How to water the plants in containers and when to water them

We discussed about top 20 gardening mistakes gardeners make, in the last post. Turnout several people liked it and many wanted ways to correct their mistakes.

This post is about the most basic thing about gardening. How to water the plants in containers.

You will learn

How to water the plants that are in containers
How much to water them
When to water

So if we know the mistakes and we correct them, there is no reason one should fail in gardening.

Too much water/Too little water

Water is essential for plants. But sometimes too much or too little water can kill the plants.

When is it too much water

It is natural to show your love for plants by watering them too frequently. If this is what you are doing, You gotta stop. When we water the plants, the nutrients in the soil dissolve in the water and plants take up with solution. If you water too much, you are leaching away the nutrients in the soil/potting mixture and all you are left with is soil that is very poor. Also, watering the plants too much leaves the soil with less oxygen causing the roots to choke and suffocate.

How much to water the plants?

Water the plants just enough to see the water coming out of the drainage hole in the bottom of the container. This assumes you have made a drainage hole in the bottom or the container you purchased came with a pre-drilled hole. If there is no drainage hole and you are over watering.. you are in whole lot of trouble. Please ensure there is at least one drainage hole in the bottom of the container.

So to recap, start watering the plants and stop when you see the water coming out of the drainage hole.

Symptoms of too much watering

Stunted growth
Yellowing of leaves
Root rot (happens if the water doesn’t drain).
Too much algae formation on the soil
Soil always soggy wet.

Too less water

There are multiple reasons why plants don’t get enough water.

You don’t water them.

There is no excuse to not watering the plants. If you are too busy to water your plants, be smart and setup an irrigation system that is automated. There are very easy to operate timers available that will play your role for the plants. Seriously! Spend some time watering the plants, you will really enjoy it.

You water them only on the top.

I have seen this happen with several people. They water the top for like couple of seconds and then they move to another plant. Trouble! Remember the rule. Water should drain from the bottom.

And don’t water the plants using a fine sprayer. It is too fine and it will not wet the soil thoroughly.

Potting medium is so coarse.

Some potting media are very coarse and they are meant to be like that. For crops like orchids, cacti and succulents etc, the potting soil is so different and they are designed to not hold water. Using such a mix for growing vegetables will result in containers that remain dry all the time. Do not make that mistake. Choose the right potting mix for the crop.

False drainage.

This is a special case and often found in containers with soil that get very hard and compact over time. They become so compact that they create a space between the inner surface of the container and the soil itself. With a container like that,whenever you water the plants, the water will come right through the sides straight to the bottom without even wetting any part of the soil. So ensure the whole medium gets wet and the water drains.

How to water the plants

Frequency of watering

Daily watering is essential but it also depends on where you live. I cannot give you a frequency of watering because you know it better than I do. Yes you really do. To know whether to water or not, stick your finger in the soil about couple of inches deep and if you feel the soil is wet, then you don’t need to water that day. Some places are very hot and there is a need to water the plants may be twice a day.

To summarize,

Water the root zone
Water only when needed but do it thoroughly
Water in the mornings
Mulch your soil surface to avoid evaporation

That’s all there is to it.

So simple isn’t it? If you enjoyed this post and learnt from it, Please share this post in your social network. It will help some one from not making those mistakes again. I would appreciate it.

More answers to common mistakes on the next post.

Top 20 gardening mistakes new gardeners make,
Growing Okra a.k.a Ladies finger in Container,
Growing Carrots in Containers – Step by Step with Pictures

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