How to Water Vegetable Plants in a Heatwave
Plant stress is a real thing and in a heatwave, plants will need water otherwise there is a threat of withering.
Plants can survive no water to some extent but they are not miracle workers. No water along with other factors such as extreme heat or how dry the soil was to start with can make matters worse.
Here’s how to keep your Plants alive during a heatwave
1.Water as early or late in the day as possible
Water as early as you can in the morning (5am-8am) or if not, late evening (7pm onwards)
Water evaporates quicker in heat and in the sun. Therefore during a heatwave you’ll need to be up with the bird song at 6-7am ideally to soak your plants with water. Plants can’t take up the water as quickly in the evening.
2. Soak Watering Vs Surface Watering
There are two types of watering.
Soak Watering
Soak Watering means that you leave the hose pipe running at soil level for at least 5 mins in the raised bed. If there are any puddles forming, move the hose pipe running to another part of your raised bed.
Soak Watering will literally soak the soil to more than 1 inch deep, hopefully nearer 2 inches deep. Roots will then be able to tap into this water as it drips slowly through the soil. It has also been proven that water at lower levels in the soil, keeps plants hydrated.
Soak watering can be done usually once a week but in a heatwave every two days.
Surface Watering
Surface watering waters the soil surface to only up to 1 inch deep. This is a quick water with a watering can or hose pipe and will only last one day in a heatwave.
Watering Top Tip
When watering plants, water under the leaves on the soil surface, this reduces evaporation and gets the the roots quicker for a healthier plant.
3. Automatic Watering Systems
If you have a busy life and don’t have time for watering or if you have a greenhouse and you feel you are forever watering the plants, get yourself a watering system.
Here are a few watering systems that water the plants themselves via wicking materials, where the roots pull up the water from the bottom of their pots or via water drips in the top of the pot.
- Expensive but worth it – Autopot Easy2Grow – I got mine from London Grow. (£77.50 for 4 pots, wicking, tubing & tank).
- Medium – Growbag Waterers – Amazon Affiliate Link: Hozelock Growbag Waterer £32.99 (holds 3 Tomato, cucumber, melon, aubergine or sweet pepper plants).
- Cheap – Drip Irrigation system – Amazon Affiliate Link: No Tap Needed, Solar – Automatic Drip System. £44.99 Or Tap Fed – Drip Irrigation System £39.99.
- Cheap – Soaker Hose – Amazon Affiliate Link: 30M Soaker Hose (includes connectors to attach to tap) £34.99.
How do I Water my Veg & Fruit Garden efficiently?
I am not one for wasting water, I like collecting water. When the water butts are empty, I have to use my own paid water supply and that’s where I like to save money as well.
- I only soak water every other day with a hosepipe on raised beds and fruit trees, pots and beds,
- I fill up the water tanks (Hozelock Growbag Waterers x 2 and AutoPots x 6 and Tank) in the Greenhouse every other day.
- I only surface water in between days if the plants look wilted in raised beds or fruit trees or pots.
- I keep an eye on the Greenhouse peppers on the bench as they do wilt quickly due to the heat in the shaded greenhouse. I water the top of the bench which is like a water tray so they can suck up water from their roots when needed.
- If really hot, I place the pots on the floor and cool down the greenhouse by watering the concrete floor.
Watering Weekly Schedule in the Summer during a Heatwave
The Watering Series
How to setup a Growbag Watering System for Tomatoes
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