How to Make Your Own Rain Gauge, and More Watering Tips

This week’s garden tip was submitted by Wally Schmidtke, sales manager at .

When to water, how much to water

Don’t put your plants to sleep with wet feet! Water in the morning when possible because evening watering encourages plant diseases. Timers are a good option for working gardeners.

Water the area around the plant’s base, and not the foliage. Your garden needs a minimum of 1 to 3 inches of water per week, usually 1 inch with normal weather.

Coffee cans make good rain gauges

A coffee can makes an effective water gauge.  Set the empty can where you're watering your lawn. When there's 1 inch of water in the can, simply move the sprinkler.

Related:

Moisture meters help with houseplants

Over watering is a major cause of killing houseplants. Moisture meters take the guesswork out of watering houseplants, window boxes, patio tubs and hanging baskets.

A moisture meter tests for moisture at the roots, where it matters. You no longer risk over watering a healthy plant just because the soil near the surface is dry, or under-watering because it appears moist.

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