Replace reactive watering with proactive planning
At the most recent Cultivate Conference, growers packed together to soak up smart strategies on a deceptively simple subject: watering.
In a session titled “Optimize Moisture Management to Grow Your Best Crops Ever,” Nick Flax, technical services specialist at Ball Seed Company, made one thing clear from the jump: moisture mastery makes or breaks your bedding plants.
“Watering is 100% teachable and repeatable! There is no special gift to do it well,” Flax declared. “You and your team just need to understand the fundamentals, form a cohesive culture around watering and make sure you’ve got the right tools for your operation.”
With that, he launched into a deep dive on dialing in irrigation practices for greener growth, healthier roots and fewer crop catastrophes. Moisture management, Flax insisted, isn’t guesswork or gut feeling; it’s a science backed by strategy, structure and smart decision-making.
He introduced growers to the five-point irrigation scale, a simple but powerful tool for gauging soil or substrate moisture. From bone-dry (Level 1) to saturated and sloppy (Level 5), each number on the scale represents a tactile target. Level 3 – moist but not wet – is the sweet spot and Flax encouraged teams to calibrate their watering decisions to this common language. When everyone uses the same scale, consistency soars and confusion shrinks.
Next, Flax discussed the risks at either end of the water spectrum. Overwatered plants are plagued by oxygen-deprived roots, rot and rampant disease. Underwatered plants, on the other hand, are stunted, stressed and struggle to bounce back. In both cases, poor performance is almost guaranteed, as is profit loss.
He explained how dry-down fits into the equation, describing it as a tool, not a trick. Allowing media to dry slightly between waterings can encourage root growth and boost aeration, but only when done with care. Let it go too far and the stress starts stacking. Dry-downs should be intentional, not accidental – controlled, not chaotic.
Timing, too, plays a critical role. “You do it in the morning! Not late in the evening!” Flax emphasized. Why? Wet foliage at night is a welcome mat for disease, as moisture lingers in the dark and invites fungal issues to flourish. On top of that, heavily hydrated plants at night are more likely to experience guttation, a process where droplets of water are pushed out of the leaf margins. While it may look like harmless dew, guttation can create sticky surfaces and attract pests or possibly spread foliar diseases.
Throughout the session, Flax made one point crystal clear: moisture management is not just about when to water. It’s about why, where and how. He urged growers to make decisions based on measurable metrics, not habits. That means paying attention to root development, media properties, container size, plant stage and environmental conditions. A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t fly in today’s greenhouses.
Flax also called on growers to invest in education. Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned grower, there’s always more to learn. New hires shouldn’t be left guessing with a hose in hand. Instead, they should be equipped with resources that explain not just the how, but the why behind every watering decision.
“You need a culture of clarity,” he said. “Everyone should be speaking the same moisture language.”
Tools deserve attention too. Flax recommended using moisture sensors, weight-based watering methods and substrate-specific strategies to take the guesswork out of the game. “Having the right tools isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity,” he added. The goal? Replace reactive watering with proactive planning.
By the end of the session, growers walked away with a roadmap to reliable results. Because when moisture is managed with intention, irrigation isn’t a daily chore, it’s a crop-changing, yield-boosting, stress-reducing system.
Flax didn’t promise perfection. But he did promise this: With training, teamwork and the right tools, your best crops ever aren’t a fluke – they’re fully within reach.
by Enrico Villamaino
