[caro810]

weather predicted to be hot all next week i water my pots daily but what about the stuff in the ground ie sweetcorn;potatoes,swede,cabbage,cauli etc should i water every 3 days or so if there is no rain what are peoples thoughts.

[m1ckz]

i water most days,,,,but never water potatoes

[fatcat1955]

Water only when needed and in hot weather the later in the day you do it the better.

[Sweetpea C]

i water most days,,,,but never water potatoes

Oh no - I watered mine yesterday (only lightly) how come?

[AnneB]

I always think potatoes are a very thirsty crop, particularly late on as they bulk up.  I water then but give them a real good soaking a couple of times a week.

For other crops it depends what stage they are at, but things like beans and courgettes etc always need to be well watered.  Some herbs thrive on neglect!

[Yorkie]

If you are watering anything, water less frequently and more heavily, instead of a frequent light sprinkle.

If you only water lightly, you are making the plant less drought-tolerant because the roots stay at the surface rather than seeking water further down.  So the roots dry out more often and the plant is more prone to drought-stress or even wilting / dying.

[Salmo]

Unless things are actually likely to die I avoid watering. The exceptions are salad crops.

[DD.]

i water most days,,,,but never water potatoes

Oh no - I watered mine yesterday (only lightly) how come?

What's the one thing you always see farmers watering in the field when it's dry? Potatoes. As said they are a thirsty crop and need it.

I do not water carrots and parsnips, unless it's really dire. If you water them, the tap root won't bother going downwards in search of it.

If you're going to water, gives things a good soaking, say once a week, rather than a little and often. As with carrots, little and often just encourages roots to stay near the surface and with brassicas, for instance, they will not have a good root system to withstand wind.

[willp]

It`s not easy to give a hard and fast rule - best idea in my book is to feel around in the soil and then water or not depending on the crop in question.

Some crops - particularly those that have been in a while or which have grown in situ from seed, will have extensive root systems that will go deep into the soil for moisture.

If you have given a bed a good soaking and a long hot spell is forecast, get a mulch on the soil. Most water is lost directly through evaporation from the soil.  All my thirsty crops - beans, courgettes as outlined by AnneB are either grown through hole in weed fabric or have a newspaper mulch topped with grass cuttings.

It saves a huge amount of work - I`ve only watered my toms once this season for example and I`m in one of the driest parts of the country. That would have been 6 cans of water humped up and down the plot each time.

Will