Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange
Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [watering]

Questions about when, where and how much to water plants, about techniques for watering and about the equipment gardeners use to deliver water to their plants.

Use this tag for questions about watering: when, where, how, and techniques for watering. Use this tag along with a specific plant tag, if your question is on how much to that particular plant or for a watering schedule.

If your question is about over/under watering your plant, leading to yellowing or other symptoms, use the tag along with this.

If the question is on , use this tag along with the appropriate equipment tag such as , , , etc.

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Is it bad to water plants in the evening?

Is it bad to water plants after the sun has gone down or near dusk? If so, why?
Jim Geurts
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How do you know if you are watering a plant too much vs. too little?

I live in Arizona, and I can never tell if I am watering my plants too little or too much. Plants are very touchy here - and you have to be able to read the signs correctly. I can't. What signs are there for each?
johnnietheblack
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How to prevent avocado from drying out indoors?

I have an avocado plant that has grown indoors since it was a pit. It grew first in a badly insulated, north-facing, wet and cool house, where it grew splendidly. After I moved it to a well insulated house with central heating and lots of light, the…
neydroydrec
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What factors affect the spiciness of jalapeños?

Researching growing jalapeños, I've seen people mention how water-starving your jalapeño plants can lead to spicier peppers. How true is this? If there's any truth to it, what tips can you provide about watering amounts? How much is too little? Does…
JavadocMD
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Is rain water better than tap water for plants?

Is it better to water your plants with rain water collected in water butts? I mean is that better than water straight from the tap? And is it just a matter of temperature (presumably plants don't like to be soaked with very cold water (as mains tap…
Tea Drinker
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Does eating fruits and vegetables watered with greywater affect your health?

Does using greywater on your fruit and vegetable garden affect your health in a negative way? Greywater is the run-off or cast off water that lolls about when you do normal washing around the home. The sink water when you're doing the dishes, the…
Eight Days of Malaise
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Any benefit to watering whole plant (leaves and all) instead of just the soil/roots?

A question I often wonder about when watering outdoor pots in the dead heat of summer. Should I just make sure the soil in the bed/pot is watered sufficiently, or is it necessary/advisable to also water the leaves and stem? My naivete makes me think…
Doug T.
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Why do plants root when placed in water, but die in standing water

A lot of plants need well drained soil. They're said to not like getting their feet wet. The explanation given is that the roots need oxygen; they will rot and die if they're in standing water for too long. But a lot of the same plants will root if…
Tim
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Does water temperature affect vegetable plant growth?

Generally speaking, when watering a vegetable garden, are there any benefits to using cold water vs warm or vice versa? I'm in Wisconsin, so 90+°F is about as hot as it gets around here. Typically the temps are in the 80s during summer months. I'm…
Jim Geurts
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How do I keep an indoor plant hydrated while I'm away?

I'm trying to grow chili plants in my dorm room. So far I'm just starting, so I have just four small pots (until they grow larger and I have to give them a bigger home). I'm usually away for only a few days, but especially in summer my absence could…
Czechnology
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Garden Hoses: how safe are they?

After noticing that some garden hoses carry a warning, "Not to be used for drinking water", I recently switched to one labelled "non-toxic". Does this only mean that the hose is lead-free, or also that it is free of the other chemicals in PVC that…
Mancuniensis
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What is a 'Perched Water Table'?

In gardening, especially container gardening, you will run into the phenomenon called a 'Perched Water Table' (PWT). What is a perched water table, and how does it work?
J. Musser
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What is the right watering schedule for the different areas of my front lawn?

I recently bought a house, and would like to keep my lawn looking as nice as everyone else's in my neighborhood. Right now I water every zone 5-8 minutes, every other day. This is just something I made up, and is not based on anything. However, as…
gtaylor85
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Why would healthy potatoes come out tasting dry and crumbly?

I plant maincrop potatoes every year. Last year, I planted 50 Desiree in mid-April, in the usual way (15" apart, in rows 2' apart, in light, sandy soil that had been conditioned and fertilised several weeks earlier), and I harvested them in August.…
Mancuniensis
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Which plants/trees will benefit from using urine as a fertilizer?

We know that urine can do a plant good. Certain plants (like citrus trees) will absolutely do well if you add urine to their intake. But urine is very high in nitrogen and could potentially "burn" the plant. What are some common plants/trees that…
Eight Days of Malaise
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