge gardener and I can say I have heard her mention all of these once or twice when I'd help her with the garden. Always nice to share info! love your channel so much.

Ive been overwatering, i watered every 3-4 days and my acer is dying from it so yeah, dont be scared of the soil looking a bit dry :). Awesome info btw and i love your channel.

Dad grew up on a farm. I’ve Been growing for decades. My parents were Masters at Gardening. We had a show yard that people would come over on weekends to learn their techniques and get some tips. Some things he never shared. Here’s three I’d like to share: Never water small gardens from a hose. Fill the sprinkling can and let it stand for a day to let the chemicals evaporate. Less Is More-(think this way for fertilizing too). Lastly: “Son, your plants like a cool drink of water at the End of the day-or-you can water them early in the morning-but Never in between. Farmer Humor: A Farmer is a Man Outstanding in his Field. Best Wishes..

I’m currently in the process of growing my own Boysenberry plants 🌱 and I was told that they have to be watered only at least 3 times a week. They’re in pots on my porch and I water 💦 them on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with a watering can not with a hose. And so far they’ve grown and are very healthy, but I will transplanting in about a month to my backyard and I’ve got soil and fertilizer for it, so I appreciate your tips and I hope I’m still doing the right thing.

Okay. It's 23:19 here in The Netherlands, but i just had to get down the stairs and into the back yard in my pyjamas to reprogram the dripping system...for real. No watering anymore at 20:00 hrs...tomorrow morning it starts at 07:00. Thanks!!!

I love your channel - My dad gave me my own patch in the garden at the age of 8 and I have been hooked ever since - I would say I am a good gardener these days at the age of nearly 50 however I love learning tips from others - always something to learn . . . Thanks

Love the advice and your adaption of a garden near a main road, shows gardens can be adapted anywhere and people walking past can enjoy

I wish I have known all of these back then. I remember overwatering my grandpa's plants in his yard. Tomatoes, chilis, flowers. And the next day, they withered. Ohh had to rush back home after that 😅😅😅

Enjoyed watching the video ,all the aspects covered very well .Well explained

Really great video, thanks. Just got my first tomato starter and only previously grown easy herbs. Love a nice coffee morning with my plants!

I must say that regarding the time at which the plants should be watered, when you live somewhere with hot dry summers (Madrid in my case), it's better to do it at sundown because otherwise quick evaporation of the water inside the plant in the middle of the day can damage roots and leaves, fixable by making the moment in which the plant has the most water at night ( sorry if any wording mistakes)

I'm an Over-Watering Addict. Lol. Thank you for your video. Some things I KNEW but don't PRACTICE. Like actually putting my fingers into the soil to check it. Succulents are my main victims. Poor things are loved to death. I'm actually getting better now. Yesterday I took more time with each area and plant to see what, if anything, it needed. Turns out they're all just fine without my interference sometimes. Less work....you'd think I'd realize that on my own. Thanks again!

