Container Watering Challenges and Supplies to Meet the Challenge

One of the struggles of container gardening is watering. Watering is the key to any successful container garden. Where the cool months of March, April and most of May give us a false sense of security… the hot days of June, July and August can wreak havoc on container vegetables. Tomatoes are very sensitive to water levels. Too much water too fast and tomatoes can crack. Too little water and general watering inconsistency not only stunts growth but can lead to tomato blossom-end rot. I found I enjoy creating self contained watering bucket systems. I look for the cheapest method possible and take time looking at the cost of various irrigation supplies. I use what I find, from standard irrigation supplies, and adapt it to my bucket containers.

I can’t help notice the lawn at the same time as I take care of the garden. Where full sun for my garden is a blessing, the baking sun quickly dries up the lawn. I just about have enough time to manage the garden. Finding the right sprinkler system and sprinkler heads to water the lawn and garden has also become a bit of a quest. Things you have to keep in mind with a garden is that over head watering can create an environment for disease. Finding the right watering system is often a key to successful gardening. A good link that helped me understand and find water efficient landscape design tips is http://www.epa.gov/watersense/outdoor/landscaping_tips.html.  Where I might have a good sense of the needs of the garden when it comes to watering the water sense tips really helped me with understanding the needs of the landscape.