Where is the best spot to water plants?
Directly on the roots.
How much water do plants need?
About 1 inch per week is a standard rule of thumb. A single weekly soaking is much better than daily sprinklings, because shallow watering encourages the roots to stay in the top 4 inches of soil. Shallow roots make plants more susceptible to water stress and weed competition. Wet the soil to at least 1 foot deep (that's 1 foot down from the soil surface, not the mulch layer).
Signs of water stress
- Leaves have brown edges
- Leaves are smaller than normal
- Fruit is undersized or misshapen
- Plant looks droopy in the morning or late evening