When to water your garden, and when not to

Time of day

Early morning, 5 to 9am, is best. Cool air means less evaporation. Leaves dry off before evening, which means less fungal disease. Plants take up water all day to grow.

Late afternoon, 5 to 7pm, is second best. Water at soil level. Don't soak the leaves.

Never water in the heat of the day. Most of it evaporates before reaching roots. What's left acts as a magnifying glass on leaves.

How often, honestly

Deep, infrequent watering grows deeper roots than shallow daily watering. Most gardens get watered too often.

• Lawn: 25mm once a week beats 5mm every day.
• Veggie patch: 25 to 40mm deep, twice a week in summer.
• Established trees and shrubs: Often nothing in spring and autumn, deep soak in long dry spells.
• Pots: Daily in summer. Pots dry out fast.

The finger test

Push your finger 5cm into the soil. If it's dry, water. If it's cool and damp, wait. More reliable than any schedule.

Skip watering when

• It's rained more than 5mm in the last 24 hours
• More than 10mm of rain is forecast tonight
• The soil is still soaked from the previous watering
• The plants are dormant (most natives in summer, deciduous trees in winter)

Drip irrigation pays for itself

A $40 timer and $30 of drip line waters the veggie patch at 5am while you sleep. Saves at least half the water that sprinklers waste. Plants thrive on the steady moisture.

Check today

Open Window Today's "Water the garden" card factors in the last 24 hours of rainfall, today's temperature, and the forecast. It tells you yes, no, or wait, in one second.

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