watering in ground plants?

hey,
i see a lot of talk about potted/hydro plants and their watering cycles however, i am in the ground with holes 2' D x 3' W. the summer gets to 100F, but right now we are more like 90F..
my friend told me that i could be watering as much as 3 times a day, but that my plants probably wouldn't use all of it since they are like 1/4lb plants and not 1/2 - 1lb in size..
right now i water every weekend to avoid the soil going totally dry.. i feel funny thinking that they want more..
what is your opinion?

Some say give her what she needs, and some say let her get thirsty as it'll make her roots stretch...
Personally, I'd go with any gut feeling...

Next year get serious and dig the holes about 5' deep. No I'm not kidding. Add some compost in the dirt and cover the hole with a piece of carpet (remnant or throw rug) turned upside down with a hole just big enough for the plant to go up through. Never worry again if you water once a week. Starve her for water a wee bit the first month to make her stretch roots looking for it. Do that by soaking that deep hole of good soil and covering with the rug. It will dry from the top down and her roots will follow. But if you water soon after of course they won't have to.

the problem with digging deeper is i am at a very hard clay layer.. i want to bring in more earth to make them 3' deep next year..

Poor drainage if you have a clay layer. Bad place to grow. Raising the soil won't prevent that. Take a pick to it. Most clay belts are not that thick. Small plants?

my whole property has a thick clay layer about 2' down.. i can't go through it..

oh, so - i get plants between 5 and 12 ft.. never more than 4 - 6 oz per plant, but not tiny..

You don't need to dig. Just build a raised bed that's 3'x3' and six inches high. I went as big as 4'x4' and twelve inches high, but that didn't improve things much. So now I stick with the smaller 3x3 ft raised beds. I also have some in the ground, but the ones in raised beds are bigger. As far watering, I use soaker hoses. 3-5 min 3x a week is fine. Really depends on your soil structure and how well it holds onto water. Sandy soils need more water (or better amending) while soils heavy in clay need less watering.

Not an outdoor grower myself, but outdoor gardener I know around here grows in a raised bed, they're good for moisture retention,weed suppression, root oxygen etc etc...Highly recommended

Yeah. Raised beds. Great Idea. Water more often. It doesn't rain here like in Jolly Ol' but whatever. Good idea for turnips, not for illegal crops you try to hide. Go for it.