My Garden in Early Summer 2005
Watering the Plants

I use 3 methods for watering my square foot garden; a bucket and cup (as required by the square foot method), a garden hose, and a garden hose with a gentle shower attachment.

In my main square foot area, I use the method suggested by Mel Bartholomew, which involves a bucket and a dipper or cup. I have 4 five gallon buckets that I fill with water at the end of each day. Each bucket is kept near one of my main square foot beds. During the following day, the sun gently warms the water, and when I water the plants, I dip scoops from the buckets for each plant.

In the local climate here in Van Horn, Texas, each plant needs about a cup of water per day, but during the hottest part of the summer I usually double or even triple that amount, and sometimes I water twice daily during the hottest days of August.

Sometimes, I use a common garden hose with a gentle shower attachment installed. I generally use this in the main square foot area when I am short for time, but only if the seeds have already sprouted and are big enough to be stable. The attachment allows me to deliver the correct amount of water to the plants without disturbing the soil in the bed.

In the areas outside my main square foot area, I tend to use ''planting pits'' filled with the ''perfect soil'' mix as described elsewhere on this site, and when I water these pits I tend to use a common garden hose to gently fill the pits with water. Sometimes I use the gentle shower attachment here also, especially when the plants are still small and tender and the soil is still very loose.