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Business & Tech

How to Make Your Own Rain Gauge, and More Watering Tips

Find out when to water, and how much.

This week’s garden tip was submitted by Wally Schmidtke, sales manager at .

When to water, how much to water

Don’t put your plants to sleep with wet feet! Water in the morning when possible because evening watering encourages plant diseases. Timers are a good option for working gardeners.

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Water the area around the plant’s base, and not the foliage. Your garden needs a minimum of 1 to 3 inches of water per week, usually 1 inch with normal weather.

Coffee cans make good rain gauges

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A coffee can makes an effective water gauge.  Set the empty can where you're watering your lawn. When there's 1 inch of water in the can, simply move the sprinkler.

Related:

Moisture meters help with houseplants

Over watering is a major cause of killing houseplants. Moisture meters take the guesswork out of watering houseplants, window boxes, patio tubs and hanging baskets.

A moisture meter tests for moisture at the roots, where it matters. You no longer risk over watering a healthy plant just because the soil near the surface is dry, or under-watering because it appears moist.

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