Temperatures in the Hudson Valley area are going to be consistently in the high 80′s to mid 90′s for the next 5 days.
How does that affect your watering schedule?
Leafy green plants (such as kale and chard) and root vegetables (beets and carrots) should be watered twice a day (in the early a.m. and early evening).
Summer vegetables (peppers, zucchini’s eggplants and beans, should be watered once a day (but make sure to give a deep watering in the a.m.) It is not necessary to water the tomatoes daily. Every other day is fine (even with the high temperatures). Again, a deep watering (at least 25 seconds per plant)
If you are not here full time, make the necessary arrangements, if possible.
Shallow watering will cause rapid soil evaporation which will stress your plants.
A major benefit, though, is that this warm period will cause your summer vegetables to have a huge growth spurt. So take care of them and keep them moist.
Hi Adam and everyone!
I love this blog – it’s so local and helpful!
Just a plug for drip irrigation. I heard Lee Reich speak about it a few years ago and I ordered a system for my garden. It works really well, and it’s on a timer, so you don’t even have to be around and your garden gets watered. The water goes right into the soil, none is wasted going into the air or paths, and none touches the leaves/fruits, which can lead to disease. You leave the whole thing in the garden over the winter (except one small component which takes 20 seconds to bring inside). I ordered from dripworks.com, which lets you send them a sketch of the areas you want the system to water, and they (no extra charge) come up with a list of everything you need. Happy gardening!