Garden Watering Tips

pm · Post by pm » Sat Jul 23, 2005 12:00 am

We've got two big figs. They grow on a south facing wall that used to be the back wall of a victorian glasshouse. There is a huge vine too that my uncle assured me probably had a sheep buried under it when it was planted!
We are quite close to Worthing which used to be the UK centre for figs

Rob F · Post by **Rob F** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 2:24 pm

When we moved in this house some 8 years ago there were lots of plants and trees around the house. The first year our portuguese gardener watered all of them for hours per week. We decided to stop that and from that time on we only water the potted plants around the pool once a week. In our opinion the trees and plants in the garden that would not survive non watering are not fit to grow here. So far, none of them has died, our garden still looks very nice, although we do think we see less flowers. So our best advice: stop watering your garden all together!

elle · Post by **elle** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 4:17 pm

Wise advice RobF....
even here in UK it really is a complete waste of water & time..the water hardly goes beneath the surface ..
When I worked on the big garden in Algarve my orders were to water every day all through the high heat of summer...but imagine the water evaporated soon as it hit the ground

Steady rainfall is the only and best answer....
I saw the world weather on Fox news earlier..and it showed clouds over Algarve tomorrow...so maybe it could happen?

.......ellie

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 4:33 pm

a very old ex-gardener once told me that the plants want water at night, and i've tried doing that and the results where amazing the veg tasted much better and the flowers where nice and big, and lasted longer.....

elle · Post by **elle** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 4:49 pm

That old gardener gave you sound advice guest

...always water in evening..or later...
and hanging baskets (I grow cherry tomatoes/strawberries this way..and flowers of course

)....
I have a really big wide bucket which I fill with and add a little feed...then emerse the baskets and leave them for a while till thoroughly soaked..(I don't have irrigation system)..
I expect everyone here has their own method of doing these things?
I've seen folk watering baskets twic a day in warmweather but I find with this bucket method you only need to do this once...
and with each watering I always add a very weak 'feed' solution..
seem to get good results..