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Serious question, is the "plants need deep watering" advice always true?
My neighbor told me two years ago to water my vegetable garden deep and less often. I argued with him saying my tomatoes looked fine with daily sprinkles. Then a dry August hit and my shallow-rooted plants drooped bad while his looked great. I tested it myself last season, watering one bed deep every 4 days and another bed every other day with less water. The deep watered bed had double the yield from my peppers and cucumbers. Has anyone else found exceptions to this rule, like for sandy soil that drains fast?
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taylor_young27d ago
Agree with all that but gotta throw my two cents in about sandy soil. I've got straight up sand in my raised beds and deep watering just runs right through it before the roots can grab anything. Had to switch to watering every other day with a good soak but not flooding it, and that actually helped more than the deep watering advice did. Your mileage may vary but I think the rule is more for clay or loam soils that hold water longer. Mulching heavy on top helped too, kept the moisture from evaporating out of that sandy surface.
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riley_west27d ago
Did you try mixing in compost to help the sand hold water better?
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