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water On Water

MGOLD86

MGOLD86

After a few basic searches (How to Water, watering, watering methods) I haven't found a good watering guide that can be adaptable to a wide audience. I have a soaker line and have been playing it by ear. I am curious to see how others are using it, i.e. avg time on, time of day, how often, etc. Also does anyone use it differently in containers then they would in a bed or ground? Besides soaker hoses what are some methods that work when using a hose? Do you water until it seeps out of the holes at the bottom or just give it a decent soaking? What about bottom watering and how do you do it?

I know that a ton of things go into watering such as outside temp, if the soil is damp, wet, or dry, mulch, etc. I am just trying to see how others are doing it and I am sure that it will help a ton of people refine their methods.
 
I'm very anal about water conservation even in a water rich state like Pennsylvania. I have been watering my plants with a two gallon pressure sprayer for several years. I used to be able to water them daily with the water from my dehumidifier in the basement. With 200+ plants to water, I just added a 75 gallon rainbarrel to the equation. I got through and individually water each plant and normally go through about 4 gallons per watering. On a normal day, I only water in the morning but with this recent heat, I've doubled up. You will settle in on what method and amount works for you and your locality. This has worked for me, so I'm rolling with it...
 
When it comes to containers you have to add a huge variable which is your potting mix. Bark based mixes (most common) often take a huge volume of water (long after it runs out the bottom) to truly soak the mix. I use a mix that is 5 parts composted redwood, 1 part pumice, and 1 part sphagnum peat. It takes a lot of water to soak a 5 gallon pot, but there are always tradeoffs. Bark based mixes will not collapse and provide massive amounts of oxygen to the roots. If you want to conserve water you need to research a mix with exceptional water retention and good enough drainage not to be a problem. Probably one that is not bark based.

Whether it is containers or in the ground it is a good general rule to stick your index finger in to the last knuckle and wiggle it around. You want the medium to be very slightly moist or even dry up to that depth. The amount you water at this point will depend entirely on the soil or potting mix. As a principle, I would avoid watering if the medium is wet enough to stick together above where you can reach with a finger.
 
AJ has a really good setup which I plan on building a version of it real soon. I'm even going to try it out on the peppers I have in the ground as well. With sprinkler you waste so much water and it takes far too long to do it. I need something that's efficient and effective.

Good luck!!
 
I almost exclusively use waste water from my aquariums, I change about 40 gallons of water weekly so that's more than enough to keep all of my plants watered. I'd love to move up to a soaker hose, but I'm afraid the particulate matter that comes up with the gravel vacuum will just clog the pipes. Right now I go by how things look. If they look like they need water I water them. If the soil looks and feels damp I don't.
 
Darkside said:
I almost exclusively use waste water from my aquariums, I change about 40 gallons of water weekly so that's more than enough to keep all of my plants watered. I'd love to move up to a soaker hose, but I'm afraid the particulate matter that comes up with the gravel vacuum will just clog the pipes. Right now I go by how things look. If they look like they need water I water them. If the soil looks and feels damp I don't.
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I'm sure all the fish dookie helps as well.
 
i read somewhere that its not good to add the waste water from an aquarium i forget the reason why... i would see it as being beneficial to our plants due to the fish poop and other stuff as long as you dont add chemicals and stuff like that to prevent algae ect...
 
tonyscoots84 said:
i read somewhere that its not good to add the waste water from an aquarium i forget the reason why... i would see it as being beneficial to our plants due to the fish poop and other stuff as long as you dont add chemicals and stuff like that to prevent algae ect...
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The only additive I use in my aquariums is Epsom salt, but I figure the peppers could use the Mg anyway. I do keep hard-water fish and as a result I need to buffer my soil with a higher concentration of peat, but overall I'm happy with the results. The water is high enough in nutrients that I rarely feel its necessary to fertilize my plants. Besides if I don't use the water on the garden it just goes down the drain which feels wasteful to me.
 
Another variable is where we are in the season. I can water the Earthboxes every 3 or 4 days when they are first filled, but as the plants get bigger, they drink more, and I have to water every single day towards the end of the season.

On my in ground plants I have a bubbler system. It's similar to a drip system, but less specific, and comes out faster. Kind of have to create miniture irrigation ditches to each plant from the bubbler. Early in the season, it may take 12 - 15 minutes to flood the area with water. By the end of the season it's more like to 25 - 30 minutes. Part of the veggie bed gets overspray from the lawn sprinklers as well.

Plants in pots get watered once a day till the temps reach the upper 80's, then it's morning AND evening.
 
Darkside said:
I almost exclusively use waste water from my aquariums, I change about 40 gallons of water weekly so that's more than enough to keep all of my plants watered.
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I do the exact same thing. I have several tanks at home (all freshwater) and anytime I need to water my plants I syphon out 5 gallons at a time and water the plants with that.

I love using the tank water because the temp of the water is always around 78-80 degrees, the water has already been treated BEFORE it went into the tank so I know it won't have any harmful chemicals in the water, it has tons of beneficial bacteria in the water and it's a great way to conserve water which we need a lot more of here in CA.
 
i might have to try it out on my newer seedling as an experiment and see how it goes. another thing that would worry me is if there is any ammonia from fish waste i wonder how that works out...
 
I believe ammonia is a source of nitrogen.

Refine the way to water. I use a hose hooked up to a pump that sits in a 35 gallon bucket full of tap/rain water. I water the pots for a few seconds and then move on to the next one. Then I go back and do it again. If they're really dry I'll do it a third time. Not worried about over watering them either, got lots of drainage holes.

Got kind of bored the other day so I hooked up a couple of airstones to a pump and now I oxygenate the water for an hour or two prior to watering. Don't know if the added oxygen in the water does anything but I really enjoy watching the bubbles. :crazy:
 
tonyscoots84 said:
i might have to try it out on my newer seedling as an experiment and see how it goes. another thing that would worry me is if there is any ammonia from fish waste i wonder how that works out...
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As a long time fish keeper I can tell you there should be VERY little ammonia in your fish tank. Ammonia is toxic to fish and will kill them so most fish keepers that have kept fish for a while will know enough to keep ammonia out of their tanks.
 
tonyscoots84 said:
i might have to try it out on my newer seedling as an experiment and see how it goes. another thing that would worry me is if there is any ammonia from fish waste i wonder how that works out...
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Biological activity converts the ammonia first into nitrite and then into nitrate. This happens almost instantly in any established aquarium.
 
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