In this video I will share 5 common raised bed garden watering mistakes. Gardening in raised beds is easier because you have control over more variables and can grow more in less space, but watering is the thing that tripos most people up. So watch this video and avoid all 5 of these raised bed gardening watering mistakes and I include a bonus on how to fix hydrophobic soil!
MENTIONED/RELATED VIDEO
7 Beginner Raised Bed Garden Mistakes
DIGITAL TABLE OF CONTENTS
00:46 – Under watering your raised bed garden
02:07 – How to water a raised bed garden
03:37 – Best time of day to water a raised bed garden
04:25 – Avoid inconsistent watering
05:36 – Best way to mulch your raised bed garden
07:24 – BONUS: Fixing Hydrophobic soil
25 Comments
I use straw mulch & it actually CAUSES weeds as opposed to suppressing them 😡
I live in Florida and have sandy soil that water just beads up on the surface. Would it be a good idea to use a surfactant such as a detergent solution to help water to penetrate the soil? ( in addition to mulch)
I have a drip irrigation system for my raised bed tomato garden. The recommendation to place lines under the mulch made sense for soaker hose, but I don’t do that for my drip tips for a few reasons. First, having the spaghetti lines above the mulch allows me to move them around and adjust flow as needed. Second, I can visually inspect if there is a problem, such as a clogged or damaged tip or a leak, which you could not do if they were shielded from view. And lastly, buried emitters will tend to get clogged by debris or algae. So I guess this recommendation was in the context of soaker irrigation. Yes, UV and solar radiation will shorten the lifespan of an exposed system, but I think the tradeoff is worth it.
What happened to the gardening for free episodes you started, any updates or more ideas?
I regularly recommend your videos to my gardening group. A fount of info, and just a nice place to visit!
Thank you. I do have this problem with new soil . And of course I’ve already planted. I did get the bedding straw and need to get out and put it down.
Something I think you might emphasise more is the importance of knowing your soil type, how it affects drainage and what one can do about it. Where I live the natural soil is all just about all aeolian sand (95% sand – and coarse at that – 5% silt, practically zero organic material). Water just punches a hole right through it. On a timer controlled drip system with ½gph PC emitters it's bone dry 4" down & 3" to the side of the drip point. Changing to soaker hose rather than point emitters does help with the spread but then wastes water when you have widely separated plants.
Only by blending in 50% silty loam (in the form of commercially purchased "plaster sand", adding copious amounts of vermiculite, cocopeat and leaf mould have I been able to get it sort of under control.
The eventual answer is mulch, mulch and more mulch…
One of my reasons when I pick cardio equipment is if it’s under an A/C vent 😂
Some people feel safer being next to someone else if they have medical problems or are just worried about passing out or falling they know someone is close to help.
Or she just always uses that treadmill.
Or she wanted to watch the tv.
This kid is really an entitled troll and definitely needs to DO BETTER!
Thanks so much Bro! ❤️🙏❤️
Great advice! What a beautiful property!
Long time gardener here,
and I basically already knew all the stuff you're talking about in this video.
I knew I would before I even clicked on it.
(Don't ya just hate it when people say stuff like that!!)
I promise, that all the above is not meant as a know-it-all-snarky thing to say!
Bcuz –
The reason I clicked,
and KEPT watching,
was bcuz I just wanted to soak in
(ha! SOAK IN!! 👀!
See what I did there!!)
all those gorgeous fox gloves you've got going on!!
I knew they'd be there!!!
Standing there so tall…
Waving their pretty Bells around!
You (and they) did NOT disappoint!!!
JUST GORGEOUS BRIAN!!!
BRAVO! 👏👏👏👏👏👏
Thanks, Brian. The over/under watering problem was going through my head this morning. You alleviated some of my concerns. I think I'm doing alright.
Great tips that I know but don't always remember to do. If choosing to mulch with grass clippings, just be sure the lawn wasn't treated with any chemicals. While it might make the lawn look good, maybe not so much for your veggies.
Honestly, the English garden just looks stunning!!!! Just beautiful! You are a one of a kind garden artist!!!!
Brian, I would love to go to each raised bed individually and water at the root of each plant but when you are hurting and can't stand up for too long you try to hurry, also if I was physically able, I would have put in the drip system last year but when you depend on someone else, it's not happening!
So we live in northern Colorado where it gets very hot and dry most summers and I garden in stock tanks up in the foothills. Have dealt with hydrophobic soil and it is terrible. We have been trying to get automatic watering going, but have had problems. So how I water now is to hand water, but with the soaker setting on the nozzle held under the plant so a lot of water is delivered without being wasted. I also mulch and interplant, so not a lot of open space in the beds. It is tedious, but like weeding, I find it to be relaxing and gives me a chance to really look closely at all my plants every few days. I also use a water meter now to see how deep the water is going – before, my finger told me it was ok, but a few more inches down, it was totally dry. We have a new plan for the soaker hoses, so we shall see what happens this year. Fingers crossed.
Where did you get this your drip irrigation tape ??
Side note. I love those Foxgloves. Tallest I ever seen. Admits I got a bit sidetracked admiring them and had to relisten to the end. Beautiful garden you have.
Thank you Brian for the tips. I'm using grow bag's and here in Florida it's hot and no rain. I have to water every day.
What do you recommend doing to prevent this during the off season? I'm a low desert container gardener and will be having some unplanted grow bags during the hottest part of the summer.
Hi! I am really enjoying your videos. Do you have one on drip irrigation? My problem is that I can't make one system work whether it be emitter tubing, tape, or emitters. All seem to clog up at the end of the year. there is that inconsistency also with too much or too little. Maybe the finger test is good. Might be better than a moisture meter? Any tips for a good solid drip layout? Thanks!
BTW, I took away a lot!
Great tips for the newbies. 💧💧💧
Even watering is my challenge. Drip system underwaters some plants while overwatering others.
ugh i still cannot settle on a mulch lol horror stories on every kind
Another eye openning video. Thanks Brian. After watching I went out to plant spinach and lettuce in some round containers and even after two days of on and off rain, the soil was completely dry except for about an inch on top. I used your suggestion to remedy this and hopefully will be able to plant soon. ( still is in the 20s at night and 40-50s during the day.
Unfortunately I have to water with a hose because I can’t do a drip system unless I want hoses strung all over the patio. My yard isn’t that big. I do have an area along one side of a fence that I would love to add raised beds too but no water available there. I need to ask my nephew who’s a plumber if he could add a spigot over there and I’d be set. Thanks for sharing your time and inspiration