How often to water vegetables in a polycarbonate greenhouse?

The greenhouse is an excellent help for summer residents and farmers, because it allows you to accelerate the ripening of the crop, to protect crops from diseases, pests and the vagaries of the weather. In order not to disturb the moisture balance, the plants should be properly watered in a polycarbonate greenhouse. We will tell you how to correctly organize irrigation for the main inhabitants of the greenhouse - peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers.

Watering rules in a polycarbonate greenhouse

Water the plants in a polycarbonate greenhouse in accordance with the rules below.

• It should be remembered that a special microclimate is formed inside the greenhouse. The lack of moisture is felt more acutely here, and the excess often leads to an outbreak of fungal infections. The main rule of watering - know when to stop!
• How to define this very measure? It will be different for each plant, so take into account the biological characteristics of the culture (structure of foliage, root system), as well as its age and individual needs.
• The quality of the water used plays an important role. Plumbing fluid contains various impurities that adversely affect plant health. Most of the impurities volatilize after settling or are retained by special filters. If there is no filtration system, be sure to settle the water before watering.
• Well water or extracted from a well contains useful minerals, but it also has a significant minus - temperature. As a rule, the inhabitants of the greenhouse are thermophilic; irrigation with ice water can cause them extreme stress. The way out is the same - settling for the purpose of heating to the optimum temperature.
• Tomatoes and cucumbers have pubescent leaves covered with fine hairs. The villi trap moisture on the surface. Together with high air humidity, this factor can give rise to the development of the disease. If direct sunlight falls on wet foliage, a burn is inevitable. Therefore, you need to water so that the water does not fall on the foliage.
• If the soil is not mulched after irrigation, the moisture will evaporate very quickly, the soil will crack, and root respiration will be disturbed. The roots simply do not have time to absorb the required amount of liquid. Use peat chips or grass cuttings (green manure is better).

Advice

Irrigation in the evening or morning hours, when the activity of the sun is minimal, will help to avoid sunburn.

What time of day to water?

Inexperienced gardeners often ask themselves: what time of day is best for watering in a polycarbonate greenhouse? There are also a number of nuances here.

Although the greenhouse is considered a closed ground, the external environment still affects the microclimate inside it. For example, in early spring and towards the end of the season, summer residents often close the structure at night to avoid the death of seedlings from frost. If irrigation is carried out in the evening, air humidity in an enclosed space will quickly rise, which can cause the development of fungal diseases. Watering in the morning helps to avoid sunburn, because the moisture from the leaves will have time to evaporate before the sun revives. There is also a minus - the water in the irrigation container (tank, barrel) will cool down overnight, which will not please the heat-loving bushes.

During the day, the water will be warmed up to the optimum temperature, and the greenhouse will have time to ventilate before the onset of coolness.Everything seems to be optimal, but the sun can interfere, provoking severe burns when drops of liquid fall on the leaf blades. There is a way out of the situation - the use of drip irrigation or very careful irrigation at the root, followed by mulching the soil. The gardener will have to choose the optimal watering time on his own.

Irrigation systems

Ordinary summer residents maintain one small greenhouse, which is enough to meet the needs of the family with the harvested crop. When maintaining such a greenhouse, the use of manual irrigation is relevant.

It is difficult for large farmers to maintain their huge greenhouses, they try to simplify the process of growing crops as much as possible. An excellent solution in this situation would be to purchase an automated irrigation system. Let us consider in more detail the methods of moistening the soil in the greenhouse, their advantages and disadvantages.

Manual watering

Maintaining a small polycarbonate greenhouse most often involves hand watering using a watering can or hose. It is inconvenient to run each time for a new portion of liquid, but the gardener can pay attention to each plant. It is important here not to break the rules and bring a portion of water into the root zone.

It is more convenient to water from a hose, but it is better to connect it not to the water supply, but to the tank. This is due to the quality and temperature of the tap water. It is convenient to install a barrel with a tap at the bottom near the greenhouse. The volume of such a container is not less than 200 liters. In it, the water will have time to settle and heat up, it is enough to replenish the reservoir 1-2 days before watering the soil.

Drip system

The drip irrigation system is popular with farmers. It is problematic to irrigate a large greenhouse manually, so it makes sense to purchase or build a drip system yourself.

Advantages of the drip system:

• the flow of moisture directly to the root system of the plant;
• significant savings in water - it only enters the root zone in small portions;
• lack of physical effort;
• low cost and availability of materials;
• due to the gradual flow of liquid, soil leaching is excluded;
• the yield increases significantly, because with this method there is no increased air humidity - crop losses due to diseases are excluded.

Such a system can be ordered from professional firms or built by yourself. All you need to do is buy special hose (drip tape) and connect it to the main fluid supply (water supply, tank). Installation of a drip system is relatively inexpensive, all parts can be purchased at any garden center.

