Top Tips for Watering
When I was a kid, watering the garden and patio plans was one of my favourite jobs in the heat of the summer (not so much in the winter!). I was always cautioned to water in the evenings because the hot sun would scorch the leaves if I watered earlier in the day – and so the plants escaped the over-eager several-times-a-day drenching that I might have preferred. It’s just so much more fun to play with water when it’s hot!
Since those days I’ve managed to start my own garden and, by some miracle, (most of) my plants are surviving and thriving. Here I’ll share a few of my top garden watering tips – gained from my many ‘newbie’ mistakes over the years…
- Always use a spray when watering – a ‘rose’ on a can or a spray nozzle on a pipe. Learned after sweeping a mud drenched balcony and having to re-pot several very upset plants in my first flat.
- Water regularly (but not too much – check the soil) not only when the plants look like they desperately need it. Learned after my early plants turned brown and died – apparently that’s a sign of distress in a plant, not a subtle hint that they fancy a drink.
- Don’t overfill your watering can. Soaked feet and legs are not so bad in warm weather but strained muscles are never fun. Learned when I first kept hanging baskets.
- Look after your garden hose. I’ve gone through three in the last few years after they kinked and split (and got frozen and sunburned and trodden on) and have finally invested in good one.
Learning from my mistakes. My poor old plants!
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