A couple things… You should note HOW to use soaker hoses. There has to be low pressure going into the hose so there is even pressure throughout the hose that will provide even distribution. This is often / usually a tedious task to get right, particularly for longer hoses (it is hard to find anything shorter than 25 feet): the shorter the hose the easier it is to get it right, as in the 10-15' soaker hose in the video. If one turns on the water spigot at full power / blast, most of the water will “leak” out of the hose in the first 5-8 feet, leaving very little water “leaking” out at the end of the hose. The best soaker hoses are the ones that you appear to show in the video: looks like a tightly woven nylon shell. The water does not squirt out, but drips (should drip) as shown in the video). Hardware soaker hoses that look like chopped and re-glued rubber pieces are very hard to cause the water to distribute evenly over the entire length of the hose. Lately, some more expensive “Pro” soaker hoses advertise their extra thick walls so more pressure is needed to “push” water out, but I have not found they work any better or differently than “regular” porous rubber soaker hoses, in addition to being more than twice as expensive. Also, those flaky blue, pressure-reducing washers with small holes at the front end of these hoses are pretty useless from my experiences. However, my bigger issue with soaker hoses is water tends to do down without much lateral movement: thus better for deeper root plants _when_ the soaker hose is close to the plant’s base. When I planted my rows of plants about 8-10 inches apart with a soaker hose running in-between the planted rows, the seeds never received enough water, apparently, and sat un-germinated for over 3 weeks. When I switched to a broad sprinkler system, the seeds germinated within 4-6 days - as they should. And what is this: do not water from the top?? While that might seem rational - and it is preferred to water the soil, not necessarily the whole plant (plants _still_ adsorbs water via their leaves), soil top watering is not the natural rain method of watering: when it rains, the water falls on top of everything. Also, whole plant watering helps cool down the entire plant, particularly when the weather is hot. Finally, pine needles as mulch??? Well, maybe if one is mulching blueberry, raspberry, etc. plants: they prefer acidic soil. Pine needles will acidify the soil, which some plants (really) do not like. Why not use the obvious mulching material, and one the most throw away: lawn clippings? That works great for me and helps retard water evaporation a lot longer, particularly on hot days. And once you get the soaker hose, even water distribution issue resolved, putting grass clippings on top of the soaker hose will allow one to use less water, or certainly can extend the interval between watering. I will also add that plants with large leaves (squashes, cucumbers, etc. and corn) transpire more water than smaller leaves like carrots, peas, etc.-so this is another consideration on how much water to use to irrigate plants. Personally, I am pretty much giving up on soaker hoses for my garden, but they do work well / better around trees (using a big circle around the trunk, about half the diameter of the drown of the tree: where the tree roots are located below the ground). Wand watering is fine for smaller gardens; mine is about 30x40 feet. Sprinkling the whole garden a couple times a week wets the whole garden. And with grass clippings and dead weeds as mulch, I use less water (than without mulch). Also, a moist soil makes pulling weeds a check of a lot easier…

When we first started, we over watered. We thought plants needed to be watered daily in this Texas weather. Now that we have a larger raised bed, we are going to use the automatic watering/fertilizer system. Thanks for sharing

Excellent video and very timely for me. I've just added a split connector to my hose and put a drip hose in, but it's just spraying the water everywhere, I think the soaker hose would be much better.

I feel like I'd be secretly glancing over at your yard if I was your neighbor. My neighbor told me today "I can't help but look at your garden, you set the bar really high every year," but I never see him looking so I'm guessing he secretly looks. XD I secretly look at their yard too because their yard looks nice, I just don't want to make it obvious that I'm staring at their backyard from behind my peas.

In the UK I have never come across screw-fixing hoses. We use a push-fit system i believe was invented by Hozelock, and is used by most other hose suppliers. With the appropriate fittings, I can instantly remove a spray head and the water flow will shutoff, I can then just push-in another attachment and the water is available again. Quick, fairly cheap (especially if you buy generic brands), and easy to use. Even with the tap still on, if you have a connector that automatically stops the flow when no attachments are attached. Good video, sound advise !

I would love if you could do more tips on watering from seedlings to full plans of different kinds. I feel pretty overwhelmed by the watering. I don't want to over water or underwater. Also how much sun to give. I started plants indoor... late in the season it seems. I am new to gardening. Trying to get a greener thumb!

I am a complete newbie to gardening and I am especially nervous when it comes to seeds growing but your channel so far is very informative and helpful!.

I'm watching this as my dad waters the garden mid-day lol I'm glad I found this RU-vid channel

A friend who lived in Georgia, originally, was very good at growing plants. When the hottest days came around here in Ohio, she would pound a conduit piece into the ground close to a larger plant, and slowly pour some water in, and when she planted or started other plants she took branches from large trees, and pruned them off, and stuck them into the ground to temporarily protect the plants from the hot sun. Everything she planted did well, including her African Violets, and other inside plants.

I've been a semi-adequate gardener for several years, but never quite "got it". Your vids are direct and concise enough to help people like me get over the "make it up as you go along" hump and become more proficient. Thanks for the great content.

