Growfood.com » Watering – How Much is Too Much

Watering – How Much is Too Much

Q.  “I have been watering every day and the ground is now GREEN. Am I doing too much watering?

Also when trellising cucumbers or melons, should I cut all but one main stem?

And I don’t seem to see how to trellis Zucchini or yellow squash.”

A. Nothing’s wrong with having your ground green under the plants. HOWEVER, you only want to keep your soil MOIST, and not WET at the root zone.

Water often enough to keep the soil surface from DRYING OUT. In dry climates without rain in warm weather, this usually requires an inch of water in the planting area 5 or 6 days per week. And in very HOT weather you may need to water TWICE a day occasionally.

Remember that an inch of water is sufficient for each watering.  Also, remember that the 1″ of water is only being applied to the 12″-wide planting area in a soil-bed

To grow cucumbers and small melons vertically, by all means, limit them to one stem. However, in removing the sucker stems you allow the stem to grow just long enough for the first female flower to form. This is usually at the first leaf. Keep the blossom and leaf, but cut or pinch off the stem at that point.

Zucchini and yellow squash are determinate plants, and can’t be grown vertically. No trellis or string is needed. However, it is imperative that you take off old leaves and those touching the ground. Keeping air and light into the interior of the plant will improve your yields, and it can reduce the likelihood of powdery mildew taking over the plant.