Maintaining a garden to produce abundant vegetables and bountiful produce requires regular maintenance. Proper care from fertilizers to starting seeds can overwhelm a new gardener. One of the most asked questions is it better to water a garden at night time?
With busy schedules or arid climates, watering your plants with the correct frequency and time of day is vital. A good understanding of when you should water your garden will help you grow healthy, luscious plants.
The Best Time to Water
The best time, which is good news to morning people – unlike me – is to water your garden early in the morning. The ideal time would be around 5 – 9 am. However, if you are in an area with a dry climate, it’s best to water before the sun comes out.
But Why the Early Morning?
When you water in the morning, the temperatures are still cool, and the water will have time to penetrate the soil. Before the water evaporates, it can reach the root system of your plants.
Watering in the morning will protect your plants from the intense heat in the middle of the day. By the time the heat of the day reaches your plants, they will be full of water. This is much better than trying to “save” them on a hot day and watering your plants in the middle of the day.
Watering in the Afternoon
Despite regular watering, there would be chances where we can’t water our plants early in the morning. But worry not, for all is not lost. You can water your garden in the late afternoon or early evening. Remember not to do it midday as the water can evaporate. Watering your plants in the late afternoon should still have some heat of the day that will dry up the plants before the night falls.
You must carefully consider the time when it comes to late afternoon watering. You must ensure that the leaves have enough time to dry before night falls.
The Effects of Watering at Night
If you’re not able to water around late afternoon or early evening, then better do it the next day. Watering your plants at night will have harmful effects on your plants. Damp leaves at night will encourage fungus and will harm your plants. This can be a severe problem if you’re planting vegetables.
Using The Right Method
Sticking to a routine and religiously watering your plants in the early morning will be nothing if you don’t use the right method. Always water your plants near the roots and not over the leaves. Water on the leaves will evaporate and leave your plants dry. What you need is to have the roots absorb the water.
If you’re having a hard time watering the roots using a hose, there are plenty of specialized watering systems in the market.
Remember that while watering your plant is a daily routine of gardening, there are additional ways to produce a healthy, luscious garden.