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Hot Weather Watering?

 
master gardener
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I have a bit of a situation that is making me nervous.



We are having unseasonably hot weather in the Northeast of the good ole U.S.A. that is going to see record high heats for at least a week. We are talking mid to high 90 degree Fahrenheit weather finally broken with some storms.

My plants are getting established, so it is not like they are fragile new transplants, but I want to give them the best chance of survival that I can considering we don't usually get this hot of weather in June for my location.

Any tips for watering? Would it be best to try and irrigate in the morning or evening?

I'm more than likely being a worry-wart, but I hope to see what ya'll come up with!
 
gardener
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I'm always pressed for time in the morning so I end up watering in the evening. I've been told that morning watering is best to avoid leaf problems. I've just driven through snow on the pass on my way to Eugene so I would like a little heat sent this way...just a little. Have had to put frost cloths on the plants for the last three days.
 
gardener
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I'm with Ray, my elders always said watering at night just feeds the bugs. In my garden here, watering at night brings out the slugs/snails. I try to water early in the morning to avoid sunscald when the sun is up. Looks like you should be getting more heat than intense sun, so shade cloth shouldn't be necessary (I am right now troubleshooting with a family member in NJ who is looking at a sunny scorching week).... although if it were me and I just put in transplants, for example, I'd probably put up the shade cloth anyway if I had some. Might save some damage from heavy rainfall too.
 
steward
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The others have offers some good suggestion.

I would like to add using soak-er hoses.  That way the water goes into the soil and not into the air where the water would be lost through evaporation.

Have a happy summer despite the heat.  

I don't pay attention to the temps though dear hubby said it was 110 a few days ago.
 
gardener
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I live in N. California we are getting a little relief the last couple of days thanks goodness, but last week it was 100 - 105. No fun at all!  
I break the rules. I work early, so I water in the evening.  I have a bunch of melons and squash that are still pretty young. In this kind of weather I water them everyday. Once all the seeds are up and big enough I will mulch, or the  plants will fill in.  Then I don't have to water as often.
Mulch, mulch, mulch in hot dry weather mulch is your friend. It not only helps keep the soil moist longer, it also helps cool the roots.  My favorite is living mulch. I plant so much you can't see the soil. But it doesn't really matter, it's what works for you.
Mostly it's about observing your plants, and checking your soil. They will tell you if they aren't getting enough water. They use a soil meter at work. I just stick my finger in the soil up to the last knuckle. If it feels wet you are good, if it doesn't water.
Unfortunately there's no one answer. There's just to many variables. Weather, what kind of soil you have. Are you growing in the ground, raised beds, pots? What are you growing, not all plants need the same amount of water. So the typical answer is it depends. Good luck .
 
gardener
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I like the idea of watering in the morning. It gives the plants a chance to dry out better to avoid problems with too much water. In reality, I water when I get a chance which could be any time of day.

I have heard that plants appreciate getting spray on their leaves on a hot day. I know there are places where this could cause burn spots, but I don't have that problem here. So I try to cool them off in the middle of the day if I am home.
 
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Watering in the morning seems to work best for all (if you have time). I used to avoid watering in the daytime altogether. However, it seems to help if fungal diseases are out of control. It does use more water. Now, I sometimes do water midday. I rarely water in the evening - usually, when there was 90% chance of rain, but it didn't happen. Things like ginger and other humidity lovers may need to be watered twice in this type of weather. I also avoid fertilizing heat-stressed plants.
 
pollinator
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What type of watering are you doing?

Foliar watering is when you water the leaves, and this could be hurtful to the plants. Some say that water opens plants pores and makes them more susceptible to things such as heat.  

I am not a watering expert, but drip irrigation and soaker hoses should help.  They also sell little water bulbs to help a little.  If you have a plant that needs a little extra, this might help.
 
pollinator
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Location: SE Indiana
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Most of my watering is done by hand with a watering can so the leaves do not get wet. I usually do it in the morning but that is mostly because morning is when I do my gardening chores. I mulch the grow beds as much as possible and keep the paths clear and sculpted so that if any water escapes the grow bed, I see it in the path and use my hoe to make little dams to keep it just on the beds.

I usually don't water more than once a week but when I water, I do it a lot. I want it to soak down deep. I think frequent, shallow watering encourages the roots to stay close to the surface and makes the plants very dependent on regular watering.

I scrape the paths and throw the soil and weeds in the beds for mulch. This results in the paths being slight depressions. I have a few times in recent years resorted to using city water to fill the paths like irrigation ditches. The path surface is of course exposed to the sun and dries quickly but the water had no place to go except in the ground under the beds. Again, I do it infrequently but a lot.

