05/31/2026
Let’s say you’ve installed a new garden, and you water every day, but the plants aren’t taking off. The delay in growth could be a result of several things. First thing, when you install, break up the root system so it doesn’t stay bound in the same root shape for the growing season. Remove blooms - especially on tomatoes because you want “roots before fruits”. If you leave the tomato on, the plant growth will stall and that may be the only fruit you get all season. Sinking the plant and removing the fruit allows it to anchor, and the results will pay dividends in a month or so.
Removing colorful blooms is difficult, but it helps those plants anchor and produce double the blooms later on, maybe just take half for now.
As plants anchor in, you can’t see what the roots are doing, but that delay is only for a short while!
Let the plants tell you when they need water; watering every day when our nighttime temp is still 50°’s is too much (unless you’re growing water plants 🫢) Plants are much better at recovering from a wilt then fungus problems. Constant water and cool nights can cause fungus problems, and can suffocate the plant. Frequent, daily waterings develop shallow roots. When we finally heat up those shallow roots will get hot and constantly need water. Deep, thorough watering allow the roots to develop deeper so the plant doesn’t stress as much when we finally get hot!
So for now, let the plants rest, be the student and learn what they need from you instead of watering every day because it’s garden season!
