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Watering Advice for Container Plants

harvgolfharvgolf Posts: 7
in Tools and techniques
The GW June Online re the above advises to water little and often. I had believed that one should water fairly deeply( not overwater though!).
Watering little means only the roots near the surface of the soil benefit & will grow,whereas the whole root system & plant itself needs more than that.
It seems the GW advice here is wrong! 
Views please!

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 86,164
    Hello @harvgolf and welcome to the forum  :)

    I've had a quick scan and can't find the advice you mention ... can you tell us which section of the online magazine it's in please?  I'd like to see the context ...  :)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • harvgolfharvgolf Posts: 7
    GardnersWorld. com article of yesterday 23 June… Heading of ‘Five Tips for feeding plants in pots’.. then click ‘Pots that perform’, then scroll to Tip numbered 3 headed’Feed little and often’.  !!!
  • harvgolfharvgolf Posts: 7
    Hmm ..possible apologies here as article was about feeding..& not watering…. but views please…
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 86,164
    edited June 2022
    https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/five-tips-for-feeding-plants-in-pots/#:~:text=Feed little and often instead of big, infrequent doses during the growing season and increase feeding with speed of growth. Stop feeding at the end of summer.

    Seems good advice to me ... I wouldn't argue with that ... especially as it goes on to mention using the proper dilution rate, and also tells us not to feed stressed plants.

     :) 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 22,662
    It would be wrong if it referred to watering, which it doesn't. I feed pots using slow release fertiliser pellets. Less fuss and it's worked fine.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • harvgolfharvgolf Posts: 7
    My apologies my apologies in all this… and thank you for your kind inputs!! I should have read the advice more carefully!!
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 9,637
    My pots and baskets are on a drip irrigation system which waters them little and often, which works fine - the aim is to keep the compost moist - until something goes wrong like the battery on the timer giving out or the weather turns hot and I forget to adjust the timer to give a bit more water. If the compost dries out then little and often is no good because it only wets the surface, then they need a good deep watering with a hose or can to fully wet the compost before relying on the drip irrigation system again.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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