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Watering plants in containers
Use your senses to tell you when you need to water:
Look If compost looks pale, has shrunk away from side of a container, or if plants are droopy and wilting, they’re already seriously stressed and need immediate watering.
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Listen
Tap clay pots with a length of broom handle. A dull ‘clonk’ means the compost is moist enough; a clear ‘ring’ means it is dry, so get watering.
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Touch
Stick a finger into the compost. If it feels moist-but-not-soggy, like a wrung-out flannel, it is all right. If it feels dry, water at once.
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Pick up the pot – if it feels light, it needs watering. If plants in containers get very dry it pays to stand them in a bucket, or similar, so that they can soak water right up into the compost. This is a better method than watering with a can, as the water will run straight through and around the dry compost where it has shrunk away from the side of the pot.
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