Watering – How to Water to Promote Deep Root Growth

Did you know that sprinkling water on the leaves of your plants on hot days can actually promote disease and hurt your plants?

Did you know that daily watering is not good for your plants?

Did you know that plant roots have little water sensors on them?

If you want to grow plants that can survive dry periods then the best thing you can do is to water every few days (if you haven’t gotten any rain) and allow the top soil in your garden to dry out a little bit to encourage roots to grow down. If you water a little bit each day and wet the top of the soil while the deeper soil gets dry, the roots will grow upward to find the moisture. Then, if you go on vacation your plants will dry out quickly and you’ll be very unhappy when you get home.

Keep this “roots have water sensors” in mind as you care for your plants. You want the roots to grow deeply to keep the plant healthy and reduce the watering workload on you.

Happy Gardening!