How often should we water the garden?

[Snap8TheCat]

And for how long?

Not gardeners at all! We have dead grass at the moment due to recently removed llaylandii (?) and a few pots which are flowering well so far.

Monty Don recommends saturating the garden and pots once a week. But in the recent hot weather I've done mine every day.

Absolutely saturate once or twice a week and a quick sprinkle daily or every other day depending on how dry things look.

Thank you! Looking forward to using our sprinkler- how sad is that!

I'd do a thorough soaking 2-3 times a week if it's very hot and dry. I wouldn't bother with a light sprinkling as it doesn't get to the roots and just evaporates in the heat.

I have been watering it in the evening around 8pm, is that ok?

In hot, hot weather, I've been watering properly every day. We live in the south east, and some days last week it was 34 degrees. I give much more water to the new shrubs and perennials and of course to containers, than I do to very established shrubs and trees though. If there aren't extremes of temperature or wind, I water every two or three days. My garden is largely quite newly planted though, I might not water as much when things are more established.

I water in the evenings too, 8ish. But if I know I won't be able to water then. I water simply whenever I can. I think that its best to give some water, even if its not at an optimum time, than not to water at all.

I'm also in the south east and yes it waa properly scorchio last week. Determined to have a nice garden this year.

At the risk of sounding like an idiot, how much is a good soaking?

Evening is the right time, definitely, and do it thoroughly or not at all. Pots (and hanging baskets) may need doing daily, depending on conditions, what they're made of and what's in them. Many established plants in borders shouldn't need much, but there are some plants eg phlox and Michaelmas daisies which can get bad mildew if they're not kept moist.

going the other way here.
I only water plants in pots (one good soak i.e. water coming out through the drainage holes) once a week or when the leaves droop.
same for veg in the ground.
lawn doesn't get watered (unless I empty out a paddling pool).

if I can I use dc's bath water (only little amount of shampoo)

se and on a water meter.

my username is a clue to the current state of my lawn

depends on the soil. Sandy, silty soil probably daily in very hot weather. Clayey not so much. I tend to look at the plants and if they start to look droopy, then I water. I never water the actual garden unless I am watering plants in after planting.

Watering lawns is money down the drain, really. It takes a lot to do properly, and if you just wet the surface, what doesn't evaporate encourages shallow roots which tends to exacerbate the problem.

I don't think I'd have much lawn if I lived in the SE.

We're not on a water meter so it's not a direct cost to us.

How do you know what soil you have? Dry is what I'd guess at!

If your soil clumps and cracks in dry weather, it's likely to be clay. When wet you can squeeze it in your hand and it makes a ball.
Silt / sandy soil dries so it falls through your fingers and is muddy when wet.

Do you really need to water the grass it's an awful waste. Dead grass will come back eventually. It looks summery when it's gone a bit brown.

I water my pots most days with old washing up water.

It sounds like the silt/sandy soil then.

It depends on the size of the pots and what's in them. I was watering some of mine three times a day last week in that heat.

Don't bother watering the grass, unless it is newly seeded or turfed.