For my vegetable, herb and flower gardens, I've applied measures to conserve soil moisture, such as adding compost prior to planting, and keeping a good layer of mulch on top to hold in the moisture. But sometimes weather conditions require you to water your garden to keep the plants from experiencing too much stress. Here are some tips to help you:
* Use a drip hose rather a hand sprayer. It adds water slowly and since it goes directly into the soil, there's very little evaporation.
* Water deeply and moisten the whole root system. To check the moisture condition, poke the soil with your finger down to the second knuckle. If the soil sticks to your finger, it has enough moisture, but if your finger comes out clean, you need to water.
* Water early in the morning or evening so you don't lose precious moisture to evaporation in the hottest part of the day.
* Don't over-water. A good rule of thumb is to water well every 10 days or so. Your plant's roots will be encouraged to grow deeper with a good soaking rather than repeated surface watering. If you don't get rain, one inch of water per week should be sufficient for your plants.
