Watering stress cuts both ways when growing plants. Too much water and they yellow and die. Too little and they shrivel and brown. But letting them get a little stressed can have benefits. Letting the plants go a little limp drives their root systems in search of water, resulting in a stronger plant. If you let your carrots go a little flat they’ll send their taproots deeper, resulting in longer, straighter carrots. One thing to keep in mind is that when you set out your seedlings is that their roots have been literally running around in circles in the inside of the pot. Teasing the roots out a bit will get them going out into the larger garden faster. On the down side, plants like cauliflower and broccoli tend to develop aphids when not given enough water.
