The Easy Watering Method That Keeps Raised Beds Flourishing

When longer days and warmer temperatures start approaching, it is hard to not get a bit of spring fever.I start buying my seeds, planning my layout, and getting my raised garden beds ready. Yet, sometimes I can overlook one of the most essential elements for a thriving garden… water. Water is a crucial part of having a successful garden and a healthy crop.

As a key component of photosynthesis, water works as a transport network for nutrients for the plants. When summer hits with scorching heat, being prepared with a watering system in place can make an enormous difference. From hand watering to professional irrigation, there are variousmethods one can use to water raised beds efficiently and effectively, here are some of the best.

1: Ways to Water your Raised Beds.

There are many ways to water a raised bed.

1: Watering Can

One option is to hand water your garden bed with portable watering can. This option is only realistic for smaller gardens and areas due to the amount of labor it would require to sufficiently water a larger area. Aim for getting a larger watering can, such as a 3 gallon, to save you from having to make trips to the faucet to fill up.

Choosing a plastic watering-can might be a good option to make it less heavy when you are carrying it around your garden. The faucet end of a watering can is called a Rossette and can come in many different forms. My favorite is having a fine sprinkler end that delivers a softer, evenly distributed flow to my plants.

You can even purchase an adjustable end which lets you determine if you water a softer sprinkle or a larger flow, depending on what plant you are watering. Always water at the base of each plant, avoiding wetting leaves. Plants’ roots need the water, not their foliage. By having wet leaves or stems, this creates an environment conducive to disease and fungus.

Pro: A type of watering technique that can be used anywhere, even if you do not have access to an outside spicket. Since the flow is very easily controlled, this is a great form of watering for new seedlings, that can be washed out or drowned by other forms of watering.

Con:Can be Labor intensive and time consuming, not realistic for larger gardens areas

2: Hose

If you have access to a spicket, well, or pump outside, hand watering by hose is an excellent choice! This was my method for my raised beds for years, until I finally installed a drip irrigation system. Though a bit more time consuming, this method is affordable and easy. When watering my garden with a hose, I always buy a wand sprinkler end. Without an end, a blast from a hose can be damaging to your plants.

Sprinkler ends help break up the flow of water, mimicking rain like pressure. Rain like water pressure helps give the soil time to absorb the water, so it does not pool up on the top of your soil around your plants. Here is my favorite hose end“Hose End.. Occasionally, take the end off and clean off any debris to make sure dirt is not blocking any of the holes. When watering, always aim at the base of each plant and avoid wetting the tops of leaves to discourage disease and fungus. A more sustainable approach is to water in the morning, so less water is evaporated by the hot sun.

Pro: An easy affordable option that allows you monitor your garden and plants. It is a wonderful way to manage water, allowing you to easily customize the amount from plant to plant.

Con: It is time consuming. Depending on the size of your garden, it may take a lot of time to provide enough water to be adequately absorbed by the soil. It also might not provide the most even watering. Also, you will have to find a friend to water your garden if you go out of town. Best for smaller areas and smaller gardens.

3: Sprinklers –

Sprinklers can cover a large garden or area and save you time. Sprinklers can be set on a timer so that they go off even if you are out of town. If using this method, make sure your sprinklers are in an area that reaches all corners of your garden.

Plants need about an inch of water per week, so depending on the flow of your sprinklers you may need to run them for 20 minutes a day during sizzling summer days. Sprinklers are a great affordable way to cover large areas, but they are very inefficient, wastewater, and can spread disease by wetting the tops of your plants. This is my least favorite watering method, due to the unevenness and spread of disease.

Pro: Easy to set up and can be run on a timer. It is an effective way to cover large areas and gardens.

Cons: Inefficient, wastes water, and can spread disease and promote conditions for fungus.

4: Soaker hoses–

Soaker hoses are a step toward having a full drip irrigation system, without the cost or the labor involved. Soaker hoses let water drip out along the length of a permeable hose, providing a slow a steady flow to your garden plants. This helps save water by having less evaporation and allowing more water to be immediately absorbed into the soil directly around the plants.

By watering directly at the base of the plants, this reduces the chance of weeds in the empty spaces of your garden. Also,by ground watering, you are decreasing the chances of disease by keeping foliage dry on the tops of your plants.

Lay your soaker hoses near the base of each plant, a grid system can be used, or one can serpentine the hose through their raised beds. You can easily attach your soaker hoses straight into a garden hose but always use a pressure regulator.

The pressure regulator helps extend the life of your soaker hose, as too high pressure can damage or blow out your hose. Soaker hoses provide more even watering and can be set up on a timer to run even when you are out of town. To determine how long to run your soaker hoses for, do a trial run. A great trick I learned form“How to use a Soaker Hose” is to put a plastic container in the dirt under the soaker hose.

