Water Requirements

Question

I have read different articles on watering vegetable plants. Many advise something like this: water plants 1-2 inches a week, or water deeply once a week. How do I know how many inches of water I have actually given a plant? What does ‘water deeply’ mean? For how long? Here in central Florida, we have very sandy soil, which can appear very wet even if watered for several minutes, but if I poke my finger in, it is very dry just below the surface. I am specifically interested in zucchini plants and lettuce.

Answer 1

Watering deeply means to let the water run in one long, slow session once or twice a week rather than short spurts everyday. You can make or buy a rain gauge and set it out in the garden. This will help you determine how much water has fallen on the garden. Since you have sandy soil, you may want to give the plants 3-4″ of water a week as the water will drain away in the soil more quickly.