Ask ten struggling gardeners how they water and nine will say “a little every evening”. It feels caring, and it is the single habit that makes plants weakest.

Why little-and-often backfires

A light sprinkle wets only the top two or three centimetres. Roots grow where the water is, so they stay near the surface — exactly the layer that dries out first on a hot, windy day. Water deeply and roots follow the moisture down, where the soil stays cool.

How much is deep?

Aim to wet the soil to about 20 centimetres. For most beds that is a slow soak of roughly 20 to 25 litres per square metre, once or twice a week, rather than a few litres daily. Check with a trowel half an hour after watering: if it is damp a hand-span down, you got it right.

Timing and technique

• Water early in the morning. Evening watering leaves foliage damp overnight, which invites mildew.
• Put the water on the soil, not the leaves. A watering wand or drip line beats an overhead sprinkler every time.
• Mulch afterwards. Bare wet soil can lose a large share of that water to evaporation within a day.

The exceptions

Seedlings and newly sown seed do need frequent light watering until roots establish — usually the first two weeks. Pots also dry out fast and may need daily attention in summer; water until it runs freely from the base.

Well-watered beds produce more than you can eat

That is a good problem. HomeGrown™ lets home gardeners pass surplus fruit, vegetables, herbs, seedlings and cut flowers to neighbours and local shops, cafés and restaurants, with pickup close to home.