Measure the amount of time it takes to fill about an inch of water. Depending on your temperature and rainfall in the area, most plants requirea minimum of an inch of water per week. Divide the time it took to fill a container over the week and monitor the condition of your plant. If you see signs of underwater or overwater, adjust accordingly. Kits are sold online here… “Kit”

Pro: This is another affordable option that can be less labor intensive than drip irrigation.  It reduces waterusage, disease, fungus, and weeds!!

Cons: You cannot control the amount of water per plant, every plant is getting the same amount of water. They also can easily clog up with your water source that is not clean, so not the best method for ditch or well water.

5: Drip Irrigation

This is the best method of watering for larger gardens and landscapes but can be costly and labor intensive to set up. Drip irrigation involves the setup of a series of plastic tubing with connectors, regulators, timers, and specialized dripper heads. There are several different types of dripper heads, and each emits a different amount of water.

This can help you regulate if some plants need more water than others. This system can save water, reduce weeds, and discourage disease and fungus on plants as well. With the higher qualitymaterial, it can also be a long-lasting system.

This system can be as simple or as complicated as you would like, depending on how much time and money you want to spend. For me, I set up my own system with a regulator by buying a kit of amazon hereDrip Irrigation Kit.

The ability for the system to be on a timer saves you time and gives you peace of mind if you are out of town. There are timers and systems out there that can run several different networks of drip systems, and even adjust the amount depending on the weather. For these more complicated systems it may be advantageous to hire someone to install the drip system for you.

Though labor intensive to install, once installed this system can last you for many years to come. Make sure to blow the system out with an air compressor before winter starts, this also may be something you need to hire someone to do.

Pro: Long-lasting, high-quality system that can allow you to choose the amount of water each plant receives. It lowers water usage, discourages weeds, and reduces the chance for disease and fungus.

Con: Expensive and labor intensive to install

If you want to try to install your own drip irrigation, it can be a fun project.  Here are a few steps to help guide your process.

• Gather materials- You can find supplies at local hardware stores, but it may be easier to buy a complete kit online, like the one mentioned above.
• Layout your tubing– Plan for the layout of your tubing so that it is in the vicinity of all the plants that need watered.  You will be using small tubing to reach each plant, so it does not have to be exactly at the base but close by is preferred. Serpentine tubing through the plants is a great option, as well as using a grid system. If you use a grid system, use t-brackets to connect pieces of tubing together. My main line is ½” tubing. Use stakes to secure tubing, so it does shift over time.
• Poke holes in the tubing – When you poke holes in your tubing, it is worth buying a drip irrigation hole punch to create the right size and prevent poking all the way through the pipe. If the pipe is a little warmed up the hole punches through easily, however make sure to not punch through to the other side. one or two holes for each plant depending on water needs.  Plants that need more water may like to have two emitters running to them.
• Push in Emitters – There are different emitters based on the amount of water they dispense.  Some release a gallon of water an hour, while other a half gallon. Emitters are usually color coded based on flow amount. Pick emitters based on plants’ water needs. They also cell emitters that act as tiny sprinklers instead of drip, if you water to disperse water over a wider area.
• Cap the end – Special end caps for the tubing are sold at most hardwarestores. A trick to save on supplies, is to use a smaller piece of tubing to secure a kink at the end of the main tubing. Fold the end of your line up and push the bent end through the smaller piece of tubing.
• Run tubing to the base of plants- Use ¼” tubing to run water from the main line to the plants. The tubing will attach to the end of each emitter and then run the base of each plant. Cut length accordingly, and stake down or secure.
• Test then cover with mulch – Test your system first to make sure all drips are working and there are no leaks. Then once tested, cover the tubing lightly with mulch.

2 : When to Water Raised Beds

1: Early Morning Watering

Early morning is the best time to water!!  The cooler morning allows for maximum water to absorb into the soil and less evaporation. This allows the plants to have access to the water before the day, and photosynthesis begins. This also allows the soil to slowly dry throughout the day, reducing the amount of moisture come nighttime. This can limit the chances of fungal disease.

2: Early Evening Watering

If you were not able to get out to water plants in the morning, giving them a drink around the early evening can make a great alternative because once again moisture is not lost by evaporation. If you are watering in the evening, do not water too late or too heavy. The problem with watering in the evening is that the soil or foliage can stay wet. This can encourage disease in the plants or in the roots.

3: Avoid Midday Watering

Watering midday is rarely recommended. This is the most inefficient time to water because most of the water is evaporated by the hot sun before it has time to properly soak into your soil.

3 : How Often Should You Water a Raised Bed Garden?

