PSA: I spent 3 years watering my garden at noon before a neighbor stopped me

My plants kept looking fried and I figured it was just the heat until last July when a retired farmer across the fence asked why I was burning my vegetables at high noon. Has anyone else had that awkward moment where some random person pointed out a basic mistake you were making?

3 comments

3 Comments

sandragrant1d ago

Man, that's rough but I'm glad you found out before you wasted another season. I had a neighbor tell me I was planting my tomatoes way too deep, felt like a total goof but saved my whole crop.

shane_wilson1d ago

I must have looked like a total goof standing there with my hose at noon every day for two years, practically sauteing my zucchini. It took a retired science teacher walking her dog to ask me if I was trying to make sun tea out of my pepper plants before the light bulb went off. My garden was basically a steam bath and I just kept thinking, "Well, it's hot, I guess plants get crispy." Honestly, I felt about three inches tall when she pointed out the water droplets were acting like tiny magnifying glasses on the leaves. I switched to watering before dawn and my tomatoes went from looking like dried-up raisins to actual tomatoes within a week. So yeah, you're definitely not alone in the "neighbor saves your garden from yourself" club.

rowan_ross1d ago

Did you ever find out exactly what was happening with the chlorine in the water, or was it just the direct sun? I had a similar thing with my hydrangeas a few years back, kept wondering why the leaves were crisp by August, and someone finally told me I was basically boiling them with the midday watering. I switched to early morning watering right around sunrise and let me tell you, the difference was like night and day within a month.