every living thing

Every living thing needs water;
Every living thing needs the rain.
Every living thing needs water;
I guess I really can't complain. ~ Sesame Street

We have had very, very little rain in these parts.  Every time we have a forecast for rain, I end up disappointed.  Even my rain barrels are dried up!  How sad is that??  Unfortunately, every living thing needs water whether or not it rains, so I have been watering like a fiend!  This week will also be bringing us temps of 100 degrees, so my containers are especially at risk.   That is the topic for today.


It isn't rocket science (is it still even called rocket science?), but everyone needs a little refresher now and then.  All  your plants and flowers need to be watered, but the ones planted in the ground have the advantage of a root system that actually goes somewhere.  When it gets a bit dry, those plants can dig a little deeper in search of  a drink.  Your container plants can't.  So you need to make sure you keep them well watered but not over watered.  How do you do that?  Well...


1.  Make sure all your containers have good drainage. I have drilled holes in the bottom of many pots, buckets and cans when there were no holes already in them.  If it is impossible to drill holes, you can put things in the bottom of your container to allow for a certain amount of drainage.  Some people use stones, I often put my left over plastic pot things the plants come in in the bottom.  Sort of recycling.


2.   Where possible, use some sort of plate to catch the overflow.  This will feed some of the water back into your plant.


One common mistake in watering your container garden is assuming that once the water flows over the side of the pot, the pot is full.  WRONG!!  You need to keep the hose on it until the water reaches the top, stop, let the water soak in and repeat.  Keep this up until the water begins to drain out of the bottom of the pot (when there is a drainage hole) or until it soaks in very slowly  (when there isn't a drainage hole). [this is a lousy picture, but if you try really hard, you can see the water seeping out the back of the pot]


Now that the flowers in my window boxes are getting very full, they require much more water.  Be very careful here though; because the plants are so full, they can actually repel the water with their foliage and cause it to run off instead of going into the soil.  So I lift the flowers and water from beneath.  


Many flowers like to have a little bath too, so use your shower setting and give your leaves a little sprinkle.


I recommend watering early in the morning before the heat of the day to avoid the sun burning off all your labor.  Evening watering can be great too, especially when it is so very hot ( just avoid roses - subject for another day).  To be honest, when it's this miserably hot, I often do both.  

Don't start getting lazy now!  Your garden is just about reaching its peak.  Keep at it!  Water, water, water!!