I'm a relatively new CONTAINER vegetable gardener so apologies in advance if these several questions on watering seem dumb or already have been hashed about a thousand times...
(1) I've read that it's not good to water container peppers and tomatoes with cold water (directly from the hose) but also not to use warmed water that has passed through the softener (hot water line). How critical is hard water, cold water and diluted softener water to these plants?
(2) I've left hose water standing in tubs to allow it to warm -- is there an increased risk of disease from using stagnant water that's been sitting in ubs for several days?
(3) Because of the number of plants I have and my work schedule, it's impossible for me to water in the mornings. Which is the worst of two evils - watering in the early afternoon or early evening. (The night time temperatures have been running in the 50's and low 60's.)
(4) In some containers I used a mix of 40% spag peat, 30% vermiculite, 20% Perilite and 10% processed cow mature; in other containers I used 80% SoilAid (a commercial vegetable potting soil) and 20% perilite. In both cases the soil seems to remain WET about three inches down from the surface of the medium, but my peppers' leaves are "droopy" (though not wilted). I'm not sure if they need water or are drooping from excess moisture. The tomatoes (in the same medium) seem fine. The peppers in 2.5 gallon containers with plenty of drain holes and a 2 inch bedding of chopped Styrofoam at the bottom. Tomatoes are in 5 gallon containers.
(5) How reliable are the cheapo ($5) moisture meters, especially when used to measure medium that contains Vermiculite?
Thanks in advance to any and all who read and or respond - your expertise is invaluable. Michael
watering
IMHO, the Rapitest-type moisture meters are no better than your finger.
Regarding water softeners, the NaCl type softeners may not be good for some plants. You can correct this by switching your salt to KCl (potassium chloride) which is widely available. I have to wonder whether it doesn't take longer than one growing season to do any damage with your softened water....maybe someone else can answer this question.
SB
I'll take a few of these-
I have never heard that you should only use warm water to water veges-but the growing of veges usually follows the season-in other words-when its time to start the veges outside, the water has already started to warm up because of the increase in temp-by summer, tap water is more than warm enough. As well, think about if the plants are exposed to rain-which I would think is no warmer than the cold water from your tap. I know of no one that heats the water to water their vege plants.
Concerning watering in the heat of the day vs early evening-
I always will go with the heat of the day-for a few reasons. If your plants are really dry-its better to water them as soon as you can rather than let them go thru the hottest part of the day dry-plants will react in negative ways if they do that.
As much as possible, to avoid any fungus, its better to have the foliage dry thru the evening, Its unavoidable if it rrains at night, but thats usually not a problem. If you water when its still hot enough to dry the foliage before evening-its better.
Sometimes it helps to think of a plant as similar to a human-of which in many ways they are-food, water, heat, reproduction, etc. So if you have a human stuck on the deck in the heat really thirsty-are you going to make him wait to get a drink-or give him a drink as soon as he is thirsty? I know it sounds silly, but sometimes thinking of it this way helps to make a gardening decision!
with the standing water in tubs-I wouldn't-mosquitos are there to breed, unless you have it covered, also algae can form in the water.
The peppers that are droopy-do you ever let them totally dry out and then water them well and then let them dry out? You should only water anything that is dry. Part of the reason that the tomatoes aren't droopy and the peppers are is that the root system is probably more developed with the tomatoes and they are handling the wet soil better. It also may be that peppers droop in the heat of the day and then perk back up in the cooler part of the day/evening.
Thank you Tigerlily and Stressbaby for your help -- it's great. I'm scratching my head a lot less now, but still a little:
I have three current vegetable gardening books that mention not using cold water, which is why I became concerned. They don;t say to use warm water- more like tepid or at least, not cold from the hose and I thik it has something to do with the root system. I do keep lids on the tubs and they probably stand for no more than three days - so what do you think? Stressbaby's comment about the effect of softener in only one year may be accurate, too. In a pinch I'd like to take a gallon of hot tap water and mix it with 2, 3 or four gallons of hose water- whatever is needed to make it tepid. Then again, maybe all that effort is unnecessary. I do think it's interesting that with all the emphasis on soil quality, etc., there seems to be very little mention of water in these books other than avoiding cold.
I see your point on watering during the day and I also think your anology to plants as small humans is a good one -- I talk to my plants, too and it actually works (I'm serious).