How often you water a raised bed all depends on what watering method you are using, the types of plants, what the climate or weather is like, and the makeup of your soil. Most plants need about an inch of water per week. However, do notwater all at one time but distribute it throughout the week. Here are a few factors that come into play when determining how much to water your garden.

• Climate – If you live in a wet climate with lots of rain, you may need to water your plants less than someone who lives in a dry region.
• Types of plants– If you are watering seedlings or newer plants, you may have to water them more often due to their shallow root systems. I water my seedling every day. Once they start to mature, watering deeply every other day can encourage healthy root growth that extends down into the soil. Certain plants require more water than others. For example, Melons may take more water than beans. Also, some plants have long roots and prefer deeper watering such as Tomatoes, whereas lettuce may prefer shallower but more frequent watering.
• Season– Time of year should also be considered. During cooler days in early spring or fall, less water may be needed by your plant, whereason hot, windy mid-summer days, your plants may require more than an inch of water per week to account for evaporation.
• Soil make-up- Soil is another element. If you have heavy clay soil that does not dry out easily, you may need to water less to avoid suffocating your plants roots. If you have sandier soil, more water may be required to account for drainage. If you lean too far to either side, it may be necessary to improve your soil quality to retain the appropriate amount of water.

4: How to Improve Water Retention and Drainage for Raised Bed Garden

• Improving Water Retention– To improve water retention in soil, it is best to add organic material. Add organic compost using premixed bags or homemade compost. This organic material can add structure to your soil that can hold moisture. Coconut coir and peat moss are other amendments that can encourage water retention in the soil. Be aware when adding peat moss can cause soil to become more acidic, making it an excellent choice for alkaline soils.
• Improving Water Drainage– This may seem like DeJa’Vu but unbelievably adding more organic material to your soil can also improve drainage. Adding things such as compost, shredded leaves, and coco coir can improve the structure of your soil and hold the right amount of moisture. Adding a small amount of sand is okay, but I tend to steer away from sand because it can really cause soil compaction if not used properly and in tiny amounts.

5 : Signs of Improper Watering in a Raised Bed Garden

It can be tricky to know how much water to use, so it imperative to look for signs of overwatering or underwatering to determine if adjustment is necessary for your watering schedule. Sometimes it is tricky to determine based on visual cues because over- and underwatering symptoms can look remarkably similar. I love using a moisture-meter or my finger to dig down into the soil and feel the amount of moisture in the soil to help me determine if overwatering or underwatering is occurring. Here are a few tips to look for.

• Overwatering– When you are overwatering, you are suffocating the roots of your plant by depriving your plant of oxygen in the soil. The plants can develop yellowing, drooping leaves and sometimes a mushy stem or base. The roots start to rot, and fungus gnats can become present.
• Underwatering- When you underwater plants, they receive a lack of moisture. This causes them to have brown tips of the edges of leaves and curled dry edges. The plant also starts to wilt or droop.

6 : Different Garden Plants and Their Water Needs

All plants have different watering needs, and it is important to research to make sure you are not overwatering or underwatering your plants. Here are a few different vegetables and their watering needs.

Tomatoes and Peppers – Tomatoes are water loving plants andcan require 1 to 2 inches of water a week. Water tomatoes evenly but deeply encouraging the plant roots to vigorously grow and create a deep foundation. During the hot, dry summer months in Wyoming, I water my established tomatoes once every other day deeply. In some areas with wetter, humid summers this will be less, every third day.

Though tomatoes love water, they can suffer from rot and disease if incorrectly watered. Make sure tomatoes have good drainage in their soil and be extra cautious not to splatter soil or water on the leaves as tomatoes are prone to fungal diseases. Water tomatoes on a consistent schedule, a routine of drought stress and soaking can lead to blossom end rot, which damages tomatoes.

Pepper needs a consistent supply of water when young, but once established they can tolerate hotter and drier conditions. During the heat of the summer, I water mine once a day, but in cooler shoulder seasons, peppers can be watered every 3 days.

I let my peppers dry out between waterings. Once peppers are set on the plant, I try to drought stress my plant a little more. This will make your pepper spicier. Peppers can also be victim to blossom end rot, so it is important to water evenly before the peppers are set on the plant.

Leafy greens – Most leafy greenshave a very shallow root system, so can benefit from shallower more consistent watering. If the weather is cool, once greens are established, I water once every two days. However, when the heat arrives, I like to water my lettuce a little every day.

Root Vegetables – Root vegetables also need about an inch to 2 inches of water per week.They like a steady supply of deep watering to encourage roots to grow big and long. I like to water deeply every other day to encourage my root vegetables to grow large. reaching down into the soil. if you live in a wetter climate, you may need to water a little less.  Make sure root vegetables have plenty of drainage and loamy soils.  Compact soil can suffocate or stunt the growth of your root veggies.