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Made In Britain Homegrown Company
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The Ten Golden Rules For Watering

The Ten Golden Rules For Watering


4 minute read

To prevent your plants hanging their heads in the summer, they need plenty of water. But how much, how often, water from above or below? Gardena have put together some smart and helpful facts for watering your plants . . .

RULE NUMBER ONE . . . 'Keep Evenly Moist'

Most plants depend on even moisture. However, slight drying out before watering promotes healthy root growth.

RULE NUMBER TWO . . . 'Water More Seldom But Then Thoroughly'

When watering a flower bed, one or two watering sessions per week are usually sufficient - the rule to remember is, it's better to water more seldom but with plenty of water than watering a little often.

RULE NUMBER THREE . . . 'Water Late In The Evening or Early In The Morning'

Watering cooled soil in the evening or during the night means there is less water evaporation than if you watered hot soil during the day. It also gives your plants sufficient time to absorb the water before the next day’s heat. But, I can hear you're cry 'watering during the night . . . that's a bit exhausting'! You don't have to water yourself, rather, set up a watering system controlled with a timer and your plants can be watered whilst your sleep . . . it's that simple!

RULE NUMBER FOUR . . . 'Keep Leaves Dry'

Wet leaves become diseased leaves, especially if leaves stay wet overnight, when leaf-mould diseases may result. Leaves can also develop slight burn marks (burning glass effect of the water droplets) if they are watered during hot sun. To avoid this Gardena have developed a range of watering devices which will supply water at ground level, meaning leaves are left water free.

RULE NUMBER FIVE . . . 'Give The Right Quantity Of Water' 

Providing the right quantity of water means that there must be sufficient water to reach the roots of your plants - too little water often means water only covers the upper few centimetres of soil and may not even reach the roots of your plants at all, e.g. when there is a mulch covering the soil and too little water is provided.

Requirement-suited watering also means that crop plants which are particularly dependent upon evenly moist soil for bumper crops are kept correctly watered until their crops are ripe for harvesting, examples include the forming of roots and corms (carrots, potatoes), the forming of leaves (basil, field salad), the forming of heads (cauliflower, cabbage), the forming of husks (beans) or the forming of fruit (tomatoes, strawberries).

RULE NUMBER SIX . . . 'Give Larger Water Quantities In Parts' 

When watering your garden you need to allow sufficient time for the water to seep into the soil. This means, if you are trying to provide a lot of water, it's better to water repeatedly in parts rather than watering all at once when the water may not have time to be absorbed into the soil and will run off unused.

RULE NUMBER SEVEN . . . 'Water With A Target But Distribute'

If you always water your plant at one point this can result in one-sided root growth and poorer nutrient absorption in the soil. To prevent this you should provide water equally all around your plants. 

RULE NUMBER EIGHT . . . 'Irrigate In A Way That Saves Water'

Water as much as necessary but also as little as possible. This is made simple if you install an automatic irrigation system with a timer or moisture sensor – a system like this can be used to water a bed in your garden, plants growing on a balcony or even for watering a lawn.

RULE NUMBER NINE . . . 'Avoid Water Logging'

Water logging suppresses the available breathing air around the roots of your plants  - without pockets of air in the soil the root cells will drown from lack of oxygen.

RULE NUMBER TEN . . . 'Use Quality Soil'

Ideally the soil within your garden should be rich in clay minerals as these have better expanding properties and can therefore hold soil in the water better and in a more even way. However, you also need to ensure In wet summers and in the winter that there is sufficient water drainage to prevent water logging.

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