As for the droopy peppers, the reason I mentioned in my first post about the mediums I used is because I'm really having a hard tie balancing the soil moisture. The top 3-4 inches (in a 12 inch high pail) are VERY dry and the medium below is very wet. As I've heard before, it turns out that watering decisions are a bigger issue than I expected them to be. Any additional input is very, very welcome. Thanks again to all. Michael
I guess I didn't read the part about the soil in the peppers and toms being dry the top 3" and wet below. You aren't watering these...right? one of the main keys to watering and growing good roots is to make the roots go downwards for water-so if the soil is wet below, the roots will go there looking for water-if you don't keep watering the top. Let the whole container dry out-and as the plant develops more and more roots-it will dry out all the way. 2.5 gallon seems maybe on the small side for peppers-esp since you devoted 2" of that space to styrofoam ( have never used that-I always grab a handful of small rocks) but let us know how the peppers do in it-its not that much too small. I would say that your plants haven't rooted alot yet, or they would be soaking up the water in the bottom part of the container. As they get bigger and develop more roots, the soil will dry out faster-in the mean time-don't water until they are dryer.
Another reason to water in the am is because roots grow at night, and they grow better with more oxygen in the soil. Water displaces oxygen, and so if you water in the am-or as early in the afternoon, the soil has a better chance to dry out some before evening.
I am not a vege grower ( I grow annuls for a living) but I did have a big vege garden at one time, and I never used warm water to grow them. Think about the large farmers who grow them-they don't heat up the water ( in any way).
Also the dryer the soil, the better the plants will set blooms. Most plants will not set blooms as well in continously wet soil.
Cricket-over in grhouse forum, grows toms like you wouldn't believe, you should go over there and ask her about the warm water. I am 90% sure she will say that she waters off the hose.
Take pics and let us know how it goes! Feel free to keep asking questions
Michael,
"The top 3-4 inches (in a 12 inch high pail) are VERY dry and the medium below is very wet."
If you have not already done so, scroll down here at the container forum to find Tapla's post on water movement in containers. With that in mind, consider this...is the wet soil in the bottom just wet, or are you noticing the perched water table (PWT)? It may be that your growing medium has a high PWT and in this case you may not want the roots going all the way down...the soil within the PWT is saturated and unoxygenated and not so healthy. A diagnostic and therapeutic measure is to insert a wick into the bottom of the pot. I've tried a couple of different kinds of wicks, and I've found that a thin strip of an old bath towel works great. If you stick that into a hole in the bottom (up through the styrofoam into the soil) and you wind up with water dripping off of the bottom of the wick, you have a significant PWT in that pot.
On occasions when I have gone out of town and left the wateriing of special plants to inexperienced people, I have set up the pot with a wick...it makes it very difficult, even impossible to overwater the container.
The other thing is that I have quit using any kind of rocks, styrofoam or anything like that in the bottom of pots. It doesn't improve drainage...this is an old wife's tale...all this does is increase the height of the perched water table. Styrofoam is useful to decrease the weight of the container.
Hey!!! that handful of rocks makes me feel better!!
Michael-how large are these plants? When did you transplant them into these conts? Either you do have a drainage problem or the plants just don't have the root system yet to untilize the water in the bottom of the cont. I would just stop watering until you see the plant looking wilted from dryness and then water well and then let it really dry out. These plants are pretty fast growers ( esp the toms) and should develop a good root system fairly soon.
heres a thread of Stressbaby's that is very helpful http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/607678/
I usually have a couple of water containers on the deck and porch for handy spot watering instead of pulling the hose out to water a couple of pots. I might add water soluble fertilizer to these containers as well (kitty litter containers are good for water storage - complete with lid!).
I agree on mosquitoes forming in standing water but a few days shouldn't hurt (how long does it take for a mosquito egg to become a full adult anyway? According to one site it takes about 7-10 days from larva to adult and 24-48 hours for the egg to hatch). If larva form then I take great pleasure in pouring out the life-sustaining water to the thirsty plants (sound cruel?). Just make sure you don't let the water stand too long.
Wilt is not necessarily a sign of thirst either. It may be a sign of Drowning! If the soil is wet and the plant is wilting in a shady spot then it may be too wet. Wilt is normal under the hot sun for a lot of plants. If the plant is still wilted after it is in shade, then it is too dry or too wet or dying from rot or some other ailment. You will have to diagnose the problem.
As for watering times, I'd water when it is convenient for yourself or as your city dictates (metro Atlanta has days and times for watering so you should obey the law first and your schedule second). As Tigerlily pointed out - nature doesn't water based on time of day so why should you? Same for water temps.
Plants are survivors and sometimes we kill them with too much kindness.
I put Mosquito Dunks in my tubs/barrels of plant-watering water...both the rain water and what I fill the tubs with(from our farm pond)when we have no rain. I buy the Dunks from Wal Mart, or a hardware store.