How often should I be watering?

[ditavonteesed]

So I have pretty much started my garden from scratch. I have planted tons of things from tiny young plants that I got from Morrison's at the start of lockdown to some more robust things from the garden centre now as well as a few things nicked from my mums garden. I have a flamingo willow tree that my mum bought me and a tree peony which is very young.
I have been watering everything twice a day, pots and beds. Everything seems to be doing really well but I'm worried I'm watering too much. I do it about 6am and again about 8pm. Should I carry on with this or cut it down a bit? I actually really enjoy walking round looking at how all the plants have grown whilst I water them.
I don't want to kill my beautiful new garden, the soil is amazing as the reason the garden was a tip before was because I had chickens.
I can't believe the difference a few weeks of hard work has made and my garden really is my zen happy place now.

I have gone from having no interest in gardens to spending all my time outdoors.

Disclaimer - I’m a novice too!

But during this dry spell I’ve been watering pots daily, and anything newly planted (most of my garden) every other day.

Just be aware not to over water plants that like it dry, e.g. lavender, rosemary, thyme etc. So I probably water those once a week/every 10 days or so if that!

I water once a day or not at all if we've had rain. I feed once a fortnight using miracle grow and prep troughs for veg plants using chicken pellets. Watering more sparsely encourages root development and they'll send them down further in search of water.

Just be aware not to over water plants that like it dry, e.g. lavender, rosemary, thyme etc. They don't like it dry - they like it well drained. It's not the water they mind, it's sitting in it for a long time they don't like.

They important thing is to water well when you do it - at least 2 gallons per square metre for the reason Rumtopf explains.

It's best to give things in the ground a thorough soaking every couple of days than a dribble twice a day. If all the water is in the surface couple of inches, the roots won't grow downwards to search for moisture, which is what you want them to do.

As other people say, some things don't need loads of water, but it is unusually warm for May, so water them anyway, but not to the point they are in a sodden puddle.

With things in pots and tubs, get used to how much they weigh, then you can pick them up or tilt them and if they are feeling a bit light, you'll know they need watering.