-by Sarah Bankoff

It seems pretty straightforward, doesn’t it? Everyone knows that a garden has to have water to thrive. But drowning your plants in water is just as harmful to them as not watering them at all. So, to try to help you figure out how much is exactly enough, here’s your quick and dirty guide to watering your garden.

First of all, ensuring that your plants get the right amount of moisture where they need it is not just a matter of spraying them with water. Like most things in gardening, it goes back to the soil. Too much water in the soil will make it heavy and collapse it around the roots, effectively smothering the plant. However, too little moisture in the soil will cause the plants to wilt and dry out, which is also, obviously, not conducive to healthy vegetables. The trick is to get the balance of wet and dry just right.

So how much is too much?  The amount of water needed by the plant depends on its stage of growth and development. Seeds and transplants need wetter soil than healthy, mature plants. Seeds require lots of moisture to sprout properly, and transplants require lots of water to root properly. Once the soil is wetted down to around eight inches in depth, organic compost should be placed around, not on top of, the seeds or seedlings, which will help the soil to hold in the moisture and keep it from getting too soggy.

Seeds should be watered often, but shallowly. Mature plants should be watered less often, but the soil should be watered to a greater depth.  Most vegetable plants use water in the top 12-24 inches of soil. Shallow-rooted plants, such as cabbage, onions, lettuce and corn need to be watered more often than deeper-rooted vegetables like asparagus, tomatoes and watermelons.

Obviously, plants need to be watered more during hot seasons then during cooler seasons, but a good watering every five to seven days during the warm season should be fine for well-rooted, established plants. Plants should be watered in the morning so that all the surfaces have time to dry out in the sun to prevent fungus and mold from forming. Since the roots of the plant are actually where the plant “drinks” from, this is the most important part to irrigate, but remember, it’s drinking, not swimming, so don’t drown the plant’s roots!

FARMERS MARKETS

Tuesdays

Community Food Bank Farmers Market- 3003 S. Country Club Road. 8a.m.- noon 622-0525

NEW! Farmers Market at Park Place Mall, 5870 E. Broadway Blvd. 1-6pm. Ed: 603-8116

Wednesdays

Downtown Farmers Market and Arts and Crafts Mercado- Joel D. Valdez main Library, 101 . Stone Ave. 8a.m.-2p.m. 326-7810

Green Valley Farmers & Artisans Market, southeast parking lot at Green Valley Village, 101-26 S La Canada Dr. 10am-2pm. 490-3315

Thursdays

Santa Cruz River Farmers Market- NE corner of Speedway Blvd. & Riverview (between El Rio Center & Ariz. School for the Deaf & Blind) 3-6 p.m.

Tubac Farmers Market- Parque de Anza adjacent to the village of Tubac. Take Interstate 19 south to Exit 34, then go east to Barrio de Tubac. 10a.m.- 2 p.m. 793-8344

Fridays

Broadway Village Farmers Market, Broadway and Country Club, 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. Ed- 603-8116

El Presidio Mercado- El Presidio Park, West Alameda Street near North Church Avenue. 10am-4pm. 326-7810

Friday’s Farmer’s Market at Broadway Village- corner of Broadway and Country Club 9am- 2pm. Tucson’s only indoor farmer’s market. Ed: 603-8116

Green Art & Farmers Market, NW corner of Tanque Verde & Catalina Highway (Chuy’s). 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. Gay 449-1044 or Donna 982-2645

Saturdays

El Barrio Artists & Farmers Market – 1001 S. Sixth Avenue 8 a.m. -3 p.m. 792-0747

Oro Valley Farmers Market- Oro Valley Town Hall, 11000 N La Canada Drive. 9a.m.- 1 p.m. 918-9811

Plaza Palomino Saturday Market- 2970 N. Swan Road 10 a.m- 2 p.m.

Rincon Valley Farmers Market- 12500 E. Old Spanish Trail, four miles east of Saguaro National Park. 9 a.m.- 2 p.m. 591-2276

St. Philip’s Saturday Farmers Market- St. Philip’s Plaza, River & Campbell. 4380 N. Campbell Ave. 9a.m- 2p.m. ED 603-8116

Sundays

El Barrio Farmers Market- 1001 S. Sixth Avenue 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. 792-0747

St. Philip’s Plaza Farmers Market- 4380 N. Campbell Ave. 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. 918-9811

Civano Artisans and Farmers Market- Civano Nursery, 5301 S. Houghton Road. 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. 248-9218

Please help us keep the Farmers Market list updated- email priscilla@whosgreenaz.com

To arrange for harvesting or for more information, call 440-0100

Or email  eiswerth@fruitmappers.org – online http://www.fruitmappers.org

ARBICO produces & sells products for organic home gardeners and farms, including beneficial insects and organisms. We offer Fly Eliminators, Holistic Fly Guard, Milky Spore, Semaspore, beneficial nematodes, ladybugs & praying mantids. Find environmentally friendly fly and mosquito control, and OMRI-listed gardening products – pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, fertilizers – in our on-line store.

ARBICO
PO Box 8910
Tucson AZ 85738-0910
Phone: 520-825-9785; 800-827-2847
Fax: 520-825-2038
www.arbico-organics.com