Am I watering too much?

[WellTidy]

I am a completely novice gardener, it's only this year that I've taken an interest in investing in and maintaining my garden, and I'm loving it. I live in the south east, and my garden as a mix of new this year and mature shrubs in borders, we've also planted soft fruit trees this year. I also have dome patio containers. I have been watering the whole garden daily, each morning, as we haven't had rain. A mix of using the hose and a 10 litre watering can as we have two water butts. Is thus too much?

I hope not I'm doing the same

No its fine

The whole garden? Containers yes, plants in the ground no.

The more you water the less likely the plants put down deep roots to go get their own moisture. If you have plants drying through lack of moisture, you need to mulch around them to keep the moisture in.
Watering the whole garden every day, just makes weaker plants. Unless the soil around them is cracking, there really is no need.

So now you are really confused. Am I right I thinking that this is a fairly newly planted garden? If so you do need to water well until the plants are established. I am in the SE too and, if you just had established shrubs, it would be too much. However it has been so hot here and windy which is drying out the soil quickly.

The only thing I would change at the moment is to water the plants last thing at night as the water during the day evaporates quickly and may not reach you fruit bush roots so well. In a minute I expect someone will have a different opion because gardening is not an exact science.

A good way to tell if your soil is too wet is to dig a hole about the size of a child sand bucket and sink a plastic flower pot into it. Fill with water and watch how quickly it runs away. This is a very good indication of whether the soil is dry. Leave the flower pot in the hole overnight and, Before you water next, lift out the flower pot and put your fist into the hole and see how wet the soil is.

Thank you for starting this thread - watering is a big worry for me !

I have lots of containers - all different plants and varying composts - and I think I tend to overwater interspersed with not enough !

I've just bought this water meter for £5 from Wilko's www.wilko.com/compost/wilko-soil-moisture-tester/invt/0261281

pansy have you any more tips ? I'm SE London and it's drought like conditions if you ask me !

And ...how important is it to not get foliage in containers wet when watering ? I read yesterday about being careful not to wet geranium ( pelargonium ,zonal ) leaves .

You need to water pots and newly planted stuff. The establishes shrubs will be fine.

it is always best to water before the sun gets too hot. Water on the leaves can scorch them so try to use a can without a rose and water close to the soil. I keep a thin stick and poke it into the pot if I am not sure. If it comes out dry I know to water it. With the containers they need the water going in at a bit of a slower pace to allow it to soak through, wait 5 minutes then do again. My OH has thrown a bucket of water on them and thought that because it has run everything is watered. Drives me nuts. As the year progress and the roots in the container thicken up it is hard for the water to penetrate. So slower steadier watering is better and less wasteful.

I don't have many pots much now because in East London it is a desert and a constant faff to water them . The only pots I have now have herbs in them.

So no more sticks and pots for me. I have just ordered the Wilko Water tester too. Thanks for that idea Sunnyhills.

Well the stick idea sounds good to me . I wonder if the Wilko device will work /be accurate ?

The reviews seem to think ok for water but not ph levels. It will be here next week so I will report back.

Thanks for the advice. I have been watering all of the containers, fruit trees and all the areas where we have planted new shrubs. As these areas also contain established shrubs, I am pretty much watering most of the garden yes. I will be more mindful of where I have planted new things and try not to broadly water whole areas. I am looking forward to hearing more about the wilkos thing, that sounds great!

I bought the Wilkinsons Water and PH tester and I think it is well worth buying.

The watering tip which changed my life was to water in the morning. I'd always done it in the evening so as not to scorch leaves but someone told me that means it can sit in pots and effectively become overwatering as excess doesn't evaporate. I started watering in the mornings and have noticed a big difference. I'm also watering both containers and some of the stuff in the ground atm because even though we're oop north its incredibly dry already.

I've also heard that watering in the early morning is ideal, during the day, most water is evaporated and lost and in the evening there is a higher risk of fungal deseases developping. But, I'mno early riser, so I water in the evening and am carful not to we the foliage.