How to water the ‘right’ way
Make sure you prioritise and give soil a thorough soaking
THERE is more to watering than hosing down your borders every few days, especially after a prolonged dry spell. The ideal times for watering are early mornings and evenings, when conditions are cooler and evaporation will be slower. Water borders thoroughly twice a week in hot weather, and give them enough so that the soil is soaked right down to the roots.
Light watering may encourage roots to gravitate upwards, reducing the plants’ stability and making them more susceptible to drought as shallow roots can’t access deeper water reserves.
We always advise you to mulch well after watering to help retain the moisture in the soil and this is a good practice.
However, in dry conditions the mulch – whether it’s compost, manure or bark chips – can form a hard, impermeable crust that the water just flows off, so remove or crack it before watering and replace it afterwards.
Very dry soil and compost repels water, so fork it over and add washing-up detergent to the can. Use just a couple of drops, which acts as a wetting agent and makes rehydration easier.
Slow-release and drip-irritation systems are increasingly popular for pots and next to large plants.
Drip systems are becoming more commonplace and can be linked to a timer on an outside tap to provide regular watering.
Cheaper options are drip-feed nozzles that you attach to plastic bottles and plunge in the compost, while terracotta spikes that slot onto wine bottles available from Bio-Green are a more attractive, less utilitarian option. They provide up to 10 days of steady watering and make your bottle recycling bins less embarrassing! £14.99 for a set of four, suttons.co.uk ✆ 0344 326
2200; keengardener.co.uk ✆ 01789
763336, and Hillier garden centres.