Question: How can I best water my vegetables? How often?

Answer: Drip irrigation is a fine way to water vegetable gardens, because it allows you to apply the water directly around the plants’ root zones. It also keeps the water off the leaves and produce, and it eliminates evaporation and run-off. Space the emitters so each small plant such as beans or lettuce will have one or two emitters, while larger plants such as tomatoes will have three or four. You can also use sprinkler hoses turned upside-down on the soil, or you can slowly fill the furrows with water. Overhead irrigation is probably the worst choice, since wet foliage and produce is far more likely to develop diseases and sunscald.