Planting into Dry Soil – Notes from a Seasoned Grower

I’m in full planting mode now that we’re towards the end of May. The weather has been extraordinarily dry these past few weeks, and the soil in my veg garden is much drier than it normally is when I’m planting out.

I thought I’d share my top tips for planting out when the soil is really dry, as it is so much harder on the plug plants and they can struggle to get their roots down well enough and quickly enough to flourish.

1. Use a trowel or dibber to dig all the holes for the plugs a little bigger/deeper than you normally would. Then, use a watering can to fill each of the holes and let the water soak in. With really dry soil, it might take a little while for the water to soak in, and you may want to do it twice.
2. Add a small handful of multipurpose compost to each hole, then water again and let that soak in.
3. Pop the plug plant in place, fill the hole and firm down.
4. Get all the plants in the ground as above, and then give everything a thorough watering.
5. Mulch around the base of plants. If you have some excess compost, adding a small layer around the stem at the base will help to lock the moisture in and prevent it from evaporating off immediately.

After this, I tend to water every other day, and I find that the water soaks in better for having planted in this way, as the soil already holds some moisture so it soaks in more easily.

I’ll probably continue to water every other day for about 10 days, and then I’ll drop to twice a week as they will have deeper roots by then.

I always gauge things as I go though – if the plants seem to be doing well, I may hang back on watering, and likewise, if they look like they’re struggling, I’ll give them a bit more or water more frequently.

Incidentally, in normal seasons when there is a reasonable amount of moisture already in the soil, I tend to “underwater” by a lot of other gardener’s measures – I do this because a) I save water and b) I find the plants put their roots down deeper and faster and that this makes them stronger during later dry spells. This is partly why I like to water the holes well in this dry soil condition, before putting the plants in place, so that there is plenty of moisture deeper down to get them hunting for water at a deeper level rather than at a shallow level.