Lesson 1
Watering — the most misunderstood skill
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If you can get watering right, you can grow almost anything. If you can't, no other technique saves you. Most house plants and pot plants die from over-watering, not under.
The reliable test: push a finger 2 cm into the compost. Cool and damp? Wait. Dry to that depth? Water deeply, until water runs out the bottom. Empty the saucer.
Plants in pots dry out faster than plants in the ground because of all the surface area. In hot weather they may need water twice a day; in winter, once a fortnight.
Watering rules of thumb
- Water the soil, never the leaves (except misting tropical houseplants).
- Morning watering is best — leaves dry before night.
- Deep, infrequent watering grows deep roots. Shallow daily watering grows shallow ones.
- Lift the pot — a heavy pot is wet, a light pot is dry. Learn its full and empty weight.
- Tap water rests overnight in a jug before being used for sensitive plants (citrus, blueberry, carnivorous).