The ten golden rules for watering

To prevent your plants from hanging their heads in summer, they need a lot of water. But how much, how often, water from above or below? Gardena has put together some smart and useful data for watering your plants. . .

1. 'Keep evenly moist'

Most plants depend on uniform humidity. However, light drying before watering promotes healthy root growth.

2. 'Water more rarely, but then thoroughly'

When watering a flowerbed, one or two watering sessions per week is usually sufficient; The rule of thumb to remember is that it is better to water less frequently but with a lot of water than a little frequently.

3. 'Water in the late afternoon or early morning'

Watering the cooled soil in the afternoon or overnight means there is less evaporation of the water than if you water the warm soil during the day. It also gives your plants enough time to absorb the water before the heat of the next day. But, I heard that you are crying and crying during the night. . . that's a bit tiring '! You do not need to water yourself, but install a controlled irrigation system over time and you can water your plants while you sleep. . . It's that easy!

4. 'Keep the leaves dry'

Wet leaves turn into diseased leaves, especially if the leaves remain wet overnight, when diseases caused by leaf mold can occur. Leaves can also develop slight burn marks (burnt glass effect from water droplets) if watered in the sun. To avoid this, Gardena has developed a range of irrigation devices that will supply water at ground level, which means that the leaves are left free of water.

5. 'Give the right amount of water'

Providing the correct amount of water means that there must be enough water to reach the roots of your plants; too little water often means that the water only covers the top inches of the soil and may not even reach the roots of your plants, for example when there is mulch covering the soil and very little water is provided.

Adequate irrigation also means that crop plants that depend particularly on uniformly moist soil for bountiful crops are kept properly watered until their crops are ripe for harvest; Examples include root and bulb formation (carrots, potatoes), leaf formation (basil, field salad), spike formation (cauliflower, cabbage), husk formation (beans), or fruit formation ( tomatoes, strawberries).

6. 'Provide larger amounts of water in parts'

When watering your garden, you should allow enough time for the water to seep into the soil. This means that if you are trying to provide a lot of water, it is better to water repeatedly in parts rather than watering all at once when the water doesn't have time to absorb into the soil and run off unused.

7. 'Water with a purpose but to distribute'

If you always water your plant in one spot, this can result in one-sided root growth and worse nutrient uptake into the soil. To avoid this, you must provide water equally around your plants.

8. 'Water in a way that saves water'

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

9. 'Avoid water log'

The accumulation of water suppresses the available breathable air around the roots of your plants; without air pockets in the soil, the root cells will suffocate from lack of oxygen.

10. 'Use quality soil'

Ideally, your garden soil should be rich in clay minerals, as these have better spreading properties and can therefore hold the soil in the water better and more evenly. However, it must also be ensured in humid summers and in winter that there is sufficient water drainage to avoid waterlogging.