How To Properly Water The Beds

Watering is a serious matter

Everyone knows that water for plants is life itself. Biological and biochemical processes in plants cannot take place without water. Water is essential both for dissolving mineral nutrients from the soil and for photosynthesis. And the plants themselves are 90% water. But it turns out that the plants evaporate even more moisture. Compare: to maintain a plant in a normal state, 1 part of dry matter requires 4 parts of water, and 300 parts evaporate at the same time. One hectare of irrigated land "drinks" 1 liter of water per second. The importance of watering is obvious.

However, for good plant growth, they need not only mineral nutrition, the presence of carbon dioxide in the air, but also a favorable combination of water-air regime in the soil, which is often violated by improper watering. It is also important what kind of water the plants are watered with. Summer residents, whose sites are located close to the city, often use chlorinated tap water, which is bad, since chlorine kills beneficial microorganisms that play a very important role in plant life. The use of groundwater, often containing a lot of iron, is also unfavorable. Most gardeners are watered with ordinary river or lake water, let's hope that it is not very polluted by civilization.

Today's gardeners and gardeners often do not carry water with buckets and watering cans, but use pumps, which is much easier and more convenient. But excessive watering of the soil from the hose leads to its mechanical destruction, washing away of microorganisms and washing them out of the root layer. A decrease in the number of microorganisms naturally worsens the mineral nutrition of plants. In addition, if the soil is not loosened after abundant watering, then favorable conditions are created for the development of anaerobic bacteria that form hydrogen sulfide, and it poisons the roots of plants. Improper watering with a hose directly over the soil also leads to an increase in salts and the active development of phytopathogenic fungi that cause plant diseases.

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Watering plants through a mulch cover

It is best to water the plants through a mulch cover. Organic mulch with a layer of 5-7 centimeters suppresses weeds, serves both as food and a home for microorganisms, retains moisture, preventing its evaporation. The soil under the mulch is always loose, airy and does not require loosening. Even in the hottest weather, it does not overheat, remaining cool. Warm air, sinking through the mulch into the loose soil, cools, and the water vapor present in it falls out in the form of underground dew. This is how natural (or dry) autowatering works; according to the same principle, rivers are replenished with water. It is estimated that the amount of moisture received by plants in this way is twice as much as that of ordinary precipitation. As a result, mulched beds need to be watered 3-4 times less than usual.

To prevent the mulch from rotting, as well as to create favorable conditions for the development of plants, watering must be combined with the introduction of agronomically beneficial microorganisms (EM preparations) into the soil. To protect the plants from disease, they should be sprayed with EM preparations after watering. Spraying should be fine so that large droplets do not run off the leaves, for this it is best to use sprayers with a misty spray.

Irrigation methods for various agrotechnical measures are also important. For example, when sowing seeds, you first need to make grooves, spill them with water, then sow the seeds and sprinkle them without watering. If you water the grooves after sowing or sprinkling seeds even from a watering can, light seeds are washed off from their places with water, and the seedlings will be uneven and uncooked.

Another example: many gardeners complain that their carrots grow crooked. At the same time, soil hardness is blamed for such a defect. And the reason for this is unexpected: frequent and abundant watering of carrots in the spring led to the death of the central root, and, as a result, the lateral ones began to develop.

The most optimal for today is drip irrigation on mulch with the placement of drain holes in the area of ​​plant roots. It is clear that it is difficult and expensive to organize such drip irrigation throughout the entire area, but using it for the most important and especially greenhouse plantings that cannot take advantage of the moisture of free rain is beneficial and useful. Various drip irrigation systems are on sale, you just need to choose the option that suits your site. Ask friends, read the necessary literature about the features of various systems, consult with experienced gardeners. There is still time until spring.

I wish you success, dear summer residents, and a Happy New Year!