Watering / Plant Food
NoviceHerbs
Posts: 126
in Fruit & veg
As I have read there is different levels of water for different plants such as well watered i.e coriander and Basil to water every now and then such as thyme and oregano to water only when dry such as Rosemary and Dill.
My question is how much volume of water do use and do you use any plant food as the season goes on , I read some contradictions on the subject some say no fertilizer where as other say use fertilizer for oregano , what are your thoughts
on a different note but connected , I assume Chillis need to be well watered and fertilized mid way though the season ?
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WITH REGARD TO WATERING, IF YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA OF HOW MUCH WATER TO ADD TO A PARTICULAR POT OF SOIL OR COMPOST (AND THEY VARY IN THEIR ABILITY OF HOLD ON TO WATER), AND IF YOU HAVE ACCESS TO AN OUTSIDE SPACE YOU CAN DO THE FOLLOWING:
TAKE AN AVERAGE POT AND SOME TYPICAL COMPOST/SOIL THAT YOU USUALLY USE. FILL THE POT.
WATER - FOR A SMALL POT USE A CUP, FOR A BIG POT USE A WATERING CAN. FILL THE CUP OR CAN.
APPLY WATER TO THE POT UNTIL IT REACHES THE RIM. WAIT FOR FIVE MINUTES. TIP THE CONTENTS OUT. ARE THEY SOAKING, PLEASANTLY MOIST OR DRYISH? TAKE NOTE FOR NEXT TIME.
CLEAN UP MESS. WASH HANDS.
PLANTS IN POTS ARE NOT ABLE TO FIND FOOD OF THEIR OWN IN THE WAY THAT A PLANT IN THE GARDEN CAN. LIKE A CHILD, THEY RELY ON YOU TO KEEP THEM FED. THEY DON'T NEED FEEDING EVERY WEEK. THEY MIGHT NEED SOMETHING ONCE EVERY TWO MONTHS, A BIT, AND NONE IN WINTER BECAUSE THEY ARE ASLEEP.
I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT CHILIS AS I CAN'T EAT THEM. THEY GIVE ME BLISTERS IN MY MOUTH!
Last edited: 15 April 2017 07:46:07
If you live in Derbyshire, as I do.
Thanks alot Pansyface and I hope you dont mind answering all my questions
Do you think late April / early May is a good time to start planting all my herbs ?
Yes now is a good time to start. A few very tender ones, like basil, it's still early - it won't cope with the cold nights outside so leave that until June if you're buying plants rather than starting seeds.
Apart from Pansyface's advice on checking your soil and pot's water retaining ability, the other guide is the plant itself. In most cases you should let the soil dry out before you water again. If you do that with basil you'll see the leaves start to droop. The hard leafed herbs like thyme and rosemary really don't like being wet, soft leafed herbs like basil and mint really don't like being dry. There are no universal rules - you're going to have to go with trial and unhappy error I'm afraid. But you'll figure it out if you pay attention to how each plant responds and then adjust accordingly.
Chillis (and any other plant that you want to flower and 'fruit') need to be fed once a fortnight (or so) from when they start to flower until they stop fruiting. If you over feed leaf herbs you will encourage them to flower, so every month (for fast growers - annuals) or two (for slow growing perennials) will be fine and only during the warmer months. Don't feed them in the winter and be very sparing with water in winter too - only if they are bone dry. Freezing water round their roots they won't like at all.
Thanks Raisin Girl , I am keeping the Chillis in my conservatory in the evening , shall I do this with the Basil and coriander until June ?
yes for basil. I think coriander (assuming it's 'cilantro' for leaf not for seeds) might find it too warm so you may need to put it outside next month and only bring it in if frost is forecast. As I said on the other thread though, I've not had much success with coriander. It bolts very quickly. I had lots of home grown coriander seeds (very nice) but not much salad leaf
raisin girl your probably right i guess my chances are minimal but I use alot in curries.
Basil seems to have sold out completely in plant form , from every shop , lets hope they get more stock soon
You can buy basil as 'growing herbs' in most supermarkets. Get 'British grown' if you can, When you get them home, water them, get them out of the pot - you'll find there are dozens of little weedy basil plants crammed in, so repot small clumps with good multi-purpose compost in bigger pots and Bob's your mother's brother
I think with coriander you need a really big pot and more diligence than I can muster. You may well do fine
My supermarket has loads of Basil, coriander and parsley!
Buy a pot of each,then, when you get them home, split each potful into 4 and plant in separate pots. There are far too many seedlings in each pot for healthy plant growth other wise They will need hardening off before going outside and as said above, basil likes to be warm!.
What sort of diligence do you need for coriander ?
The right frequency of watering. Don't ask me what that is - never got it right