A GROWING CONCERN: Get water wise for great gardening

Published 1:30 am Saturday, May 16, 2026

IT IS SO wonderful to finally see some rain this last week, whereas it is already too dry for this time of year. That, coupled with the fact of an extremely low snowpack, means watering your plants properly will be crucial (while you still can?).

I have always maintained that watering is really an art form due to all the nuances involved.

First, let’s consider those raised beds of yours. The edges, first in front of any container or bed, dry out far faster than does the rest of that area. So, and especially on sunny days, water the edge every day, and water that area first, then water the entire area, and then at the end as the last place during that watering.

Watering like this is the only way to go. I always water my corners and edges of any area as soon as I turn on the hose, then water the whole area as one spot. I then finish by watering the edges and corners again in order to finally saturate these problem spots.

Also for planters, pots, flower baskets and raised planters, as the soil dries out, it contracts. Almost always a small gap and airspace opens up between the soil and the edge of whatever container we are talking about. As you water, the moisture moves over to the side and quickly drains away down that opening without dampening most of the soil, so watering first, middle and last saturates that soil. As it gets rehydrated, the gap in space closes. Remember this always.

Stage of the plant

Next, the development of your plants plays a critical role. Small seedlings have little or no root system, so I would water them two, three or four times a day, depending on the sun and the wind. Wind can dry out soil much faster than the sun can. It’s the same with the seeds I have just sown, because they need to be kept moist for ideal germination rates.

It is proper to mist these areas where germination is occurring up to four or five times a day. By the way, as for all your vegetables. Remember, for great sustainability, you should be sowing successive rows of radishes, beets and greens every 10 days, as well as new broccoli and Brussels sprouts every 20 to 30 days, so you will be watering certain areas several times a day.

Now, as your plants get older and larger, their foliage grows and shades out the ground from both wind and the sun. This causes the soil to dry out far less often than when they were young, and soil needs to be watered less often.

Environmental factors

Of course, temperature and time of season play a role as well. Currently in May, evenings are cool. Too cool for tomatoes, beans, peppers, squash, basil and cucumbers. Come June, July and August, the sun is far more intense, so things dry out faster than they would now. The garden is also maturing by then, so robust root systems are drinking up a lot more water.

The formula: If you stick your finger (not thumb) down in the soil 2 inches, that becomes a good indicator of how damp your soil really is.

Remembering that the soil surface (except for seeds and seedlings) is best dry at night.

How it works

Finally, the last chapter in “The Art of Watering.” Water is the way plants get their nutrients. Water fills in the pore space, the space between the various particles in the soil. It sits there for a time, dissolves the nutrients into a slurry and then, through the process of osmosis (from greater to lesser), the nutrients and moisture get absorbed by the root hairs. Then up the plant the vitamin-packed water goes.

So, if your soil drains well, and only if your soil area drains well, water every day because to do so is to fertilize every day.

This is what I do unless we get a really significant rainfall (one-quarter inch or more).

Watering made simple!

Until next week, stay well all!

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Andrew May is a freelance writer and ornamental horticulturist who dreams of having Clallam and Jefferson counties nationally recognized as “Flower Peninsula USA.” Send him questions c/o Peninsula Daily News, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362, or email news@peninsuladailynews.com (subject line: Andrew May).