Maintaining an indoor garden in good condition can be challenging. It is important to understand your plants’ requirements from planting to harvesting.
Watering is sometimes ignored as gardeners learn to modify the soil, fertilize the plants properly, and prevent the spread of pests and diseases.
Learning how often and how much to water the garden is not as straightforward as it may appear.
Deep watering is a method that can be useful for many different kinds of indoor plants.
Knowing how often and how much to water your indoor plants requires a certain level of expertise. Caring for your indoor garden will become second nature the more you do it.
To get started, pick a couple of particularly hardy types. Then, once you’re comfortable with the basics and have a firm grasp on watering, you can move on to a select group of plants that will test your determination but reward your perseverance.
What is plant “deep watering”?
It’s common knowledge that plants require more water than usual during the hottest growth season, but many gardeners are left wondering how much more.
While it’s usually possible to find some general advice, the ideal conditions for various plant species vary greatly.
In order to keep an eye on their indoor plants and make more educated judgments about additional watering, many farmers keep rain gauges. Smart farmers use deep watering to keep their garden beds stocked with enough moisture.
Check the houseplants for signs that they need watering.
There are usually visible signs when indoor plants need watering. The signs of an underwatered plant include poor growth, dead leaf tips, and drooping leaves. Let’s take a closer look at what could be telling you that your houseplant needs water:
- Slow growth
Your plant’s growth rate may slow if you water it too infrequently. New leaves are typically quite small. Water your plant thoroughly, and check the soil’s moisture level once a week.
- Dead leaf tips
Brown and crispy leaf tips appear on plants that lack water. If the soil is dry and the leaves begin to turn brown, give it a good soaking.
- The leaves are drooping
If your plant’s soil is dry and the leaves begin to wilt, water it immediately. But drooping leaves may indicate disease or overwatering if the potting medium is wet.
How to deep water houseplants
The steps to effective deep watering are easy to follow. Here are the measures to take:
First, you need to see how wet your soil is. You can use your finger if you don’t have a moisture meter. Eight inches deep is ideal to reach close to the roots. How dry does the soil feel?
- The water needs to permeate for 30 minutes.
- You need to double-check the humidity. Don’t stop watering until the soil is saturated to a depth of 8 inches.
- You’re good to go once you have soaked the soil for at least 8 inches. Keep track of how long it took, how many times you had to water it, and how fast the water flowed.
- Use a slow, gentle stream to water the plants now. Fast-moving water washes away the top layer of soil and your hard-earned resources.
- Check the soil again in 30 minutes.
How often should indoor plants be watered?
Watering houseplants once every 2 to 3 weeks is the norm. Indoor plants need consistent, but not excessive, watering to maintain a wet soil environment.
Instead of watering plants at set intervals, keep an eye on the moisture content of the soil to see whether they need a drink. Season, light, heat, humidity, and soil affect how often a plant needs watering.
How to Gauge the Need for Watering Indoor Plants
- Use a moisture meter
If you have a difficult plant to care for or want to be more precise about the process, you can use a moisture meter to determine whether or not your plants require additional watering.
These are not only affordable and dependable, but they also have the potential to make a significant impact in the event that you are experiencing issues.
- Check the moisture content of the soil
Poke the soil surrounding your plant with your index finger. If the topsoil is wet, you will be able to tell by touching it. The level of soil dryness is a reliable sign of when to water many plants.
- Inspect the drainage holes and feel the soil
Check if the soil is too dry by sticking your fingertips through the drainage holes in the pot’s base. You can analyze the soil’s dryness to help determine if irrigation is necessary.
- Check the plant pot’s weight regularly
A watered-potted plant will be significantly heavier than one that has not been, because dry soil is lighter than wet soil. You can learn when to water your houseplants by lifting them with some practice.
- Keep an eye out for wilting
Leaves that droop or wilt often indicate that your plants need water. Because wilting can also be due to disease or overwatering, it is important to use it with a soil analysis.
If your plants are wilting, you must address the underlying cause before the situation worsens.
- Type of plant
The ideal moisture level for certain plants is much higher than that for others. While some thrive in a dry environment, others must have constant moisture.
Determining how often and how much water your plant needs will help you decide whether or not to water it.
The benefit of deep watering
- Drought protection:
The soil surface dries out quite rapidly. The water is protected from evaporation because of how deep you deliver it.
- Strong root systems
When plants are constantly hydrated, they stop putting energy into establishing deep tap roots. They’ll be more susceptible to stress when you forget to water for a few days.
This is because we have trained their roots to stay at the surface, where the water is. It could take weeks, or even never, for a plant to recover from water stress.
- Use less water
It is more effective to water deeply. Most vegetables and plants only need an inch of water per week. You may not be watering deeply or frequently enough if your plants look like they need more water.
- The water reaches the right areas
A plant’s root system extends quite deep underground. When you water deeply, the water penetrates the soil and reaches the roots rather than sitting on top.
Final thought on deep watering houseplants
A number of garden factors can have an impact on the overall success of deep-watering plants. The gardener’s soil type may significantly impact how soon they can begin watering deeply.
Adding high-quality organic matter to the soil on a regular basis is an excellent approach to improving water retention and increasing the effectiveness of deep watering.
