That automatic watering schedule that kept your tomatoes alive through July may be doing too much work by late September. Cooler days, longer nights, weaker sunlight, and seasonal rain can all change how quickly moisture disappears from garden soil, yet it’s easy to keep watering simply because that’s what you’ve done all summer. Too much moisture isn’t harmless: constantly soggy soil can deprive roots of oxygen and create conditions favorable to root problems, while unnecessary irrigation wastes water and money. The better approach to fall garden watering is to stop following the calendar and start paying attention to what’s actually happening below the mulch. Your garden may still need water this fall, but probably not on the same schedule it needed during summer heat.
