How to water the veg patch

KEEPING PLANTS growing smoothly over the peaks and troughs of the average British summer is a delicate business. It’s easy to get into a cycle of sprinkling plants daily rather than giving an occasional deep watering as needed. After watering, use a trowel to see what little impact you’ve made. The answer is to water deeply, only when really needed. Return to the same area once the first sprinkling from the hose has soaked in, and mulch between veg rows with well-rotted organic matter to help reduce evaporation. Get to know which crops need the most moisture and warrant a targeted approach. Most leafy vegetables such as lettuce really benefit from watering during dry spells and will run to seed if stressed. Beans need water for pods to set and potatoes must have moisture once tubers begin to form. In contrast, onions and garlic prefer to be left dry when approaching harvest time. Newly-planted modules require a good soak to get them settled, and the soil surface around recently-sown seeds needs to be just moist – a dry spell while germinating is often fatal, so water the soil deeply a day before sowing. Mediterranean herbs quite like a baking, but container-grown fruit and veg need daily watering in summer. Porous terracotta pots dry out faster than non-porous types (but drainage holes are still essential) so be careful if you have a mixture of pot types. Water in the early morning or late evening to prevent it evaporating quickly, and place a saucer under the base of your pots.