I water over the top all the time, living in the UK it rains every 3 days anyway. If you've got a mulch or straw covering the surface of the soil you dont get splashback and it stops much of the water escaping from evaporation or wind. Great video though buddy.

Explains a lot, I was doing half of these mistakes... My tomatoes were doing well, and than died, suddenly. Thank you :-)

I use a rain barrel that catches rain water from the roof through the gutter, and I use that to water my vegetable garden. The rain barrel I got cost $75, and it came with spigot, overflow spout, lid with insect screen, and a diverter for the roof's downspout. Rain water is better than tap water because there is more oxygen and nitrogen, and less chemicals.

You are very smart, educated and ALSO a good educator. You do not waste words, you do not woffle. Here in south west UK it is a little hard to translate from San Diego. None the less I enjoy and appre c iate your very targetted input

Awesome information ! Wish I had found you years earlier, I would've killed less in my garden in Florida. Here there are 3 things that kill plants easiest: fungus, enormous insects and infernal heat 3 months a year..Tomatoes get sunburned, etc..I love your Videos, you have so much knowledge. Keep up the good work !

I've never had a problem watering over the foliage. Even during flowering stages. I find that if your watering in the morning you should be fine. Any extra water on the fruit or leave will usually dissipate and be dry by midday

You can see all the TLC you've put into your garden. Inspiring! Very informative videos! I'm a beginner, trying to earn my green thumb.

Well articulated watering guide!! I've watered my garden in the evening for 5 years & have had great results! I like to under water when it's not scorching hot. I believe it helps the plants to grow a bigger root system. Then when they're fruiting ill water every day. :) Boogie brew compost tea is also a must!

I have always said that evening is the best time to water plants. I have never heard of it being bad to water over the plant. So I learned something. I watered my little tomato plant from above and it fell over. I had to stand it up and put soil around the stem.

I started gardening as a hobby last month, so far I’ve been doing everything you said not too 😂I usually water my plants around 1pm , I water using the sprinkler overhead, I flood the planters by overwatering and I haven’t layered mulch over the top. Thanks for explaining everything so well!

My plants are really mad right now due to overwater.. hopefully I can bounce back. Thanks for a great video

Nice info. I tell people that over-watering looks a lot like under-watering. I would definitely put some holes on the bottom of a planter because there is less chance of over-watering.

This is excellent information, thank-you. Some things I've been doing correctly and others, well, not so much. Very early in the morning with a cup of tea works for me. Cheers from Nova Scotia.

on some cases like dry dusty places it is actually good to water the leaves. this is because dust can cover the leaves and block light from heating the plant there was a problem on some farms close where I leave where some rock extraction companies were producing LOTS of dust, so they had to spend extra water to water the plants from above instead of just using their dripping system but they would do this only once a week just to clean off the dust from the trees

Great video! I like to use a dry chop stick instead of a finger to test the moisture in the soil. You can easily tell when you pull out the chop stick by feeling it. If the tip is dry, plant needs more water.

