Watering Mel's Way

Mel wants us to water our plants by hand with sun-warmed water. I know that tomatoes don't much like getting their leaves wet all the time, so I've been diligent about watering them at the base of the plant. (I think that tomatoes are more prone to diseases if their leaves are wet all the time.) I've done the same with the peppers.

The remaining plants were put in the garden as seeds. I don't like the idea of pouring water on them. I want to sprinkle water on them--more like rain. To accomplish this, I have used the watering can that sprinkles, and I have used the hose.

I know! I know! Mel doesn't like the hose. However, I do not yet have enough containers to hold sun-warmed water to match the amount of watering I want to do. Be patient. I'll get there!

In the mean time, I'm filling each of my water cans (even the little kiddie one for the beach) with water each day and letting them sit out overnight. My intention is to let the chlorine evaporate out of the water and to let the water warm up. Mel taught me that plants don't like to be shocked with cold water directly from the spigot.

I'm also teaching my 7 year old how to water the garden. That boy loves water! So, I might as well teach him to use his love of water to make the plants grow. And since he wants to eat all the broccoli (no, really! he does!), he is willing to water all the plants.

I'll call this boy Thermoman. That is his nickname around the house because he rarely gets cold.

Thermoman knows not to water the tomatoes with the hose. He also knows to set the sprayer on sprinkle, not a steady stream that can dig holes in the soil. He has to hold the hose up high so that it is like rain coming down from above, not like rain blowing in from the side.

And he does pretty well! I have to check up on him occasionally, but overall Thermoman is doing a great job!