Garden Talk: How you should be watering your garden right now

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Any Michigan growing season needs us to water our gardens. This year, watering has already been especially important. Here are some tips from gardening experts.

I talked to three experts about how they like to water gardens.

Rebecca Finneran, Ornamentals, Landscape and Turf Systems Educator at MSU, says: "Watering within the root zone of the plant is the best. Even distribution is important because plant's roots are not just right beneath. Think planting zone, not planting hole! Vegetable plants will yield the best harvest if plants are kept evenly (and deeply) moist—not "feast or famine" conditions. Organic mulches such as wood chips or straw can help maintain even soil moisture during droughty periods. The mulch goes in between the plants, not up against them."

Finneran also advises us to have the foliage dried off before nightfall. If leaves stay wet through the night, fungal diseases could develop.

Another expert, Jerry Somalski, owner of Bay Landscaping in Essexville, MI, also advises against wet leaves at night. Somalski says early morning watering is the best time if you have it. He says more likely the best time to water is anytime you actually have the time to do the watering. Watering at the "wrong time" is better than not watering. He cautions to not just give a little "spriztle" on the plants. You have to really soak the root zone.

Can you overwater in summer? Both Finneran and Somalski say it would be tough to overwater at this time of year. Your soil would have to be heavy clay, and you’d have to leave plants standing in water. Somalski cautions more about underwatering, especially potted plants. When the soil gets too dry the root ball will shrink and pull away from the edge of the pot. This leaves an easy path for water applied at the top of the soil to run to the edge and right out of the pot. I like to have a saucer at the bottom of the pots. The runoff water sits in the saucer and the roots at the bottom of the pot suck up the water. In the winter this technique would rot a houseplant, but in the summer it's fine. The water will be gone in a few hours and in the plants.

There is a thought out there to not water your plants in the heat of direct sunlight. I asked the experts if water on leaves will scorch plants. The general answer from the experts is no, you won't have burned leaves.

Matt Bouvy, owner of Abele Greenhouse and Garden Center, says a few plants are sensitive to water baking on the leaves in hot sun. He's found that coleus and begonia leaves can burn from watering in the middle of a hot day. Somalski asks if we like a cooling spray of water on us during a hot day? We do, and he says plants also like a shower over the top in the heat. This spritzle over the top doesn't replace a deep watering. It does stop the water loss from a plant.

Matt Bouvy's favorite watering device at Abele Greenhouse and Garden Center in Saginaw.

What's the best watering device to put on the end of your hose? Matt Bouvy likes the above watering wand, which is a DRAMM 30″ Classic U-430S. This wand allows us to water both overhead hanging baskets and down near the ground, saving our backs.

Of course we know the best watering device: real rain from Mother Nature. Since Mother Nature isn't doing her job right now, we will have to water daily or every other day until it rains. A more widespread rain could be coming to southern Lower Michigan early next week.

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