You can not spend at all, but make a drip irrigation system from scrap materials. In a small greenhouse, simply dig in a plastic bottle with a cut-off base at a distance of 15 cm from each bush. Punch two small holes in the lid first. You just need to add water to the plastic tank in a timely manner.

Advice

An irrigation system with underground water supply is an excellent solution for combating excess air humidity inside the structure. It will help feed green pets by delivering fertilizer directly to the roots.

Automatic irrigation

Automatic irrigation systems have a very complex structure. It is unlikely that they will be able to collect them on their own, so farmers turn to specialists. In a small greenhouse, there is no need to install such expensive equipment.

Among the advantages of the system are noted:

• full automation of the substrate moistening process;
• weather factors, air humidity, individual plant needs are taken into account;
• the settings allow organizing different humidification modes (drip, top, sprinkler) in different parts of the greenhouse;
• the miniature computer works according to a special program where you can set certain parameters (turn-on time, fluid flow, irrigation zone).

There is only one drawback of such a miracle of technology - a very high cost.

Watering rules for different crops

Every inhabitant of our planet consists of water, plants contain 75-95% moisture. They need liquid for normal life and the supply of nutrients from the soil. The needs of each plant organism are different, they depend on the climatic conditions inside and outside the greenhouse, age, variety and even variety. But there are general rules that will help you avoid diseases and get a rich harvest. Let's consider them on the example of the main greenhouse "inhabitants" - tomato, pepper, cucumber.

How to water peppers in a greenhouse?

Sweet peppers are a favorite ingredient in salads, soups, side dishes, and lecho. The culture is very fond of warmth and has a long growing season. To obtain a decent harvest, it is recommended to grow it in a greenhouse.

How often should bell peppers be watered in the greenhouse? Young bushes develop rapidly, like a tiny pump, absorbing a lot of water with dissolved minerals. Until the moment of transplantation to a permanent place, the seedlings in the greenhouse are watered every two days. It is important to maintain a balance of moisture, otherwise the pepper will get sick, shedding buds or ovaries. Maintain the moisture level at the soil surface at 70%, which means that the substrate must remain moist at all times. Adult peppers are watered every 5-7 days, using only warm water. The watering rate for each bush is 500 ml of water, but on poor soils with a lot of sand, it is increased to 1 liter.

For pepper, air humidity is also important, which is kept at 60%. This result can be achieved by sprinkling paths or the inner surfaces of the greenhouse. The event is performed every 2 days.

Advice

At the time of flowering and mass fruiting, the pepper is satisfied with a slight drought. This will have a beneficial effect on the number of ovaries and the quality of the crop. At the same time, watering of paths and polycarbonate is not stopped to maintain air humidity.

Irrigation of greenhouse tomatoes

Tomatoes have slightly different standards for keeping in a greenhouse.

• Tomatoes are very fond of moisture, but they will easily tolerate a slight drought.
• Young seedlings require moderate but frequent watering. Their suction roots lie in the upper layers of the soil, so the substrate is moistened as the upper layer dries, approximately once every two days.
• Adult tomatoes are more hardy, have a strong root network covering an area of ​​up to 5 square meters. m. They need to be watered twice a week, using up to five liters of water for each bush.
• During watering of adult tomatoes, moisture should flow gradually, so drip irrigation is considered optimal. The soil should be soaked to a depth of 15-20 cm.
• On hot days, the greenhouse effect is a danger: water evaporates too quickly, and then settles on foliage and fruits. Be sure to ventilate the greenhouse after watering. The optimum level of humidity is 60%.
• During the period of fruit ripening, tomatoes require more frequent watering. It is important not to overdo it in this matter - excess moisture can cause the juicy berries to crack and develop infections.

The tomato signals a lack of moisture by twisting the upper foliage. If you notice dissatisfaction with the plant, urgently water the greenhouse.

Watering cucumbers in a polycarbonate greenhouse

Cucumbers are very gentle greenhouse inhabitants. They do not tolerate drought and waterlogging, they prefer only warm, settled water. After planting seedlings in a permanent place or emergence of seedlings (when sowing in the ground), you should adhere to a moderate watering regime. The rate of water application is 4–5 liters per square meter. m. The liquid is introduced as the top layer of the soil dries out or the turgor of the deciduous mass is lost. From the moment of flowering to full return of the harvest, adults cucumbers watered 2-3 times a week, using up to 12 liters per sq. m.

Advice

When watering, moisture must not get on the leaves and root collar. Water should be applied at some distance from the bush, in the root zone.

In extreme heat, cucumbers quickly lose their firmness of deciduous mass. Gardeners recommend organizing shading and irrigating the shoots with sprinkling. At the same time, it is important that solar activity is minimal. After sprinkling, the greenhouse must be ventilated.

As you can see, it is not so difficult to organize proper watering in a polycarbonate greenhouse. It is important to choose the right irrigation method and take into account the preferences of green wards.