Guide to Garden Watering

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What's the secret to a gorgeous, productive garden? Consistent watering! Even if your garden is getting regular rainfall, you may still need to give Mother Nature a little help. It's important to know when, how much, and how often to water your garden, and also how to choose the right watering method for you. So, what is the best watering method? It really depends on the type of garden you have, how much time you have, and how much money you're willing to spend.

Check out these watering basics and then review common watering methods to choose what's best for you.

When and How Often to Water Your Garden

Before we look at the methods for watering your garden, it's important to answer when, how much, and how often to water your garden. Regardless of which watering method works best for you, these watering basics don't change.

How Often to Water Plants: A good rule of thumb is to water when the top inch of soil is dry. This applies to your in-ground plants as well as container plants. Just stick your finger into the soil to test it. Most gardens need about an inch of water per week to keep your plants hydrated, but keep in mind that weather conditions can drastically impact your watering frequency. Plan to water more frequently in the heat of summer, sometimes every day or even a couple of times per day if you’re growing in containers. If rainfall has been keeping the soil consistently moist, you may need to water less.

When to Water Plants: The best time to water plants is in the morning. That way, your plant roots have time to soak up the water before afternoon heat arrives. When you water in the afternoon, the water is more likely to evaporate before plant roots can soak it in, and they don't get the full benefits. If you water in the evening, you risk leaving your plant leaves being wet during the cooler night. That's a recipe for disease, something no gardener wants. Watering in the morning gives your plants a chance to dry out before evening and creates less favorable conditions for diseases.

How to Water Plants: Water the soil around the base of your plants so water reaches down to the roots where plants need it most. You might think you're cooling your plants off by watering leaves and flowers, but this isn't helping your plants. Plants absorb water through their roots, not their leaves. Water deeply and only when needed instead of frequent, light waterings to encourage roots to grow deeper, which helps them out when drought arrives. Finally, water on leaves and other parts of your plants can become a welcome mat for nasty diseases. A good soak at the roots not only keeps your plants happier, but healthier, too.

Individual Plant Needs: While these are good general practices, it's also important to consider the individual plants in your garden. Desert plants like cacti and aloes prefer things on the dry side. If you have topicals, they might need a daily soaking. Also keep in mind that young plants need more water while they're getting established. It's a good idea to check your plant tags for specific watering instructions, and group plants with similar watering needs together in your garden when you can.

Watering Methods

Now we've got the basics out of the way, we can compare different watering methods. Each has pros and cons, so which one is best is up to you and your garden set-up.

Watering Can

A watering can is the perfect choice for delivering the water to a few pots or newly planted seeds that need just a gentle sprinkle.

Pros: Easily portable, a watering can allows you to take water to any spot on your property—including where the hose won't reach.
Cons: Large watering cans are heavy when filled and can be hard to carry. It's also more tempting to water plants lightly (instead of deeply) so you won't have to make as many trips back to the faucet. Unfortunately, that encourages plants to develop shallow root systems, which means they'll need to be watered more often and may not grow to their full potential.

Garden Hose with Nozzle

A garden hose with a nozzle provides an easy way to water many different types of plantings—containers, raised beds, shrubs, and even small lawns. Choose a nozzle with at least two spray settings: jet (or stream) and shower. A jet setting is good for cleaning pots and bird baths, while a shower setting is the best choice for watering your plants. You can also use a watering wand that connects to your hose for extra reach, but it usually has just one setting (a gentle shower). Use one of these for watering potted plants, newly planted seeds, and young seedlings.

Pros: Both hoses and nozzles are inexpensive, readily available, and can be used to water just about any kind of garden.
Cons: You have to drag a hose around, and it can be time consuming, especially if you have a large garden.

Sprinklers

Sprinklers are affordable and come in many styles, like the popular oscillating sprinkler that slowly rotates through a semi-circle as it waters. Water-conserving, multi-pattern sprinklers let you customize the spray to suit the size and shape of your garden. Sprinklers can be used to water raised bed gardens, landscape plantings, lawns, and vegetable gardens.

Pros: Sprinklers deliver a gentle soaking that keeps newly planted seed beds moist while also providing the kind of overhead shower that knocks aphids and spider mites off plants. Bonus: When not watering the garden, your kids (and you!) can use the sprinkler to cool off on hot days.
Cons: You have to schlep the sprinkler around to all of the areas that need to be watered. Usually, the area closest to the sprinkler receives more water than areas further away. Plus, you’re likely to lose a good portion of the water to wind drift or evaporation. In high humidity, leaves may stay wet after watering, which can encourage disease to develop.

Soaker Hoses

Often called a leaky hose, a soaker hose is laid on the soil next to your plants, where it will “sweat” water along the entire length of the hose. Because the water goes directly into the soil, there’s a lot less waste than you get with overhead watering. A soaker hose works best with densely spaced plantings and in raised bed gardens.

Pros: Soaker hoses conserve water by delivering it directly to soil. Plant leaves don’t get wet, so it’s harder for disease to develop.
Cons: Unless you invest in a timer, you’ll need to leave the water running for a long time to soak soil deeply enough for best growth.

Drip Irrigation

In a drip irrigation system, tubes or hoses deliver water directly to soil through emitters. Water is released in slow but steady amounts, eventually soaking each plant’s root zone. Some drip irrigation systems feature a snip-and-drip method that allows you to customize where water delivery tubes are located. Drip irrigation is ideal for containers, raised bed gardens, and in-ground planting beds.

Pros: Drip irrigation systems use significantly less water than other irrigation systems. What’s more, they provide a hands-free way to water plants and can be easily automated with a timer.
Cons: If your garden isn’t level, you could end up with uneven water flow and delivery. Holes in drip tubes and nozzles can become clogged with soil and mineral build-up from hard water, plus critters may be tempted to chew and damage lines as they try to get to the water.

All these options come with great benefits, so it's up to you to choose what works best for you! Follow the watering tips in this guide, and your garden will be on its way to thriving.