Most of the time you should use drip irrigation for watering your vegetable garden. However, many experts disagree with me on this question. First, let me define what I mean by the two different types of watering. When I say watering from the top, I’m talking about using a hose with a sprayer, using a watering can or using a sprinkler. On the other hand, drip irrigation is when you use a hose or pipes on the ground to drip water at a slow rate directly into the soil. Many people don’t like drip because it’s hard to maintain and hard to distribute the water evenly and efficiently. Some people like it because you can place the hose or pipes under mulch. This reduces evaporation and also the number of plant leaves that get wet. Keeping leaves dry helps prevent fungal problems. This is especially true when growing tomatoes. Many people would rather water from the top because they can see and control where the water goes. Undoubtedly some water is absorbed through the leaves, so watering overhead has the advantage of getting more water to the plants more quickly. You also can provide foliar feeding (fertilizer to the leaves) when you water from the top. This, obviously, is not possible through drip irrigation because the water never touches the leaves.