Watering

bermary

All the various plants I have in my rear garden are in containers both ceramic and plastic,how often should they be watered or how do I tell if they require water.

wallbash

Real interesting question.
I get it wrong, too little , plant dies
too much , earth goes green and plant may die!

Too many variables, does the pot have drainage?
Whats the weather like?
How Big is the pot ?
How big is the plant?

A terracotta pot could be tapped and the sound gave you a clue
( the old guy on the Victorian Kitchen tv prog demonstrated that)

So look at the earth and add some water .........good luck.

[Deleted User]

bermary, all my back garden plants are also in containers from troughs to ceramic planters to wooden raised beds and it is a nightmare at the moment. Our garden is sunny all the time and very hot, been like this for weeks now. I give all the big containers a good soak about once a week. I stand the many troughs and modules in large seed trays containing water as sucking up water seems to be less wasteful and benefits them more. Then I have all my strawberry plants in containers and 22 tomato plants each in their own container. I have a moisture meter, a probe that is very good for when I have doubts. If a plant need sufficient water for a purpose, like the tomato plants, then I water twice a day

The top of the soil is often deceptive btw it can look dry and be moist deep down. I have used over 500 litres from my water butts and it has almost all gone, then I will have to feed a hosepipe through the house.

I_have_spoken

Get a soil moisture probe, should be about a tenner. Then you can check of the pots need water

Yorkie1

Smaller pots need watering more often than bigger ones. Terracotta need more watering than non-porous ones such as plastic or ceramic. In really hot or windy weather, thirsty plants might even need watering morning and evening.

Stick your finger into the compost 1" down and see how moist it feels.

I also check the weight of the pots (those that aren't huge!) to see whether they feel too light.

You need to keep an eye on those filled with multipurpose compost because it has a habit of shrinking away from the sides of the pot when it gets too dry, and then the water just runs down the edges (and yes, I'm an expert at that!).

Dizzy_Ditzy

Depends on the type of plant you have too. I have several palms in pots who don't needs as much water as my tomatoes in pots