I miss the days decades ago when I didn't have to water at all.
 
William Wallace
pollinator
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Mark, you might benefit from mulching your pathways.

What if ..... The dried path made a couple inches of subsurface a tad less nice of an area? Could this possibly make a tiny little barrier for beneficial critters and things?  

I am not suggesting that it would stop anything, but just that a worm might be in some nice soft hydrated soil, and then it runs into a wall where it is dryer and maybe a little more dense.  Is the worm likely to turn around back into the hospitable environment?  I don't know how likely it is, or if this is some paranoia. I just think that it is important to encourage beneficial from outside our garden to come in.  

You talk about it being a depression as well, so this is giving the sun even deeper subsurface access.
 
Mark Reed
pollinator
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I do have some concern with the paths being so exposed and hard packed, but I have bad problems with moles and voles. When I kept the paths mulched as well as the beds the critters had free reign of the place without obvious signs. If a critter gets under the mulch in a bed, I might not know it, until it's too late but it tries to cross a path, it leaves tell -tell signs.

I completely stopped tilling about a decade ago and I allow weeds, especially dandelions, dock and some others to grow in the paths, mostly in late winter / early spring. When I scrape them off with a sharp hoe it seems to keep the paths a bit softer, I guess from the dying roots, despite my keeping them packed down. It may also be why when I do need to flood irrigate the paths, the water soaks in so quickly. I have some primary access paths that are wide enough for my hand cart, but most are narrow enough that they are shaded pretty well by the vegetables so that helps some too.  
 
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Our drip irrigators run mid-day. It doesn't really matter as they sit over holes in the mulch and the water goes straight down into the shadow, and a thick layer of mulch is everywhere around it.

I'm in a *very* arid and dry place and even here, even when it is 100f in our high altitude I never need to water more than once every other day. Mulched soil that's been thoroughly watered, even my sandy soil, stays wet for a good long while.
 
Posts: 42
Location: Southwestern Ohio, Zone 6b
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There are many ways to water and there are some that may be more beneficial than others. With that said, it is also important for my gardening experience to be soothing and healing for my soul. Therefore, I don't want to stress about things. I am in SW Ohio and we went into the upper 80s and 90s way too early this year. I have gardened in Sacramento, CA where it can go to triple digits in May, so this is still an improvement. I have been more dedicated with mulching this year. When it is cooler, I can get away with letting plants shade the soil. Not so much when everything is baking. I am using no dig method and the compost on my beds is the kind that will dry out quickly. Mulch also helps with that.

So, I water when it is convenient for my day. Today I went out and watered both front and back before I had breakfast while it was still below 80 degrees. I use a rain wand to soak at the base of plants and to broadcast overhead, depending on the crop and location in the garden. I also will use a watering can to hit the containers since they need watering every day and the rest will only get water every 2 or 3 days depending on the heat.

My main intention is to keep everything alive and well with minimum stress on mine and their parts. This heat can be unkind to some friends and very kind to others. I have watched my cucumbers put on around 3 inches or more per day for the past week. And the "trunks" on my tomato plants are thick as my thumb in some places. Early summer means a longer growing season for the heat loving veggies. I think I can accept that.
 
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I love gardening too! To give my plants the best chance of thriving, especially in unusual heat, I installed a water filter to ensure they get the purest water. As for watering tips, I recommend you try watering in the early morning to help your plants absorb moisture before it gets too hot. Evening watering can sometimes cause fungal issues due to prolonged dampness. Happy gardening!
 
Timothy Norton
master gardener
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The sudden hot weather has been weathered (see what I did there?) rather well!

I have come container (big buckets) potatoes that at the end of each day looked a little wilted but recovered with morning waterings.

I was unsure if plants would have acclimation stress kind of like how humans do when they are suddenly put in hot/cold weather that they are not used to.

I never have claimed not to be a worry wart. I'm just glad it was mostly a non-event for the garden.
 
Mark Reed
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I don't grow a lot in containers other than my sweet potatoes, but I do not water them daily. With them and anything else in containers I bury the bottom of the container three or four inches, in order to seal the drain holes against leaking out on top of the ground. With the sweet potatoes and probably most other things the feeder roots exit the pots through the drain holes and continue to have access to the water deeper down. It's important to never move the containers once the roots are established but that's the only rule and it seems to work very well. I water the pots heavily when I water, but only do it once a week or so, even when it's very hot and dry.
 
gardener
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We're experiencing the same high temperatures here and I'm attempting to keep up with the watering.  Typically I water in the morning as I'm generally outside by 6:00.  Since I have an appointment in the morning I filled several jugs and my watering can this evening to save some time tomorrow.  

