Re: Watering in summer

This is an interesting question.  I suspect that the time of day won't much matter to roots as the soil heat differential is not that great between day and night.  We water early in the morning as Bracey pointed out so that leaves dry quickly and are not susceptible to fungi that like cold, wet leaf surfaces. 

But, if you don't use overhead spray, that won't matter at all.

I don't use overhead, only drip and I've started testing evening watering.  Here's why.

I find that in the heat of summer, I tend to suddenly loose well established woody plants.  Not many but a few each summer and not from old age.  I suspect it is from phytophthora which flourishes in warm, wet soil.  Though soil temps don't differ too much, my thought is that they may differ enough to make a difference in terms of phytophthora populations.  

Will it make a difference?  I don't know but if you are interested, I'll keep you posted over the summer. 

But Pamela if you do use overhead sprays, watering is best early in the day.  

Nan





On Jul 18, 2009, at 12:34 PM, Pamela Steele wrote:

What are Mediterranean climate gardeners' views on the time of day to water plants.  We need to water our new plants here in Spain for their first year over the dormancy period in our hot dry summer until they get their roots down.  I was always led to believe the best time for these new plants to get most benefit was watering in the evening and so the ground would stay damp all night until morning.  Lately, I have had some interesting discussions  about watering in the evening and there are some theories that it is not as beneficial to the plants as early morning (7-8am) watering because in the evening the ground is still hot from the baking sun. 
 
Watering in the early morning  when the ground is relatively cold is apparently more beneficial for the roots.  Do you agree?
 
I would love to hear your experience and advice. 
Best wishes
Pamela 

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