Grow Your Own: why your plants are dying
Tips on watering, from a guy who once over-watered a cactus 🌵
Anyone who’s ever owned a house plant or tried to keep a veggie patch has been through this. You notice your plant is looking sad, so you give it some water. It starts to look worse, so you panic and water it again, and again. And very soon you have a dead plant.
Unfortunately, plants aren’t as obvious as pets when it comes to letting you know they need to eat, which is a shame because it’s just about the most important part of keeping them healthy. So, here’s some advice on how to water your plants properly (and yes, I once over-watered and killed a cactus, but I’m reformed).
Don’t overwater
This is a trap we’ve all fallen into before. A lot of plants don’t need watering everyday. They need oxygen just as much as they need water, and when you overwater them and soak the soil you’re not letting them breathe. It’s best to let the soil slightly dry out before watering again - watering deeply and less frequently is better than giving them a regular light watering. This is especially true for plants in small pots with poor drainage. If the surface looks dry, dig in a few centimetres and see if it’s still dry. If it’s not, it can wait a while.
Do think about timing
Watering first thing in the morning is often best, and later in the day works well too. It’s a bit cooler so you get less evaporation and more efficient watering. If you water in the morning, it also means you’ve got a full day of sun ahead to dry out the leaves if they get wet. Which brings me to the next point…
Don’t water the leaves
Leaves are for absorbing sunlight, roots are for absorbing water. It’s easy to get stuck in the trap of thinking, “the leaves get dry if I don’t water, so that’s probably where the plant needs water”. No! Having wet leaves all the time encourages fungal diseases and will only harm the health of your plant. Water needs to get to the roots, not the leaves.
Do think about where the roots are
On that last point, root systems are bigger than you think! Don’t just water the base of the plant, water around it and water it slowly, giving time for the water to really soak in - the roots aren’t just wide, they’re deep.
Don’t just dump the water on
Getting a bucket and dumping the water on doesn’t do much. Depending on the type of soil and how dry it is, the water will probably pool and runoff, doing nothing for your plants. Get your hose or a watering can out and water slowly, letting the surface soak and then allowing time for the water to get down into the roots.
Do think about automating
There are lots of ways to simplify the whole process with a little bit of upfront effort. If you have a large garden, setting up drip irrigation is probably the way to go - it’s the most efficient way to water your plants, delivering water directly to the root zone at consistent times and in the right amount. You can even add fertiliser to keep your plants fed!
If you’re growing in pots, you could think about getting a wicking bed. A wicking bed effectively waters your plants from underneath. You add water to a tube in the top and it sits in a reservoir under the soil and slowly releases it to the plant. It’s super water-efficient and means you spend less time watering - just refill the reservoir as needed. One downside is that they’ll keep releasing water no matter what the weather looks like, so if you’re expecting a lot of rain just be careful your plants don’t get waterlogged.
Happy watering
Hopefully this short list of do’s and don’ts clears things up - you and your plants can thank me later. The biggest thing to remember is to not overthink it. Watering can be easy to get wrong, but most plants are pretty resilient and if you stick to the main rules (more like guidelines), I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Happy watering!