Think we practice just about every one on your points Angela. We also try to remember that plants can wilt down some in the late afternoon and bounce back fine by morning. It’s going to be…. no…. it is another hot summer in the valley. Perfect timing to brush up on watering. Thanks!
I have also tried many different hoses and never been completely satisfied. Last year I bought several Teknor Apex 5/8-in x 100-ft Heavy-Duty Kink Free Vinyl Gray Coiled Hose that I found at Lowe’s and have been impressed with how sturdy yet supple they are even when the temperature dips into the 40’s. and so far no kinking. Time will tell how long they last. 😊
Built a sub irrigated wicking bed (raised bed with pond liner, corrugated ads pipe creating a bottom layer, landscape cloth, with all the soil on top.). It’s been great. Moving soon and I’m going to miss that garden bed. Geoff Lawton, albo pepper and… some guy I can’t remember who does aquaponics have the best videos I’ve found on arid climate efficient watering systems. Your garden looks amazing and I’ve taken notes on things to check out. Thanks
Thanks for the timely watering tips during these brutal summer days! I too started using a hose link a couple of months ago after seeing it on one of my other favorite (down under) gardening channels. It was a pricey outlay for a hose, but if I add up the cost of 6 decades worth of failed hoses, it didn’t seem so outrageous 😉 Anyway, I really enjoy this hose link system! Happy gardening to my Sonoran Desert Gardening Goddess!
Right? Expensive for a hose. I've waited to post anything until I'd used it for a bit and I do like it. I hate to think what I've spent on hoses through the years. Hope it lasts a while. Thanks for watching!
ONLY 40 YEARS LOL I PUT IN 200 GARLIC PLANTS EVERY YEAR IN THE FALL ALL ARE UP ABOUT 2 FEET KNOW. MY FIRST TIP IS IF YOU ARE NOT BECOME A VEGETARIAN BECOME ONE. NO CHEMS NO DRUGS FOR ME, I'M 51 YEARS AT IT @@GrowingInTheGarden
I use wicking beds and hand watering. I agree with you! I know which plants to water when. I have mainly native Texas plants but some fruit trees and veggies. I also have a water garden, pond and bog.
Nice video. Thank you for the excellent tips. I have to water with a hose (no automatic system). I water each plant (flowers and vegetables), let the water soak in for a few minutes, and go back and give the plants more water. Usually a lot more water.
I get asked about watering all the time I tell beginners if a plant ask for two gallons then get a two gallon container time how long it takes to fill it or I tell them get your finger dirty poke it in the soil and see if it slightly wet water the next day if dry water I think the finger test is the best it works no matter how your watering. Excellent video
I'm in AZ thaaaasank you!!! I'm starting inside and everything's getting bigger but I need help with watering my containers thank you so much I guess I'm not watering enough.. im nervous to transfer outside because it's colder but I think it's not getting too cold
Thank you for so much good information. I know it’s hard to answer how much to water and how often but I wish someone could tell me what they know of specific garden plants. For example do tomatoes like lots of water and their soil be kept moist or do the like to dry out between watering. Same for zucchini or peppers, or cucumbers. I’m trying to get started but have no point of reference regarding how much to water specific plants. When buying flowering plants do give you that information on their tags.
That's a great question. Some plants like tomatoes and squash need more moisture. I usually list the water needs of plants in the growing tips for each plant. You can find the "how to grow" blogposts here: growinginthegarden.com/category/vegetables/
A very timely video for me. I’m in southern New Mexico and with the triple digit temperatures I am wondering if I am over watering or under watering. (This year is my first real garden.). Do you ever use a moisture meter? I have used one and it tells me my pots ( plastic) as well as my raised beds are fine even when it has been a few days since watering. It is hard for me to tell with the finger method whether it is dry or not. Would that be “bone dry” or just not wet? Your videos are great!
Sure, a moisture meter can be helpful for sure. When it's bone dry I would for sure water - just not wet then dig down a bit more to see how wet it is lower. Watering is tricky for sure.
