Do you water in the morning or at night?

[happyflowerlady]

We live in the South, so it can get pretty hot herein the summer, and I usually water according to the need of the plants, and also depending on the temperature. I water at nite, just before dark, so it can soak into the ground, and the roots can absorb it all night.
Then, if it is going to be a really hot day, I usually get up around daybreak, go out and soak everything good again, before the sun comes up hot enough to burn the leaves.

 

[Jeanne90]

I water my garden early in the morning between 6am to 8am. That is when the heat hasn't come yet. I read somewhere that it is good to water your plants early in the morning so that the plants has enough water to face the heat and it allows time to dry up. Keeping plants too wet for a long time will encourage the fungus to grow. Sometimes if the afternoon gets too hot, I will water twice a day; once in the morning and once in the evening.

 

[Daisylover]

I always water them in the morning. I like to get out there and meet my garden to get some relaxation and I have to be at work so I don't have time to do it later on so I at least want to feed my plants cause I sure ate already so my plants have to have some food too. I think you do need to give your plants some water so it could survive the day and then water it again at the end of the day so it would have some for the rest of the night.

 

[RomanAnthonysMama]

Unless I need to water a plant both morning and night, then I usually choose morning. Morning time is when I get most of my responsibilities out of the way, so I figure I might as well do it all at once. I get up, take my vitamins, feed the cats and give them water, water the plants, and then get ready. It's easier to get everything done in bulk so I don't forget about it later!

 

[Rzashida]

I prefer to water at night. Like Babble stated if there is a heat wave the water evaporates. But, I heard that there is an increase chance of mildewing from night watering. I guess either way you can win or lose.

 

[ACSAPA]

I tend to water at night. That way if it's going to be a hot day I'm not worrying about it evaporating, so the plants get as much as possible.

I started the nighttime watering habit when my kids were little....every night I'd empty the contents of their kiddie pool onto my gardens, one bucket full at a time. It was always a peaceful end to the day, once my little ones were tucked into bed. That's always still a nice memory, so maybe that's part of the reason I continue to do it this way!

That is a really sweet story, and it makes a kiddie pool sound kind of magical. As a bonus, you're recycling water so that it doesn't go to waste.

 

[gata montes]

I have done both, but I try to water the garden about an hour or so after the sun goes down a little. I don't water the plants in the heat of the day as I have heard that it can cause leaf burn if the sun is shining on them.

Some people have told me that it is better to water them in the morning and then others have told me that it is better to water them at night. Does it make a big difference or should we just water them when they need it?

When I water them in the morning I make sure it is at least an hour before the sun will be shining.

The best time to water plants is in the early morning, as this is better for the plant. Plants watered in the evening, stay damp, which makes them more susceptible to fungal and bacterial infections. particularly powdery mildew.

If you have no alternative and have to water your plants in the evening, try if you can, to water before the sun goes down.

Something worth noting here is, if you have an outdoor space, with plants in or around an area that you use in the evening, it is definitely a good thing to water in the early morning, as you less likely to have your evening ruined by loads of midges and mosquitos.

 

[morlogs]

I prefer to water in the morning but I found that some of my plants like squash that have big flowers that open in the early morning would fill with water and the bees wouldn't go in and do their thing. No pollination no squash right. Now I water those at night and get more squash than I can eat. Just a thought.

 

[lukeout007]

I water at night usually but its just because I don't really want to deal with it before work.

On the weekends I water in the middle of the day a lot of times.

 

[gata montes]

I prefer to water in the morning but I found that some of my plants like squash that have big flowers that open in the early morning would fill with water and the bees wouldn't go in and do their thing. No pollination no squash right. Now I water those at night and get more squash than I can eat. Just a thought.

Morlogs, when you say the flowers would fill up with water, does that mean you are using a sprinkler or hose rather than a watering can or irrigation system?

I always water plants around the plant base and let the rain water (when it comes) do the leaves.

If you are using a sprinkler system - make sure it is on fine spray, this way the flowers will not fill up with water and will not stop the insects from pollinating your plants

A solution to this problem, and probably a lot better for the squash, would be to water the soil around the plant base and not the whole of the plant.
I know this is quite difficult with squash, as once they get going, they start resembling triffods, I currently use an irrigation system on mine, prior to that, I used to run the hose (on low trickle) along the ground where the squash were planted, for 15 to 20 minutes, that way the flowers never got wet and we had a bountiful supply of squash.

 

[Helen Holland]

Mum always tells me to water in the morning as it will lessen the chance of slugs and snails but we always tend to water in the evening.

Although I am working nights at the moment and it would be pretty easy for me to nip out before work ends, the last thing I want to do when I'm ready to crawl into bed is go out watering.

Would obviously prefer to water in the morning though as it becomes very tedious keep stepping on all of the snails and slugs when I nip out for a cigarette

 

[Trellum]

I water the plants I have outside during the night, because my dad always warned me that I should always wait for the sun to come down before even thinking of watering my plants. I try to do it at night or during the evening. I water my indoor plants during the morning mostly, because I know there won't be any kind of problem if I do so.

 

[kitkat0124]

I water them in the morning. throughout the day it's hot here in my place, But there are time when I see the soil too dry in the afternoon I water them again.

 

[evelynmcgregor]

I usually do my outside watering in the morning before it gets hot. I do not water at night because a lot of times it does not get below 85 until around 10 pm. So early morning between 6 and 7 am is my watering time for outside.

 

[Pat]

I am a morning person, when I get up if it did not rain that night I will water my plants that need to be watered. When I night water I seem to get bitten by bugs more so I tend to not want to do that often.