“I left my soaker hose on in my garden for two days straight and everything got way too much water. Will it be ok? I have squash, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onions and lettuce.”
Well, in this hot weather, you should be okay. In the summer, up to 60% of the moisture from overhead watering can be lost to evaporation. You’ve been using a soaker hose, so your evaporation is going to be less. If you have sandy soil, drainage and evaporation will happen faster than with clay soil. If your soil is covered with mulch, clear it out for the time being, and that will help.
I think it’s safe to say that you won’t need to water for at least a week. In fact, one tried and true tip I learned from a respected heirloom tomato farmer many years ago is that tomatoes should be deep watered only every 10 days once they’ve set fruit. So your tomatoes are good to go for a week and a half.
You may experience some yellowing of leaves or rot on your squash plants and cucumbers, but time will tell. You may also experience some cracking in your tomatoes, which can occur with irregular watering. Just lay off the water for at least a week (except for your lettuces, maybe) and your plants will probably survive. You can remove any foliage that dies away and your plant will most likely make a comeback if anything happens.
Check your plants in the morning and at the end of the day, after the hottest part of the day. Tomatoes and squash have built-in defense mechanisms to curl their leaves (it looks like wilting) during the hot parts of the day, so don’t let that fool you into thinking that they need more water.
Please report back on this blog to let us all know how your plants are doing. Good luck!
