4 Common Watering Mistakes to Avoid

Making sure that your garden routinely gets a sufficient amount of water every week is one of the most important tasks for a gardener.  Even though the concept of creating a watering routine seems obvious and easy, there are many different ways to manage the watering of your garden so that you do not make these common watering mistakes.

The past year, I have made some major changes to the way that I water my garden.  In previous years, I would just go out to the garden in the evening, and spray my hose nozzle over the garden for a few minutes and call it a day.  Or if I would go out and determine that more water was needed, I would water that specific plant.  Or I would just pray for some rain so that I would not have to water that day.

I made so many mistakes and my garden suffered because of it.  I bet you are also making some of these common mistakes, but don’t worry, they are easy to fix!

Take a look at these common watering mistakes to avoid.

1) Shower Watering Instead of Soaking

One of the most common mistakes that new gardeners make when watering their garden is using the shower watering method.  This method is when you shower the garden with the water from overhead.  I totally used this method when I first started gardening when I had no idea how to properly water my garden.  At the time, this just seemed to make sense.

There are several reasons as to why shower watering is not a good idea.  One of the major reasons that you do not want to shower your vegetable garden from above is because this method does not allow for the majority of the water into the soil.  Instead water will collect and stay of the leaves and stems.  This attracts pests and encourages fungus and bacteria growth which could damage and kill your plants.

Once vegetable plants are grown and established, it is very hard to properly soak the soil underneath if you are watering from above and are trying to water over top of the large plants.  This method works fine when you are watering grass or ground cover but for vegetables, herbs, and potted plants, the best method is soaking. 

Instead of shower watering, you should be soaking your soil.  I spent several years watering the garden from above but since I have started watering using the soaking method, I have seen a much better results in less fungus and disease.

Soaking simply means you are watering the soil at the base of the plant directly.  It seems so obvious now that I have been doing it this way for a while.  The best method for doing this is using soaker hoses.  By laying soaker hoses along the rows of plants, you can turn on the water and the water will be slowing leaked out into the soil.

I do not use soaking hoses but I will be incorporating them into my larger, expanded garden next year.  For now, I just make sure that instead of showering the garden overhead, I focus the hose nozzle into the beds and pots and directly water the soil around the plants.  You want to water deeply and thoroughly. 

2) Watering Too Much

I totally water my plants to much.  Believe it or not, this causes a lot of problems! For best result, only water when the soil is dry.  Check the dampness of your soil before watering.  A common rule of thumb is if the soil is damp two inches down, you can wait to water. If it dry, give it a good soaking. 

The amount of water will also depend on if you are planting in boxes or pots, or if you are planting directly into the ground. Pots and boxes drain quicker and will need to be watered more frequently.

Make sure to watch the weather for heavy storms and adjust your watering routine accordingly.

3) Watering During the Heat of the Day

Watering during the hottest part of the day is most certainly a mistake that I have made in the past.  Typically, the hottest part of the day is in the afternoon from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.  This is hard for me because the best time for me to give my garden the most attention has always been while my boys are napping.  This is between 2:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon, usually the hottest part of the day!  I struggle with checking on the garden during this time, seeing that it could really use some water, and waiting until later to water it.  Usually by that time I forget!  When you water during the heat of the day you run the risk of the water evaporating off and not soaking your plants thoroughly. 

While watering in the evening is better in this regard, the best time to water your plants is in the early morning hours.  Doing it at this time allows the plants time to perk up and receive the sun once it comes out for the day without evaporating or contributing to the growth of fungus.

4) Inconsistent Watering

This is a common issue and an easy mistake to make.  It took me a very long time to establish a proper watering routine, and I am still not the best at it.  Since I am now expanding it, I will need to adjust my routine for next year.  Watering should be more of a routine of prevention and care then a reaction to your plants doing poorly.  In the past, I would water when I felt like it was needed but also let nature take care of it when it rained.  Unfortunately, this resulted in uneven watering which leads to a whole slew of issues with your plants.  Blossom end rot for zucchini, squash, and tomatoes where a big one that I have experienced.  Cracked tomatoes are also a cause of too much water while the fruit was developing.

It may take a year of good monitoring to get the proper routine down.  It will also changed throughout the season as seedlings and new plants need more watering than more mature plants. 

These watering mistakes are so easy to make.  Putting a little focus into a watering plan and routine will really help some of the issues that you may have faced in past years.  There are also ways to make the watering process easier and more automatic such as using soaker hoses and timers.  If you have a big garden, it may be worth the investment in order to avoid overwhelm with watering the plants a few times a week. 

Watering your plants is one of the most important tasks in a garden. With a good plan, routine, and the correct tools, you can save yourself a lot of trouble and time when it comes to damaging pests and diseases that could destroy your future crops.