WATERING THE GARDEN

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Just as you may choose between two generally preferred times to water, there are also two schools of thought on howoften to water. Daily light watering regularly replenishes the water that growth and evaporation use up. This way, the soil's water "arteries" remain intact and reach deep into the ground. And occasionaldeep watering accomplishes the same goal by periodically drenching the soil thoroughly.

Choose whichever technique you preferjust DON'T go with occasional light watering. Such half-hearted efforts will keep only the top inch or two of soil moist . . . coaxing roots to grow only near the surface, where they can readily dry out.

To make sure you're watering enough—whether you go for the daily-light or the occasional-deep method—get a trowel, a soil tube, or an auger, and after you've watered, dig down about a foot to see just how deep your added moisture is penetrating. This is a very important learning step. With time, you'll develop a feel for how to keep the soil at its optimum saturation level. But until you gain such expertise, digging to see what's really happening underground is the way to go (and learn).

The first time or two you check, you may well discover that you've been watering too shallowly. Many people make that mistake, failing to realize that it can take three-quarters of an hour to fully water one 10' X 10' plot! Indeed, the average garden needs about one inch of rain or irrigation per week . . . which figures out to about 62 gallons per 100 square feet. If you provide that much in one weekly watering, it should soak the ground to a depth of about one foot. (Dig and see!)

Of course, most times, natural rainfall will provide some of that moisture, and you'll only have to make up the difference. You can estimate the amount of natural precipitation you've received by following your local weather reports, by putting a large can in the garden and measuring how deep the water in it is after each rain, or by making your own rain gauge from a funnel and cylindrical tube (see the illustration). For the last method, use a funnel with steep sides, and set it where it's not exposed to ground splashings or heavy winds (about a foot off the ground is good). You can also add a thin film of oil to the cylinder to reduce evaporation losses. To determine the number of inches of rainwater in the cylinder that will equal one inch of rainfall, divide the squared radius of the funnel by the squared radius of the cylinder. Thus, if your funnel has a three-inch radius and your collecting tube a one-inch radius, every nine (3 2 = 1 2 ) inches of water collected in the cylinder will equal one inch of rainfall.

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