1) When to Water: Early Morning to promote heat tolerance during the day, Try to avoid mid-day, as you lose a lot to evaporation. Evening if you can't do morning, as it's better than mid-day but there's also going to be less water available the next morning than a true morning watering. Consider automated systems, especially if you're busy. 2) Where to water: Get close to the soil, try not to spray the leaves unless you are using a specific topical spray. Water falling from the top will splash fungal spores onto your foliage and puts your plants at risk of blight. Water on the leaves also inhibits plants from letting water OUT of those leaves. That may seem like a good thing, but it actually puts the plant at greater risk of heat injury. Just like our skin, plants have pores (stomata) on their leaves. Plants protect themselves from overheating by opening those pores to allow water to evaporate, just like we do when we sweat. This creates a 15-30 minute period of nearly zero heat protection, which can damage the foliage in one day on a super-hot day but can also stress the plant excessively across multiple days of repeated exposures. Water flows through a plant from root to leaf, so the combination of watering before direct sunlight hits the leaves and also avoiding direct leaf watering is a powerful way to protect your plants and get the most out of them. This mistake is not as bad as it sounds, but it is easily preventable and will make a noticeable difference (especially in combination with morning watering). 3) Overwatering and underwatering: Underwatering: It is easy to think a raised bed or container is "wetter" than it is, but if you dig down you'll find dry soil. This is especially true with absorbent soils and very dry soil. Solution - Use the "water, wait, water again" method. Basically, soak the top soil and let the water sink in, then water the same area again. You may need to do this several times. The goal is to wet the top 3-4 inches of soil, at least, and digging with your finger to check for soil moisture (until you learn your garden soil and just 'know' what to do for your garden). Overwatering: This happens in poorly-draining soils (very high clay content under the garden and very compacted soil/dirt just outside the growing area) and in containers with no drain holes or insufficient drain holes. Signs: Finger test is too wet deep down. You may also see "root rot" or a plant that is wilting/yellowing despite regular watering. Container Solution: Check your containers to make sure they have drain holes, don't buy containers without drain holes for outside gardens, and add drain holes to plastic containers with a knife or a drill (or replace the container). Non-draining ceramic containers are easy to break, even with a ceramic drill bit, so you may want to just get a new container. Bed Solution: Make sure that you have well-draining soil both in AND around your garden beds, and make sure that you haven't accidentally "planted in a bowl" of native soil that doesn't drain well. 4) Watering all plants the same way regardless of plant type or its current point in its life cycle: Seedlings: Need to be babied, soaker hose or direct watering is better than drip lines with "emitters" 11:10 Fruiting plants: Need more water when fruit is set and growing Leafy plants: Don't need much of any changes other than adjusting for the weather 5) Use mulch: Self-explanatory. Use Mulch, almost anything will do but pay attention to whether the mulch is acidic or neutral. Acidic mulch can be great for berries, but might lower soil pH too much for good growth/production. Do some google searches to know what's what. Most things are neutral, but pine straw for example is fairly acidic. Mulching has three goals: -Prevent evaporation of water from the soil, accomplished by having a 2+ inch surface layer over the topsoil. This blocks the sun's rays from directly heating the soil, which slows down evaporation. -Create a more constant soil temperature, which is also accomplished by a sufficiently thick layer of mulch blocking direct sunlight. -Block weed growth, which is ALSO accomplished by blocking the sunlight! It isn't perfect, but the vast majority of unwanted growth will be prevented by mulching.

I wish I would have seen this video when I lived in San Diego. Now my climate is vastly different and so are the techniques.

Hi, my name is Pat, and I water my garden too much.

I always put gravel or even rocks at the bottom of my planters which helps if you've over watered. Plus, it makes the pot heavier so it doesn't tip over in a forceful wind. Thanks, again, for your great videos.

If you have grass and mow your lawn...I have used the lawn clippings in my plants in my planters/pots/raised garden beds as an alternative to mulch. It works wonders and it’s cheap.

I appreciate the detail explanation about the mistakes with watering.

Thank you for this helpful video. I got my first plant ever. And I’m completely lost when it comes to watering or over watering.

As a new grower I found mulch around my plants keeps the ground good and moist. I may be looking at fungus problems with all the rain Missouri has had this year and now it's getting hot. I've backed off on watering. I hope this is right

This is one the first of your videos i watched when i dedicated myself to my garden. It was a game changer in helping my plants thrive. Mahalo!

I have been a gardener for a few years now and I have to say I have made all these mistakes and your remedy and advice is excellent 👌. Gracias.

I have zero planting experience. Planted tomato seeds today. Wish me luck 😭

Such an important video. I was a bit disappointed that you didn't talk about the relationship between watering and blossom end rot.

I like to water in a circle around the base not directly at the base. Just barely wet the base and then soak the spots in between plants. Also, allowing plants to dry out in between waterings will help the roots spread bigger by chasing the moist bacteria in the wet soil. It also prevents fungus gnats. Watering over the tops of plants is a good way to strengthen the plants actually if u blast well established plants hard. Just dont over do it.