Great information, very useful! Do you have a recommendation for watering large trees that are 10+ years old? With the drought here, it’s been suggested to cut down yard watering. Just wondering if there’s a good way to handle this and keep the trees thriving. Thanks!
Focus on watering deeply at the tree's drip line - the edge of the canopy - that is where the roots that are growing will be. A slow drip from a hose ensures the water goes deep.
SO helpful and informative, as usual. I have been stumped as to how to water my "garden." It's really a bunch of fruit trees in pots. They're all on wheels so I can move them under the overhang when it rains a lot or when they need more shade. I can't figure out how to get hoses to them when they're each a different height and each in individual pots. Not to mention the pomegranate needs less water than the citrus and mangos. But I'm starting to feel like a slave to watering. Any ideas? My only thought is to either run one hose over all of them, and each pot just gets one little water hole that I can plug if I need to move the pot. Or else maybe I try and do one hose with little ones that branch off and form a ring around the pot for more even distribution? I dunno. This has been puzzling me for a good year now.
Angela: Have you tried self-wicking raised beds in Mesa? I'm curious how they would do there. I've seen some wonderful ones made from cattle troughs. OOXXOO Linda
Here is a video about grow bags: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1ap0EE9xtrU.html and a blogpost: growinginthegarden.com/gardening-in-grow-bags-5-tips-for-success/
Depends on your soil and beds - As temps heat up I go from once a week to as often as every other day when it is very hot and dry. Monitor your soil as temps heat up or cool down. Water long enough to water the depth of the soil and let the top few inches dry out before watering again.
I have 4 half barrels with ollas that I water daily using a hose to first fill the olla, then the other parts of the barrel by hose until it comes out the bottom. Is there a small bore irrigation option to do the hose part?
Thanks for the references and info. I'm in zone 9a California and we get hard water that clogs dripp emmiters. Are filters available for the grid system you use? Thank you.
I'm zone 9b in California and have the same issue. I just keep extras on hand and replace the emitters as needed. Fortunately they're cheap to buy in bulk. I have a tackle box full of my extra drip parts that I just keep in my garden shed.
Yes, you can ask for cornerless grids - they also have their own metal bed which is made to fit the grids perfectly- I have one of them and love it. shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=1897453&u=2736599&m=118440&urllink=&afftrack=
I have raised beds that are 24" tall. I filled half of them with rotting/tree stumps and leaves. but now when I water it seems to run out the bottom fairly quickly... ? The soil I mixed 40% garden soil, 40% compost and 20% vermiculite. Do you know why this is happening?
Can you divide up the watering time into 3-4 different times and let it soak in a bit between? That may allow it to soak in rather than running out the beds.
What size tubing are you using for your drip irrigation? I'm seeing 1/4" and 1/2" online. I just moved to Arizona not far from you and I know exactly what you're talking about with the salt in the water. It clogs up everything! Definitely don't want that to happen to my watering system.
I purchased Ollas from GrowOya a couple of weeks ago and loved them. I needed more but their site says out of stock. On a hunch I went to a Mexican market and picked up clay drinking jugs for $2/each. I dig them into the soil, fill with water, put something to cover it and BAM. Happy plants! Amazon calls them “cantaritos de barro”. Works great. Not as amazing as GrowOya but it keeps my plants hydrated. And I love your channel! Thanks for the insightful info! I totally appreciate that you jump right into the topic rather than some other gardening channels that show minutes upon minutes of nothing at all related to gardening (one channel took 10 min of showing us their kids before even stepping outside into the garden).
Not watering when it rains, is inaccurate. Most of the time when we receive a rain storm, due to our hard soil and the rain coming down so quickly, it does not allow for the rain to soak into the soil and most of it exits your property via run-off. If you have a catchment system, then you can harvest some of this water and direct it to where it is needed, but most of us do not have a garden designed for this. Here in the desert a slow, soft rain, over a long duration can allow you to refrain from using your watering system that day, but most of our rains don't fit that criteria. People should be mindful of this because the blanket statement of "turning off your irrigation every time it rains" is erroneous.
