the sun is killing my garden

[Chuck]

I must say I like the notion of the water wand...have seen them at stores. When i let the hose trickle I do poke it into the ground at several points around the base of the plant so it doesn't run off.

@bubba man where do you live? It would be helpful to know. Clearly somewhere southern and hot I guess. You can just get some gallon or 2 or 5 gallon buckets to guage how much your system is delivering per minute or whatever. Although I confess I've never done this, I'm a painting contractor so I have a pretty good idea how much time it takes to fill various sizes of paint buckets.

Pretty much impossible to over-mulch! I use a combination of wood chips (a bit pricier) and straw, which is inexpensive here; about $4.00 per bale. Helps a lot with weed control too. And helps prevent soft or buggy parts of things that often rest on the ground such as squash and cucumbers.

Don't forget that the wand is under pressure and not gravity. What does a stream of pressurized water do?

 

[bubba man]

BETH i live in PINEBLUFF NC - about 20 min. from SC - in fact right now at 8 p.m. it`s 93 degrees and plenty humid - i watered this mornin but they look hurtin right now - everyone is talking about drip systems well i have a pump taking water out of my totes so to leave it on for 20 minutes is crazy - i do have a compost that works pretty good so every oct. we spread it on my raised beds also was told to get some EGG SHELL compost at a local place and till all this in - hopefully each yr. it`ll get a little better but i love hearing all these posts - we are from NY and growing a garden was so easy but 2 yrs. here it is a learning experience

 

[Beth_B]

Don't forget that the wand is under pressure and not gravity. What does a stream of pressurized water do?

Well true, but it's not necessarily high pressure, is it? I've not ever used one of these wands in a garden but have used them at client's houses for cleaning. IIRC they all have a "bucket filler" or "soaker" option on the nozzle, which isn't really pressurised. And with the water turned lower than full blast is no different than a hose.

Mind you im assuming that what @Durgan is describing is the same long-wand thingie I'm familiar with. Maybe it's not and if that's the case ignore me and carry on.

 

[Durgan]

The Magic Wand

 

[Durgan]

And just how much water is coming out per second. A tablespoon or a half pint, a pint? I am not saying that the wand doesn't work. Of course it does. Here in Texas they have been using the same thing for at least 25 years on sick oak trees. All I am saying is that the wand method is inefficient, water wasteful and time intensive. I have seen the pictures of you garden, and it is impressive, in fact one of the nicest I have seen. I am saying that with a simple drip setup I could water your entire garden or any portion of it in 3 or 4 hours without any labor and I am sure with about 1/4 of the water or less

I know my tomatoes for example need a pail of water about every three days or thereabouts. I simple stick the wand into the pail and see how many seconds it takes to fill by counting. say 20 seconds, then I jab the wand into the ground for the determined time. How much quantity is irrelevant in my practical approach. I don't have the misery of stringing drip hoses and long lines. Every bit of water I use is applied effectively.

This year has been the most dry in my experience, and I have a bumper crop of all and sundry. Hot sun every day and growth is amazing. As an aside, I never wet the foliage. Another observation this year, there are almost no bugs which are not controllable. I never use the "cides.

 

[Chuck]

I know my tomatoes for example need a pail of water about every three days or thereabouts. I simple stick the wand into the pail and see how many seconds it takes to fill by counting. say 20 seconds, then I jab the wand into the ground for the determined time. How much quantity is irrelevant in my practical approach. I don't have the misery of stringing drip hoses and long lines. Every bit of water I use is applied effectively.

This year has been the most dry in my experience, and I have a bumper crop of all and sundry. Hot sun every day and growth is amazing. As an aside, I never wet the foliage. Another observation this year, there are almost no bugs which are not controllable. I never use the "cides.

To each his on but in all honesty I don't think you understand how simple and easy a drip system is nor how effective.

 

[Chuck]

Well true, but it's not necessarily high pressure, is it? I've not ever used one of these wands in a garden but have used them at client's houses for cleaning. IIRC they all have a "bucket filler" or "soaker" option on the nozzle, which isn't really pressurised. And with the water turned lower than full blast is no different than a hose.

Mind you im assuming that what @Durgan is describing is the same long-wand thingie I'm familiar with. Maybe it's not and if that's the case ignore me and carry on.

It is the same thing but he cut the end of of it so as to make it a water drill.

 

[Durgan]

I diddled with drip systems and various self watering systems. They may have their uses but at my size of garden, the most effective is my present system. Little water waste and relatively easy to administer. I even installed a sump pump to deliver water to the garden area and discarded it, finding the wheel barrel much more convenient.

Watering Methods
Posted on June 21, 2012 by Durgan
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?XRXAU 21 June 2012 Watering Methods.
I seldom water except for very young plants, and extreme dry conditions. I don’t have a sprinkler on the property, and consider them inefficient and not very effective, except for watering grass. I never water grass. To inhibit moisture loss from hot Sun evaporation all areas of the garden are mulched with wood chips.

Usually I utilize my four barrels of rain water. The wheelbarrow is used to transport the rainwater to the garden area, utilizing a milk cartoon carrier(or egg carton carrier)as a baffle to prevent spillage due to wave action when moving the wheelbarrow.

In extreme dry conditions it is necessary to use tap water. The tap water is delivered to the plant root system using a water wand cut off and pushed into the requires area. I call it the Magic Water Wand. In the main garden it is quick to walk along a row and push the wand into the ground every few feet and get the water to roots, where it is required. The foliage is not wetted, and there is little wastage of water.

 

[Corzhens]

big problem - what do you guy`s do - bought shade last year this year dosen`t seem to work - water once a day dosen`t seem to be enough - now i have to water twice a day ????

During the dry season especially when there is a drought, we water our garden at least twice a day otherwise some plants would die without notice. Take note of the term AT LEAST. When the sun is too hot, it dries up the soil and some plants with small roots easily die from dehydration. And when the sun is up, we do not wet the leaves. We use the hose to wet the ground and then come back again after a minute or 2 for more water (in the soil, always the soil only). That excessive watering would wet the ground below the top soil and that is what the plants need during the dry season.