Hey! Can mulch influence the overwatering problem in container gardening? I have a container almost exactly like the one in this video, I planted kale in it. I quickly realized that disease and pests could train wreck a garden when it's gardener doesn't take proper care so I am trying to learn all of this on the fly! I don't have any mulch in the container, but I am somewhat stuck. I read online to water 1-1.5 inches per week, but at that rate the soil in my container NEVER dries out. On one of the kale, I noticed that the new leaves are either deformed, or dry out in the outer edges really early in their growth and break away, leaving leaves that do not look whole. So I came here to find out whether my soil that never dries out is the problem. (It has been 1 week and two days since the last watering, I am waiting for the soil to dry out more before watering again.)

Great video! Maybe in temperate climates or in arid subtropical/tropical or mediterranean climates like California and Arizona fungus due to overhead watering is "slightly overblown", but not here in South Florida, eeeek! Watering late evening is a huge no-no, and overhead watering is a straight pathway to fungus overgrowth, especially in summer (our winter crops are regular summer crops in the rest of the country, and fungus in winter is much less damaging). Thanks for bringing it up. Also thank you for talking about mulch! it's a real life saver during the dry season.

I have a good sized garden at the apartment complex where I live that I share with all of the neighbors. They think I'm nuts because I drag buckets of water outside and then water everything by hand using either the steamer cup from my coffee maker (about 2 cups) or the typical watering container with the fine holes in the end. I explain to them again and again that our tap water a) has chlorine b) is about 8.5 pH out of the tap on a good day c) that with a hose I can't really measure how much each plant gets and its guess work. So, I treat the water in my apartment and get out my handy pH meter to check out what the city is doing on any given day. It can be all over the board as high as 10 pH!! So, I just make a quick adjustment to get the water somewhere between 6.5 and 7. The seedlings always get the cup method because even the watering can will beat them down pretty quickly. Or it rearranges the dirt before the seeds come up and now some areas have a 1/4" of dirt and some have 3/4", etc. And water loves to run off before it soaks the ground. So, I start watering one area lightly, move on to the next, then come back to the first and add some more, etc. The rose bushes and the tomatoes might get Epsom salts added. I don't try and figure out what an 1" or 2" is but give each of those one gallon every other day. The large flower containers get half a gallon each every other day and so on. The young peppers don't need much at all because they are still small and don't have a big root system. The pansies don't take much of a beating so I water around the base. Plastic containers are the worst because water runs down the sides and out the holes before the ground really gets a good wetting so out comes the small cup. And yesterday, the water had compost tea and a light shot of fish emulsion added which I can't do with a garden hose. I have used auto watering drip systems indoors with my cannabis garden and they are great...until they don't work. There was the time a socket went bad and so there was no power to the timers or the pump and nothing got watered. And there were times when an individual spray nozzle would get plugged and the plant didn't get watered. And of course, the closer the hose is to the faucet, the more force it has and it got really tricky making the whole system even. So, I went back to pretending that I am Mr. Miyagi in his Zen garden hand manicuring and watering every living creature:) The garden is 3' x 60' plus nine 15-20 gallon containers and it really doesn't take long to water the entire thing. I drenched everything outside plus my patio garden and used 28 gallons.

I can’t thank you enough for these videos!!!! I really want to start raised bed gardening but have been hesitant until I found your channel! You have given me so much fantastic information that I think I am ready!!!! I live, though, on the other side of our country.....Long Island, NY so zone 7, I think. Any advice for when to actually plant since we are still chilly at night here..........

Great video, my husband and I really love all of them! With the hay, is this something that you would also put on seedling areas or just once the plant has sprouted? Thanks for all you do!

I always used to water on the evening, I will be watering in the morning now and also at the roots and not over the top. Thank you for all the information.

Been listening to your podcast for the last couple years. Just delved into the videos. You are a wealth of knowledge and I appreciate you taking the time to share the things you’ve learned