Weekly outdoor garden water budget
Enter bed area (or raised-bed count × size), climate band, mulch depth, and crop mix. Optional: rain barrels on hand and a typical summer-week rain. You get a calm peak-summer range: gallons/week, gallons/day average, rough hose-minutes, and barrel weeks of cover if you set storage.
Honest framing: peak summer is the thirsty stretch. Deep mulch and fruiting crops move the band a lot. Balcony pots often stay hand-water territory. Rain barrels help a dry week — they do not replace a hose for a quarter-acre of tomatoes. Numbers are soft U.S. suburban ranges, not a drip-tape design.
Bed size
Planted bed surface only — not the whole lawn.
Count only beds you will water in peak summer.
Common suburban raised-bed footprints.
Average footprint if sizes differ.
Climate, mulch & crops
Coarse peak-summer thirst — not a zip-code ET map. Soft CTA needs a band set.
Deep mulch usually cuts peak demand ~20–30% vs bare soil.
Fruiting-heavy beds drink more in heat; greens need frequent light water.
Balcony pots dry faster and are often hand-water only. Soft CTA needs yard+.
Optional rain & intent
Total usable gallons stored — leave 0 to skip barrel cover.
0–2″. Soft offset only — not all rain reaches roots evenly.
Soft CTA only for serious-season or systems-build on yard+.