[ben/anne]

Hello this is probably a daft question (But not from a newbie !) when should we start watering our potatoes they are about 2"(5cm)  tall at the moment. They have only just come up planted 2nd week April . Help please

[mumofstig]

Unless you've had very dry weather lately - they don't need watering at all.

Check the soil by digging a small hole - if it's damp a couple of inches down - it doesn't need watering.

[Mark's Sussex Allotment]

Is that throughout the season Mum or just for the first few weeks?

[mumofstig]

throughout the year, and for everything - not just potatoes

Only newly sown or transplanted crops need watering, for a while.

[Mark's Sussex Allotment]

Really?

Is it a common misconception then?

But people are watering frantically, everywhere, everyday at the allotment......

[mumofstig]

There are plenty of allotment sites that have no water supply - they grow crops without much in the way of watering, don't they 

[Mark's Sussex Allotment]

Good point!!

Is that the same with Farmers?

They cant get out and water 50 acres a day I suppose....

[Baldy]

Some advice from the RHS

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=706

(I've got quite a lot of containers and pots in use so I'll generally give those a soaking regardless once a week)

Cheers,
Balders

[mumofstig]

Even the RHS site, linked above says

Dig down to a spade’s depth to see if there is moisture in the soil; if so watering is unnecessary

[devonbarmygardener]

Really?

Is it a common misconception then?

But people are watering frantically, everywhere, everyday at the allotment......

If you water daily, you will always HAVE to water daily as the plants will only produce surface roots.
If you only water well, twice maybe 3 times a week, in really dry periods, the roots will develop deep down to find their own water and you will have stronger plants.

You can also wash a lot of nutrients from the soil by overdoing it

[simonwatson]

Constantly watering just encourages your crops to grow a shallow root system. If you then stop watering for even a couple of days, the surface dries out and all those shallow roots become useless. By not watering you make your plants delve down to where the more permanent moisture sits. It takes an amazingly hot dry summer to dry the soil out below a spade's depth. Even then, the approach is to give it a massive soaking once or twice a week, just like rain would.

[devonbarmygardener]

There are a few crops that are thirsty crops like Florence Fennel that need a lot of water or they bolt.
I've found radishes get a bit woody too if they're not watered well, but that might just be me!

[fatcat1955]

Give your spud's a really good soaking when the flower's open and then that is it.

[mumofstig]

Give your spud's a really good soaking when the flower's open and then that is it.

but only if the sky hasn't already done the watering for you 

[Ghost]

I tend to just water everything every other day so maybe I'm wasting water. Which is a shame because I've been growing things for 7 years now 
I've often wonder if I water too much. Obviously I need to water the seed beds and things I've just transplanted everyday but what about the rest. Let's say we have a week of dry weather at 25 degrees (unlikely I know) how often would you water the following in that week?

Potatoes
Onions
Carrots
Lettuce
Sweetcorn
Courgette
Runner Beans
Cabbage