July 07, 2016
So no sooner than I finish extolling the virtues of overhead watering do I find a piece of black plastic pipe, poke a bunch of holes in it with an ice pick, and attach a hose coupling to it. Now I have a 10' weeping water wand that I have already watered the beet row, bean row and Swiss chard row with. It's nice to be able to put water right where you want to soak the soil without having to sprinkle all of the surroundings..
I'm sure that sprinkling the flowers on the melon, squashes and beans inhibits some of the pollinating that could occur. I'll be poking it down the corn row soon and who knows, maybe I'll put a timer on it..
July 08, 2016
Another problem with overhead watering is that it significantly contributes to your weed population. All the weed seeds in the bare ground germinate, but mulched ground stays almost weed free. I use a hula hoe on the bare ground weeds before they get too big, and have found that using knee pads and kneeling while weeding not only keeps my back from hurting but makes my arms and shoulders tired in a good way..
Us geezers need to feel the burn..