Let's see those '11 gardens!

[shilala]

Originally Posted by Scothew

Hey guys, havent checked into this thread yet, but figured i should since i had a question.

My wife and I have a small garden, about 20 stalks of corn, about a dozen mounds each of cucumbers and squash, 8 tomatoe plants, 3 jalapenos and 2 banana peppers.

I live in central AL so its hot and dry. How often should I water, and when should I? We've gone so far about 2 weeks now without rain, been watering every day or every other. I went for a bit without waterign over the course of about 4-5 days and didnt notice much growth, but now since watering daily definitely getting growth and also now have some tomatoes and jalapenos showing up. Just wanted to see what I should be doing watering wise.

Also One Jalapeno pepper is about 2.5" long, so wasnt sure when I shoudl pick it, if by letting it grow would stunt the growth of the plant itself, as its only about 8" tall.

Thanks!

I'll try to get some pics. We also built a herb rack on the back deck and have about 10 different herbs that we planted from seed over the weekend, already got basils sprouting. We had to redo all of them due to the sun baked and killed all our previous sprouts. Now I modified the rack to where it shaded the mid-day sun and i have a net over the front to sort of cut the amount of afternoon sun down.

On the watering...
You water when the plants tell you to.
They should wilt in the heat of the day. That's natural. It's fine, and it's what they do.
By late evening they should bounce back and be nice and full. That means they have plenty of water and don't need to be watered at all. If not, they should be back by morning, for sure. That's fine, too.

If not, it's time to water.
Try to use soaker hoses. They're the best because they don't wet the plants, just the soil. They can be targeted right at the roots. If you have to use a garden hose with a nozzle, realize that you can spray with a garden hose for an hour and you've accomplished next to nothing. You'd think it's a lot of water, but it doesn't remotely compare to an hour of good, soaking rain.
If you have to go the "spray the leaves" way, sprinklers are great. Leave them on for a few hours and they'll soak the ground the way you want. The bar type that waves back and forth is my favorite because you can adjust them to the exact pattern of your garden.

When you're wetting the plants every day, you're inviting fungus and stress. You really help the bugs out, too. It's really not a good thing at all, and it's not what you're shooting for.
A good way to hold your water in the ground is to spread out a couple layers of newspapers. Really. At least in the rows where you walk. They'll mold right into the dirt, let water through, and dry during the day. They stay put once you have them watered in, too. You can till them in and they're good for the soil. It's a good way to recycle, as well.

Don't sweat it if you still have to water every other day, but realize it's best to water longer and less days. Try to do something to hold the water down, even if it's just oat straw, newspaper, or some other good mulch that's not full of weed seed (green grass clippings are not a good choice, it's way too much free nitrogen and you'll grow giant, leggy plants with little or no fruit). Heck, you can use stones and bricks and anything you can get for nothing in the rows. Be resourceful. If you come up with a cool idea, please share, I'd love to know what you came up with.
I'd suggest landscape fabric in the rows, but it's black and the last thing you need to do is generate more heat. Straw or newspaper would be my first choice.
Hope this helps!!!