One of the biggest questions I hear from friends about their plants is, "how much should I water it? I don't remember when the last time it was watered."
Well here in this 954 Sq. ft. apartment of ours we share a space with many types of plants with many different needs: Plants that need a lot of light. Plants that can deal with almost darkness. Plants that need a lot of water. Plants that don't need very much water. Plants that need to be fertilized every two weeks. Plants that need to be fertilized every month. Plants that could probably survive a nuclear attack. Plants that if you look at them the wrong way they die.
So what is one to do to keep track of all these plant needs? How could I possibly know when I fertilized and watered each of my 60 some odd houseplants and potted flower garden/vegetable plants?
Do I have a super amazing memory for which I remember every minute detail of my plants?
Hell no.
This is what I do:
Apologies for the crappy pictures. I always think they're going to look good until I get them on the blog. Any suggestions?
My big secret lies in the strength of the calendar. I keep track of everything I do to the plants on here. Whenever I fertilize a plant I write it down. When I water a plant I write it down. (However, in the summer I don't do this quite so much because I water much more frequently. It is very helpful in the winter when you may go weeks at a time before you water again.) I even keep track of when I planted seeds this Spring, so I could have an idea of when I could expect some yields.
If you're wondering why the name Floyd is on the calendar. That is our leopard gecko, Floyd. We keep track of when he eats because he is a bit round these days, so we put him on a gecko diet. We also keep track of when we buy his totally overpriced heat lights. They say they last 3,000 hrs. If it lasts half that, we're doing pretty good. So I guess we enjoy torturing ourselves knowing how much we're getting ripped off.
But back to our plant calendar.
This method has been very useful. And like I said earlier, it is very helpful in the winter time when some plants can go very long periods of time without needing water.
However, I should say it is good to know your plant's cues for when it needs water. You may forget to write a watering down on the calendar and if you're following it too closely without looking at your plants, you may do unnecessary damage. So look at your plants!
Stick your finger a knuckle into the soil to test if it's dry, pick up the pot every now and then and check its weight, check for droopy looking leaves. All of these are good ways to tell if your plant needs water or not. The calendar is a very helpful guide, but don't take it as the word of the plant gods. Your African violet may not always need to be watered every 10 days. Maybe sometimes it's every 14 days. But the calendar will help you see these patterns and help you water your plants more effectively.
If you're wondering why the name Floyd is on the calendar. That is our leopard gecko, Floyd. We keep track of when he eats because he is a bit round these days, so we put him on a gecko diet. We also keep track of when we buy his totally overpriced heat lights. They say they last 3,000 hrs. If it lasts half that, we're doing pretty good. So I guess we enjoy torturing ourselves knowing how much we're getting ripped off.
But back to our plant calendar.
This method has been very useful. And like I said earlier, it is very helpful in the winter time when some plants can go very long periods of time without needing water.
However, I should say it is good to know your plant's cues for when it needs water. You may forget to write a watering down on the calendar and if you're following it too closely without looking at your plants, you may do unnecessary damage. So look at your plants!
Stick your finger a knuckle into the soil to test if it's dry, pick up the pot every now and then and check its weight, check for droopy looking leaves. All of these are good ways to tell if your plant needs water or not. The calendar is a very helpful guide, but don't take it as the word of the plant gods. Your African violet may not always need to be watered every 10 days. Maybe sometimes it's every 14 days. But the calendar will help you see these patterns and help you water your plants more effectively.
