It's time to look at all factors that can prevent your precious veg from flourishing and why competitors don't always have to be a bad thing.
Watering
Over the last nine weeks we've had extremes in terms of the amount of rain. For the first four to five weeks of our course, we had a dry spell and it's pretty much hasn't stopped raining since then so when you have that kind of variation how do you know what's the right amount of water to giving to your plants? This episode will answer all of your watering questions.
Actions
Conserving water
Start out little by little conserving water
How to water
Vegetables need varying amounts of water depending on the stage in their life, the type of plant and the texture of the soil.
Be conscious of evaporation
Water early in the morning or late at night
Use a mulch to prevent water loss
Stay on top of weeds
This means that your plant won’t have to compete for water
Work on your soil
When your soil is poor quality it will suffer more from too little or too much water
Top Tips
When you are growing in containers, you will need more water than when growing in a veg patch as the plant cant look for water
In Polytunnels, it is warmer inside so you will need to monitor the plants more carefully – stick your finger into the soil to see how far the water has travelled – this will tell you if it needs more
Water plants at their base
Leafy and Root veg need more water than veg like carrots
GIY is grateful for the support of our Growth Fund partners Social Innovation Fund Ireland and The Department of Rural & Community Development, whose funding has enabled us to promote and disseminate this online course, engaging thousands of people in How Food Grows.
