Conventional Wisdom
05/12/2012 in gardening
Conventional wisdom is a funny thing.
I’ve heard people insist that you shouldn’t water at night, that plants don’t like wet feet.
I’m not sure about that… If the plants are that wet, we probably shouldn’t be watering, period.
by waiting until the plants actually need supplemental water, watering in the evening should help the moisture ‘work harder’ without being evaporated immediately by the hot summer sun…
I’ve heard people insist that watering in the middle of the day will injure the plants as those water droplets act like magnifying lenses, and scorch the leaves…
I haven’t personally seen any evidence of scorched leaves… 
Common knowledge has it that piling mulch up against the trunks of our trees will harm them.
Still, Who hasn’t driven past a yard that has been freshly mulched, and all the trees have these volcanoes?
Does it really harm the trees?
I can’t remember driving past a yard noticing dead and dying trees and saying… the mulch killed them…
The opposite seems to be a possibility.
I’ve piled my freshly pulled weeds against the trunks of the trees in the garden.
The mulberry trees with this treatment grow enormous berries!
The mulberry trees without the weed piles grow tiny fruit.
I’ve piled wheelbarrow loads of compost against my brugmansias. They grow huge!
I’ve spread the same amount of compost around the brug, over the entire bed, and the brugs simply do not do as well.
So… Do I advocate the mulch volcano?
Well…
I suspect that more study may be required.
Pauline said on 05/12/2012
I always water first thing in the morning, sometimes before the sun is up! We have so many snails and slugs and night time is when they come out. It is only the fruit and veg garden that I water and the sun doesn’t get there until about 10am, so the plants enjoy the water without the slugs and snails, well that’s the theory anyway and it seems to work!
stone said on 05/13/2012
You know, If I lived in England, I wouldn’t water anything…
I barely water anything where I live, and in my drought-prone sand-hill garden, moisture is always a desirable commodity.
drought monitor for the US
Thanks for the comment!
Donna said on 06/02/2012
Like Pauline, I mostly water in very early morning, slug problems here too. Drip irrigation for those plants like roses to avoid blackspot. But, you cannot control Mother Nature and she rains at night, so what is a gardener to do?
As for the mulch volcanoes, the main problem is in winter where there is snow cover. The base of the trunk can be girdled by hungry rodents and the mulch mountain offers them a nice cozy dining spot, and gets those rabbits further up the trunk. Like a double-decker restaurant. sad result for the trees, especially newly planted, delectable ones.
stone said on 06/02/2012
I don’t think I’d ever water in New York state, either.
I’ve ridden through there on a motorcycle, I’ve camped in the mountains up there, and extra water isn’t something that I would expect to need. Raised beds, yes…
Anything to get the water off the plants, I would think…
The rodent issues were always the specific problem mentioned, when people talk about the problems with mulch volcanoes.
We don’t get snow here in the deep south. If it snows, It usually melts in a few hours, thank the Gods… I really hate that stuff.
So… Different gardening techniques for different climates eh?