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Minnesota([email protected])

I've heard that at least a couple heavy hitters use this method of watering their plants. If you hand water your plants, I'd like to know what method you use. When I picture hand watering, I see someone out in the patch with a 2 gallon sprinkler bucket(I'm guessing this isn't the watering method, when the plants are large?). I've been using an overhead sprinkler, but maybe hand watering is a better way to go.

6/21/2007 6:32:25 PM

Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Hand watering can also involve a hose and wand. This just keeps the water off the leaves (to help prevent mildews, etc) and to not wash off whatever it is you have sprayed on your leaves.

I find this type of watering to be kind of invasive because you have to walk through the whole patch. I use a drip/soaker system which runs along every vine to wet the ground beside the vine. Dont wet the vine, this can cause rot. The system I use allows the roots of the vine to travel an inch sideways to the water, while keeping the vine and the dirt it is buried under, dry.

6/21/2007 6:48:03 PM

Yuba City, Ca.

I hand water my plants, just the hose and my thumb. Occasionally I might squirt up under the leaves every couple of weeks just to dampen the stump and covered vine areas but mostly I want to keep that and the leaves dry. My reason for hand watering is to get the roots to chase the water. I'm thinking the leaves that grow have roots underneath them and to keep building them makes for a bigger and healthier plant. As for walking around the plants, unless I'm covering vines then I don't get within a couple of feet anyway. Then as the vines grow I use a McLeod tool to soften the next couple of feet area up again, its benefit is that I'm always weeding, turning up and softening the soil on the way out. IMHO- Everyones different, besides I think if I continuously walk in the same lines then hoeing up the soil again is an easy chore. Lol- yes sometimes but a lot lately I do seem to get alittle muddy whether I like it or not. :)

6/21/2007 9:34:32 PM

Rhode Island

early season we water by hand (shower head on hose ) and also on occasion will also on very hot days cool the outer edges of the plant a couple times during the afternoon to help keep the new leaves from burning.
at this time of year we will set up an over head sprinkler on mist and mist the plants two to three time a day as needed
by mid july we will go to almost all watering underneath the plant with very little other than mother natire getting the stump and leaves wet.( on occasion we will also mist the plants if need be )
we cover the stump with a clear piece of plexiglass because the stump rot problem can also be brought on by getting the stump to wet.

6/22/2007 6:37:07 AM

Nashville, TN

This year, I've been using Soaker hoses on the GPs. Previous years I've actually dug a five gallon hole near the plant - and filled it every time it finally soaked out. Sometimes this was everyday - sometimes every-other-day. It was a decent system - but improvements such as: placement, putting a five gallon bucket in it with small holes on the plant side, etc - could be made.

This did well considering these have been dry years, with temps in the upper 90's for weeks at a time. The 'bucket hole' method, gets the moisture 18"++ down along with right under the surface and the soil will be saturated up to a 4-6' radius of the 'water hole' - and you KNOW how many gallons that the plant is actually getting. They'll put roots surrounding these 'water sources' and suck up every drop!

6/23/2007 8:41:56 AM

Minnesota([email protected])

Thanks for the helpful replies.....Doug

6/24/2007 11:53:33 PM