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Honeoye Falls New York

Trying to figure out the right way to water. I have soaker hoses I run from time to time to moisten the soil. Am I right , you dont water during the heat of the day? When is the best time to water? I dont have a irrigation syatem can I use a sprinkler or just water by hand? Should I try not to get the leaves wet before sundown? Thank you

7/6/2010 10:27:14 PM

Rhode Island

id suggest running the soaker hoses during the day. depemding on how many soakers you have laid down and how dry your soil is would be a question only you can answer.

i dont use soaker hoses or misters.i overhead water around 9 am daily after the mist and wetness from the night before has dried off the leaves ( if not spraying wet leaves to early a.m. could help spread mildew.etc)
i will also overhead again around 2pm if its a reall hot day. helps cool the plant a bit.
if soil in the center of plant is wet enough? i just hand water around the outer edges of plants where the soil is much dryer.

with the heat we are experiencing in the new england states this summer? more watering is reccommended as needed.

also watering around 5 pm is good whether you go over top,mist or hand water the outer edges of plant. just make sure to stop watering in time for the plants to dry out before night fall.

7/7/2010 8:00:22 AM

Buffalo, New York

You overhead water at 9am and 2pm on hot days pap?

Wow, i thought oany type of watering overhead during the day is a big NoNo.

I run my soakers during the days sometimes, but mostly in the evenings after I wake up.

7/7/2010 8:13:34 AM

Anchorage, Alaska

There is a misconception that overhead watering during the heat of the day burns leaves. It does, but only because people forget that the first few gallons coming out of their hose can be boiling hot. Automatic timers are especially poor judges of hose end water temperatures.

7/7/2010 8:56:37 AM

Western NY

Big Ange - if yours are soaker hoses (the kind that drip slowly), time of day should not be an issue. I run mine 3 times per day on a timer.

7/7/2010 8:57:01 AM

Upa Creek, Mo

Is a good way to run the slow drip soaker hoses right down the middle of the entire plant?

7/7/2010 10:20:18 AM

Navarre,OH

Oh yeah I found out yesterday and this was only at 11am exactly how hot the water in a hose is thats been sitting there. It was so hot when it came out it made my hand completely red like I burned my hand in boiling water. Just imagine what happens when water that hot would hit tender curcabit leaves! So its basically an old wives tale about watering during dead heat of the day? I was always paranoid about doing this.

7/7/2010 10:28:35 AM

The Garden State

I'm thinking that the watering during the heat of the day is an old wives tale. I don't have a mister setup so with this current heat wave (100 + temps) I just started setting a timer for noon and 3 pm (since then is when my plants were really wilting). So far no ill effects. Besides, when I drive by the fields in NJ it seems that they are always watering their crops during the heat of the day. I'm just trying to keep my girls alive at this point.

7/7/2010 12:39:42 PM

Honeoye Falls New York

thanks guys alot of good info here

7/7/2010 12:59:06 PM

Bristol R.I. USA

I water my plants everyday. I give them a small amount to feed there needs and to keep constant tempetures. Before going to work in the afternoon i water them with a light misting to help cool the plant and leaves. I find that wilted leaves to be against any sound garden practice. On my fertilizing days i add molasis and the chosen fert. I top that off with seaweed to protect from powdery mildew. I dont see anything wrong with watering during the heat of the day. In fact i think it does harm if you dont cool the soil and plant.

7/8/2010 2:10:18 PM

Sloughhouse, CA

My misters go on 4 times 10:00 to 5:00. I will also start to water every other day for 2 hrs. using in line drip system. We have not hit 100 degrees yet.

7/8/2010 7:45:42 PM

Ottawa, Canada

I have my plot at work. We have a lot of land around our manufacturing facility, so a bunch of guys and I are having a pumpkin growing contest, so, the only time I get to water my plants are when I'm at work, I've been top watering since day 1, especially at lunch time. It's been in the low 100's for the last three weeks and the plants seem to enjoy the noon soak. The water I use is from a stream that runs by my plot so the water is typically in the 70's. No plant burn there

7/12/2010 10:10:14 PM