What should I know about plants and water?
- Over 80% of a plant's weight is water. Tender, crisp, flavor-filled vegetables need water often, generally on a daily schedule.
- A continuous "pipe" runs from the tip of the deepest root to the end of the highest leaf in a plant.
- Every time a plant begins to wilt it has already stopped growing.
- In addition to keeping a plant from wilting, water is necessary to carry nutrients from the soil to the plant roots. Dry fertilizer can do nothing until it is dissolved and carried by the water to the plant.
- The larger the leaf area of a plant, the more water it requires for transpiration.
- Since soils are not dams for storing water, it is false economy to supply excess water during irrigation.
Learn More
- Soil Water Food For Everyone (pp.106-116)
Is sprinkling a good way to water? No. Water escapes through the leaves. The droplets you see on plant leaves in the early morning hours are water leaving the plant—this is called transpiration. (A wilting plant is somewhat helped by sprinkling, but usually not enough to support optimum growth.) Sprinkling wastes water and encourages weed growth in the aisles. Sprinkling also promotes fungus diseases such as mildew and mold growth on leaves.
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Tip of the Day
It's Spring Planting Time! For those of you in the Northern hemisphere who have winters, March and early April are the time you need to be preparing your soil and planting the hardy vegetable crops such as radishes, peas, cabbage and broccoli.
The freeze/thaw cycles of winter have broken up and loosened most soils, so as soon as it's not muddy, go in and give everything a good weeding with the 2-way hoe (see Tools). Weeding thoroughly this early gives you the upper hand, and is very important.
If you grew a Mittleider garden last year, your beds will be easy to re-make. Just apply Pre-Plant and Weekly Feed to the bed area, then till them in, place strings on your stakes, and re-make the beds.
Be sure to re-check the level of each bed accurately, since they may have changed a little. Do not be satisfied with anything more than 1" fall in a 30'-long soil-bed. Good Gardening!
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