Watering herbs, vegetables, and plants with ease

Watering is one of those areas that perplex and sometimes even scare home gardeners. Did I water enough? Too much, or maybe I water too often or not enough when I do water?

No matter what you read, there is no one easy answer. Each garden and growing environment is unique, and your plants’ needs may differ from mine.

Tools and equipment for watering we cover:

1. Manual pressure pump sprayer
2. Far-reaching garden pressure pump sprayer
3. Watering can with sprinkler head
4. Classic spray bottles for misting
5. Garden hose nozzle sprayer
6. Long-reach garden hose nozzle sprayer
7. Soaker hoses
8. Hose carts

And the right tools and some general principles can help you achieve better results with minimum effort.

• Plants do not want the root system to sit in constant wet as it needs air or oxygen to develop
• You want moist but not wet soil
• If unsure, water more when you do water, but water less often
• Seeds should never dry out
• For mature plants, a mild dry-out is better than soaking wet soil

Manual pressure pump sprayer

Indispensable when you have more than a couple of plants to spray daily. Regular one-pump-per-spray bottles are great, but my hands get tired, and having that manual pump to build up pressure and then just be ready to go for several minutes is a blessing.

Necessary? Not until you wake up to a full-on attack of aphids across several tomato or pepper plants. One of my better investments.

This model is great for close-up spray action. Look below if you need a model with further reach.

Far-reaching garden pressure pump sprayer

Great when you need to spray plants that are growing tall or when you need to reach deep.

I use mine specifically for indeterminate tomato varieties. Great if you need to spray those mature beefsteak tomato plants.

Watering can with sprinkler head

I am sure you already own at least one, but it is impossible to omit this gardening classic.

I like that it comes in different colors. I always used to get confused about which watering I last used for water with liquid fertilizer. Nowadays, green watering can equal nutrients.

Classic spray bottles for misting

Can it get more classic than a manual one-pump-one-spray water bottle? Mine are primarily used when I start seeds and need a little bit of water and a lot of control.

But as long as you have strong hands, this is truly the only spray bottle you will ever need.

Garden hose nozzle sprayer

Some spring and summer, there are a lot of thirsty plants in the garden. And carrying water cans is only fun for so long.

I get the hose out, hook up my hose nozzle sprayer, and I am as happy as can be. It is easy to adjust water intensity and spray pattern to avoid dislocating plants and soil.

If you are looking for a nozzle sprayer with further reach for those low-growing plants, please see below.

Long-reach garden hose nozzle sprayer

If you are a regular reader, you already know that I make and use grow bags for many of my plants and vegetables. And if you have read my articles, you know that we never want to wet the leaves when watering plants.

And as it does get tiresome to bend down to water plants at soil level, a long-reach garden hose nozzle sprayer is truly a lifesaver for my back. I could honestly not do without it.

Soaker hoses

Not necessary, but oh so lovely on a hot summer day when life gets in the way of gardening.

I place mine around my tomato plants and connect it to a timer for those hot days when I know my tomato plants will need water and I am away. And no, while I have lovely neighbors, I would not trust them with my tomato plants.

Hose carts

The true workhorse of the garden. I have 2 of these, and they live on opposite sides of our house.

Reliable, easy-to-use, durable – I could go on, but my Gardena hose carts are great. The optional hose guide is a nice feature, and it makes a big difference, especially when rolling back the hose.