Q: The watering recommendation for most vegetables is 1 to 2 inches per week. If we don’t get rain, how do I determine how much watering will produce 1 to 2 inches?

A:
The best answer is the obvious one: set out some empty tin cans, turn on your irrigation system for 30 minutes and see how much water accumulates in them. Your long-forgotten math skills will provide the length of time needed to apply 1 inch per week. Remember that our mandatory water rules apply to landscapes but not to food gardens. You can save lots of water by laying a black soaker hose along the row and mulching over it. The soaker hoses typically deliver 1 gallon of water per foot of hose per hour.