NEWS & OBSERVER FILE PHOTO
Your vegetable garden will need watering as long as the Triangle doesn't get enough rain.
Q: I understand the rule of thumb for watering grass is one inch each week. Is there a rule of thumb for watering a raised vegetable garden? I'm trying to provide adequate water for tomatoes, bell peppers, summer squash and basil. The leathery skins on my tomatoes suggest I'm not watering adequately. - Carol Aupperle, Cary
Well, in a perfect garden, it rains robustly at least once a week in the summer. That's in a perfect garden. We deal, however, with an imperfect climate, and this year, while it did rain at least almost every seven to 10 days in the spring, the spigot from above seems to have been shut off. So what are you to do? Heavily mulching vegetable plants will definitely s-t-r-e-t-c-h out the moisture in the soil, but after many days without rain, artificial watering is the answer. In other words, drag the hose out to the garden. Using a lawn sprinkler on veggies once a week will work - to help prevent diseases, though, it is best done in the early morning so the sun will evaporate any excess moisture off the foliage.
How do you know when you have sprayed enough? In the garden, spread out a few flat, shallow containers that are about an inch deep, and when they are almost full of water, you are through.
If you want to be efficient and effective in irrigating, tuck strips of irrigation hose under the mulch through the plant rows and turn on the water when necessary. Or, if you have one of those flat lawn irrigation hoses, simply flip it over, tuck it into your veggie rows and turn the water on low for about 20 to 25 minutes.
None of these methods will bust a drought, but they can help to maintain the vigor of your plants through the hot, dry times.
Shade your veggies
Q: I have a small vegetable garden with tomatoes, peppers, onions, eggplant and cucumbers. Would hanging a tarp about six feet above the top of the tallest plants help, hurt or do nothing at all for the health of the plants? - Jeff Agee, Raleigh
I know what you are going for - some soothing shade for plants that are cooking in the summer sun. A tarp would do the trick, but remember summer vegetables are sun worshippers, so if you overdo shade, the plants will under-do crop production. If you want to cut back on sunshine but still let in enough rays to keep plants strong and productive, try leaning a few sheets of lattice into the garden rows between the plants and sun. Situate them so that they cast their semishade during the hottest times of the day, which would be from about noon to about 5 or 6 p.m.
Lattice screens, which are available at home improvement stores, are a quick fix to prevent too much sizzle from the sun, but they aren't going to win you any neighborhood beautification awards. So, next year, maybe add a less conspicuous structure such as a trellis that string beans and even cucumbers can climb up and provide a bit a shade for other plants. As with the lattice panels, place the trellis so that it casts shade on other veggie plants during the worst of the afternoon heat.
Two more points:
Remember that when the sun is at its hottest, annual plants wilt. It is a normal self-defense mechanism. If your plants stay wilted the whole day, something is wrong, and it is probably the lack of moisture.
Not only should you water your plants when the rains don't come, you should also make sure you have sufficient mulch. In addition to keeping the root zone cooler, mulch will help prevent the evaporation of ground moisture, so you won't have to water as often, and plants will be less stressed by going from wet to dry conditions over and over again.