I managed to mulch a few of my beds last fall with a generous layer of shredded leaves and in those beds I haven't watered except where I've planted new seedlings or transplants.  Now I'm working on mulching the remaining beds with whatever materials I can find.
 
steward & author
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Where I am, we get a lot of dew overnight,  even during a heat event.   This makes watering in the evening like watering twice.  The cool moisture on the soil attracts moisture from the air which gathers on the leaves and around where we watered.
 
pollinator
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I like drip irrigation for closely spaced things like carrots, radishes, or leaf lettuce.
For plants further apart, like peppers, tomatoes, and squash, I put down PVC pipe.  I put hose connectors on one end, capped the other end, and drilled tiny holes where the plants were going to be.  I put it about 8 inches (20 cm) from the plant so the stem wouldn't sit in a bog and rot.  
The first year I had the spacing the same on the entire length of each run of pipe.  The plants near the hose got WAY more water than the ones at the other end.  Since then I put the holes further apart near the hose connector and closer together on the far end.
20 feet (6 m) is a good length of PVC for me.  Any longer than that and the plants at the end don't seem to get enough water.
I'm thinking I'll switch to quick connectors in the near future.
I do the used carpet mulch in some parts of the garden.  I put the PVC under the mulch.  If you lay down organic mulch you want the PVC covered with mulch to cut down on evaporation.

I do agree with morning watering if you are spraying it in the air to reduce evaporation.
 
pollinator
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This is my first year doing the Ruth Stout method of deep mulch, and her claims that you don't have to water have been true for me. The only beds I water are the ones that don't have deep enough mulch (she recommends 12-18 inches of spoiled hay).

This heat wave is brutal for everyone in my world, except my tomatoes and peppers who absolutely love it. I haven't watered them since transplanting.
 
Posts: 53
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Jen Fulkerson wrote: Mulch, mulch, mulch in hot dry weather mulch is your friend. It not only helps keep the soil moist longer, it also helps cool the roots.  My favorite is living mulch. I plant so much you can't see the soil. /quote]

I'm in Kentucky now. I'm just curious what living mulches you like best. I have a lot of mini clover seed that I haven't planted out yet - still dead-mulching to build the soil's fertility and structure... TIA

 
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No one has mentioned shade cloth. Even with heavy mulching, I shade most of my garden in the afternoon when it gets over 90 F.
 
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Coming from Australia we have to cope with lots of very hot temps. I also don't have town water, so have to be very water wise. Drip line hoses are the best..mine lay on the soil and are covered by mulch, keeping the soil moist and avoiding evaporation. You can use olla pots for individual precious plants. I made my own from terracotta pots, or use water spikes on upside down bottles. Having lots of compost in your soil helps a lot as it hold the moisture well
 
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As long as your plants dry within 4 hours before night there won't be fungal problems from watering late in the day. If you have to use a sprinkler, use one that puts out large drops of water to avoid evaporation. These solutions have worked for me. I once read an article in The Avant Gardener that tests showed plants did better when they were watered when they needed it most, which is when it's hot and dry in the middle of the day.
And of course we do what we can do, when we can do it.
 
master pollinator
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My volunteer wild edibles like prickly lettuce get powdery mildew well before our seasonal drought, which is when my garden gets watered. I figured I could do no further harm by watering in the evening when the sun dips below the tree line. Powdery mildew has not increased. My water stays in the soil instead of evaporating. My garden is happy.

PS I do water after seeding to establish my plants. Then I'm trying to not add additional water. Observe and adjust.
 
gardener
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I grow in grow zone 10b. During the hot season we will get up to 118F. This is how we juggle it water wise. Drip irrigation is covered with a thick layer of compost and mulch. That way the water get to the roots fast, and we don’t get powdermold so often.
We also have several canopies we use with a 50% shading cloth, for heat sensitive plants.
I have also had success with growing tall sun loving plants like tall sunflowers, to add shade for other plants and cool down the area.
This way I am able to continue to grow plants that doesn’t tolerate heat very well, and the lower temperature under the canopy helps prevent evaporation.
Since we started doing this, our water bill stays pretty much the same year round.
IMG_2002.jpeg
Glimpse of canopy and shade cloth
Glimpse of canopy and shade cloth
 
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