We Water Vegetables

Watering Vegetables

Water is a fundamental component of plants and their surrounding environment. It provides plant nutrition in the form of oxygen and hydrogen. The most important source of water is precipitation. Precipitation reaches the ground in the form of rain, snow, frost, and dew. The most abundant source of irrigation is rain, especially in spring and late winter months.

With excessive watering, plants absorb water and develop overpressure, which causes plant tissues to tear or crack. This happens especially with radishes, kohlrabi, tomatoes, and carrots. With water shortage, cellular tissue weakens and plants wilt. Plants suffering from drought lose their quality - they become bitter (lettuce), tough (kohlrabi). During prolonged drought, plants dry out and die.

Plants sensitive to water shortage include:

• shallow-rooted vegetables (radishes, spinach, lettuce, cucumbers)

Conversely, plants that better withstand dry conditions are:

• deep-rooted vegetables (corn, parsley, black salsify, carrots, and legumes)

Climatic conditions in the Czech Republic are not sufficient for most cultivated vegetables. Precipitation is only a minimal part of necessary plant watering. Each gardener must carefully plan their plant irrigation. You can, of course, water with water from local sources. If you have a stream near your garden. It's also important to collect rainwater in a barrel. Ideal is rainwater from thunderstorms. It's soft, highly oxygenated, and contains atmospheric nitrogen. Mineral nutrients contained in the soil easily dissolve in rainwater.

Plants prefer settled rainwater and it's also a more economical watering method. Barrel/rain barrel for collecting rainwater HERE. If you have less water (at cottages, etc.), then it's necessary to prioritize and regularly water plants that require regular watering.

If you're growing heat-loving plants, we recommend painting the barrel black so that the collected rainwater warms up well. Soils for vegetable cultivation should have 55-75% soil water capacity.

If there's severe drought in the garden and we're forced to water with tap water, it's better to fill the water into a barrel beforehand and let it warm up. This is so the chlorine evaporates from the water and the water becomes oxygenated. Water directly from the tap is cold and hard. It's not suitable for direct watering.

Do not water plants with polluted water. If you water with water from a stream, make sure that no harmful substances are discharged into it.

Cruciferous vegetables require the most irrigation. Water kohlrabi, early cabbage, Chinese cabbage and cauliflower regularly. Among fruiting vegetables, pay special attention to tomatoes and cucumbers. Of root vegetables, radishes and celery consume the most water. Leafy vegetables can manage with regular rainfall, only add water to lettuce, which can become bitter due to lack of irrigation. Spinach and chicory are more resilient. They can survive without regular watering.

Alliums benefit from watering in the first half of the growing season. Once alliums begin to ripen, they prefer a drier environment.

Garlic is the least demanding in terms of irrigation. Leeks require regular watering throughout their entire growth and maturation period.

Only water legumes during prolonged dry periods.

Irrigation Methods

Irrigation is divided into several types according to the watering method

• Surface irrigation - by flooding or furrow irrigation - this type of irrigation is used for cruciferous vegetables, tomatoes, early potatoes and peppers. Primarily for plants grown with wider spacing. With this watering method, it is sufficient to dig furrows around the plants.

If this irrigation and growing method suits you, we can also grow root vegetables on the ridges of the furrows. Growing on top of ridges has its advantages. Thanks to this cultivation method, air has access to the plant roots. The disadvantage of this cultivation method - or rather irrigation - is that if the furrows are too long, water may not reach the end of the bed.

• Manual watering - with a watering can - has proven effective in small gardens. It is a very labor-intensive watering method. However, watering with a can is most effective in cold frames, polytunnels, greenhouses and other covered cultivation areas. Professional watering with a can - to reach plant roots - we should apply 2x10l of water per 1m², meaning two ten-liter cans of water.
• Hose watering - is a popular and common watering method. It saves time and "strained" arms from carrying cans. This type of watering is also suitable for larger garden areas. If we have sufficient water, we can water early potatoes during dry weather when they are forming tubers. They will be larger and more productive. We use various nozzles for garden hoses, depending on what we are watering.
• Subsurface irrigation - requires higher financial costs. The advantage of this system is mainly its versatile usage. You need to design and build an ingenious irrigation system from pipes or hoses. It is beneficial when the water supply for this system is located at a higher level - a rainwater tank on the roof, etc. Holes with a diameter of 2mm-5mm need to be drilled into the hoses-pipes at 10 cm intervals. Pipes laid in the ground should first be covered with a layer of sand to prevent the holes from clogging. With this irrigation method, the garden surface remains dry and loose. Water does not evaporate and stays at the plant roots.

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Author: Hana Michalíková