This is our first post of five in the Summer Series. Watch for our post on heat tolerant vegetables, stopping basil from bolting, using shade cloth and gardening in the morning.
Summers in Zone 9 have been known to get quite hot and sometimes even get dry. Either of these two conditions can cause stress to a plant and combined they are very stressful. Watering often and watering at night can reduce this stress and help some plants even thrive.
Why water at night?
During daylight hours the sun in Zone 9 can be quite bright and quite hot. These two factors cause water to evaporate quickly. The rapid evaporation of the water means that much more water needs to be used and sometimes the water will not even penetrate to the root zone before evaporating.
Watering after sundown or before sunrise will help prevent evaporation issues. It does, however, cause mold issues. To prevent mold it is best to water an hour before sunrise and water in a manner that does not get the leaves wet, just the soil.
How often?
This is a very difficult question to answer. It very much depends on the soil type and the type of crops being grown. For most crops a moist soil is best. Moist soil feels like a wrung out sponge and does not drip water when picked up and squeezed.
Post 2, Heat Tolerant Vegetables, is soon to come!
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