Improper Watering

Background Information




Improper watering is probably the greatest reason for failure in the small garden.   In the small garden the soil needs to be at field capacity, a state in which the water is equally distributed throughout the soil, otherwise know as equilibrium.   At field capacity, the soil is holding as much water as it can, which means the water is neither moving up nor down.   When the soil is at field capacity the plants thrive.  


After watering, almost immediately the drier atmosphere draws the water out of the soil and it slowly evaporates into the air.   As the air removes the water from the soil, capillary action draws water from the lower, wetter soil to the top soil, in an attempt to keep all the soil at the same wetness.   Also, the plant is going through many processes to draw the water out of soil.   The plant is always getting water from wet soil by osmosis.   A second process called transpiration causes additional water to be drawn into the atmosphere from the soil.   The water is drawn in the plant's roots, sucked up its stem, and evaporates out of its leaves.   This causes great pressure in the plant so that it is acting like a pump to move water out of the soil.   If a plant doesn't have enough power to pull any more water out of the soil, it wilts(but continues to transpire).   If the problem is not corrected the plant will wither and then eventually die.  


There are many characteristics of the plant kingdom.   Most plants are multi-celluar and have specialized tissues and organs.   All plants are autotroph and this means that they can make their own food.   Since they are autotrophs they contain chloroplasts and chlorophyll.   All plants cannot move about.