When is the BEST Time to Water the Garden and Why?

Watering your garden is something that you will probably have to do at some point. Here in Michigan it has been very dry and very hot meaning we have had to water a bit more than usual. When it the best time of day to water your plants, and why? That is what we will be discussing in today’s episode.

[MIgardener]

For those who don't think water can burn leaves - Read this: Egri, A.; Horvath, A.; Kriska, G.; Horvath, G. Optics of sunlit water drops on leaves: conditions under which sunburn is possible. New Phytologist, 2010;

[donrocktheimposter]

Also, that water in your hose just may SCALD your plants, IF it's been out in the sun all day, even if the sun isn't out when you water. Check the temp of that water and let it flow until it's cool enough!

[hasenafarms]

Can’t say I completely agree with this. There’s farmers in the southwest overhead watering crops at noon in the summer to cool them down. But I love discussing it!

[thomasullom]

My issue is that I have to be at work at 6am, which means getting on the road by 5:30. So unless I wanna stand out in my garden at 4:30 in the morning, I water when I get home in the early evening, about 5pm. I use a wand, so I’m not getting the leaves wet. It’s the best I can do, and seems to be doing ok.

[doctorhousemd]

Happy gardening this fourth of july everyone!

[BaroneTripcom]

I have listened to you guys who said to wait till morning to water my plants, and I watched my plants wilt. This year I tried watering when the plants need water, and many times that is during the day. The results: This has been my best year ever by far. I have not seen any of the issues you have pointed out.

[geraldlair]

I disagree about not watering at night if on drip irrigation. My plants NEVER get wet as all my emitters direct water to the base of the plants. I feel watering in the evening allows for a more deep watering as it has a chance to soak in deep over night with less evaporation then watering in the morning. Now if you are hand watering and wetting down your plants in the process (which you should never be wetting down the entire plant except for maybe washing off insects or foliar feeding), watering in the morning might be best for you.

[Patriotsoul]

I’m at work by 06:00. I’ve been watering in the evening for years and everything seems to be fine on my garden. I’m sure it might be better if I woke up an hour early at 03:30 or install a self watering drip system but I’m going to be honest with myself and I’m not going to do either. Watering the garden when we get off work is relaxing and a way to reduce stress. I’ll stick with the evening until I get a 8-5 job.

[thomaslee]

This is my first garden in about 20 years after living in Colorado. I usually water I'm the am, but have found in the south that if I lightly water around 5pm it is usually enough time for the soil to dry. I forget some mornings before work as we have 2 kids.

[rociosilverroot]

This is great advice, but let's face it. Most of the people out there are doing good if they water at all 😆

[ingriddalzen]

You have been my favorite and most informative person. And you speak very well and thank you for your researching.

[ms.l]

Plants are just like us. They love cool water on their leaves in the heat of the day. The water evaporates very quickly. I've never observed burns resulting from watering in the sun (in Florida no less). If you have to water in the middle of the day, water all parts thoroughly with cool water. Take the opportunity to cool down the whole plant. Finally, I do believe it's ideal to water in the morning. This curtails a lot of wilting and stress come mid day.

[mdlcrochet]

I live in the texas panhandle, when it gets over 95 outside i do give my plants a mid day drink. Now i have mulch down which protects the ground from heating up and i use a soaker right at the plant roots and never water on the plants. They seem do love it when i do that for them when we are in heat waves. Recently we arent in a heat wave, heck temps barely get to 80 right now which is odd for my area and we have also had a lot and i mean a lot of rain and i havent watered my garden in almost a week due to the amount of rain. But anyways thats what i do and my plants love the mid day drink when we are 95 or above.

[deniseanzaldi]

I’m a new gardener and live on Long Island.. it’s been very hot this week and when I get home from work around 2.. my tomato plants are totally wilting. I’ve been misting the plant leaves and watering below in their containers and the perk right up in an hour. There is a lot of conflicting advice out there. I just want to enjoy the fruits of my labor and praying I get to enjoy some tomatoes 🍅 🙏🙏

[eriatarka]

Watering in the evening works just fine, as long as you water at the base of the plants instead of spraying water all over the foliage like an insane person.

[MissCharliechop]

Its been 105° average in my area the last 2 weeks. Thanks so much for talking about this.

[John-obvm]

I have to disagree with both plant roots getting too warm when irrigated on hot days, and with water on the leaves causing sunburn. I work on a vegetable farm and we have been overhead irrigating on 90F and sunny days with no issues. Cool well water will objectively cool down the leaves and soil, and the water almost always will evaporate fast enough so that lensing on the leaf will not happen.
Leaf scorching from water on the leaves is something I see people claiming all the time online because they're repeating advice they've heard, but I just don't see it in real life. Maybe you could try an experiment with your garden, Luke?

[michaelfalso]

Good video!! I try to water before 9 or 10 am but sometimes life happens. 

Water is actually NOT a good conductor of heat. That's why it takes so much energy and time to bring water to a boil.

[practicalgardening]

I’ve seen tons of counter evidence personally and scientific journal papers vs the water during the day burns the plants thing. I don’t disagree that it’s better water off hours but it’s not for that reason and if you have cool season crops in a warm zone. Day misting / watering can keep you going

[charliensam]

Luke, THANK YOU so much for the YT50 seed sale the other day. I have already received my order and can't wait to get some of the flower seeds in the garden this weekend. As usual, the seeds and service at MI Gardener is excellent. Please let your staff know their hard work and dedication to our gardens is greatly appreciated. :)