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balkanradfem · 4 months

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How not to over-water your plants

So, firstly, if you're new to plants, you might be wondering, well what is so bad about over watering? After all, they're plants aren't they? Don't they need water to survive? The more the merrier? And to you I say, good point, here's why it can work with plants outside, but not plants in little pots inside.

Have you ever left a piece of organic matter in the water? Like, a leaf, or even a flower in a flower vase. If you left it in for a week, it develops a bad smell, and the leaves, stems and roots will start to degrade, ferment, and rot in the water. That's exactly what's happening to the roots of your houseplants if they're left in an overly-wet soil; they don't have any access to oxygen, and they rot. Outside, the soil is constantly draining the water further down, the earth is capable of absorbing a lot of water while leaving the topsoil pleasantly damp, but not liquid with water. So you need to make sure your soil is never so wet that it rots your plants roots; if it comes to that, your plant will start turning brown or black, become squishy and spongy, and eventually rot completely.

So how do you avoid it? You'll often hear advice about 'having good drainage', which means your pot needs to have little holes for the water to come out, and the soil shouldn't be so dense and clayish that it would stop water from draining through. However, even if you have perfect drainage, you can still pour in so much water that the little tray under the pot is filled with water – thus the plants sit in water again, rotting. It's difficult to see whether the soil is saturated with water too, sometimes the top of the soil can seem completely dry and you don't see if it's all the way dry or not, it can be misleading. You also can't just stick to a watering schedule because the soil dries out at different speed, based on humidity, heating, temperature, season, exposure to sunlight, it will be different every time. So how can you get around this problem?

The solution I found works perfectly is: lift the pot. As soon as you feel the weight of the pot in your hands, you'll be able to tell whether that thing is heavy as if it's filled with water, or if it's so light that there's barely any water in it. If your pot is super heavy and feels like you just lifted a bucket of water, leave it be, do not water it for a week, until it becomes a normal weight (it should feel like one third of it is water). If your pot is so light, that it feels like nothing is in it at all, then you need to water enough to fill that entire tray underneath, and then let the soil absorb the water for a while. If the soil is super dry, it becomes hydrophobic, and it will take time for it to start absorbing water again; but don't worry, if you leave it sitting in water overnight, it should be fine again, and the plants won't start to rot after just one day of sitting water. A normal watering should be just one third of the container of the plant, that should saturate the soil so it's damp, but not dripping with water.

A further step you can take to make sure your plants are happy with the amount of water, is to research the plants themselves, and how they like to be watered. Most plants will do well on having their soil pleasantly damp, but some houseplants like to have their soil dry out completely before they get a good amount of water again; for instance, lemon trees like that feeling of being dried completely, and then being watered generously, because they're used to growing in tropical areas, and going through droughts and rainfall. Some plants are capable of taking moisture from the air, but they still love having a good amount of water in the pot. Nothing will give you better insight than researching every plant separately.

So what about succulents? You may have been told that you can ignore succulents and they'll be fine, however I found this not to be true, after my poor neglected succulent died due to non watering. You can't even use the trick of lifting the pot, if you're having succulents and aloe vera, because those plants keep water inside of their bodies, so if you lift the pot, it might be heavy, not because it's filled with water, but because the plants themselves are heavier, keeping water inside of themselves. They absolutely need water too, there's just a difference in how long they can do without it. But we're not trying to give those plants endurance tests, we're trying to make sure they're happy and thriving. So how to know when to water your succulents or aloe vera?

The solution is: you try to see if they're squishy. A succulent happily filled with water, will be firm and sturdy to touch. If your succulent is starting to dry, and is now spending the water they have in their inside store, they'll become squishy! If you lightly press with your fingers on the leaf, or the stem of a succulent, and it gives way and squishes, that means the plant needs more water in order to be happy. The squishiness starts closer to the base and the stem of the plant, so if you can check the widest, most base leafs, you'll get the best idea of whether they need water or not. Also, if you see any leaves on them that are dried, brown, dying away, you can pull these off! Your plants are only burdened by keeping dead plant matter on, if you pull those off the plant will immediately look healthier, have less to worry about, and be ready to grow new healthy leaves.

Any big plant can generally survive longer without water than a smaller plant, simply because they are able to store water inside of themselves, so they have some reserve. You always have to keep a closer eye on your tiniest little plants, and your giant plants will need your attention less frequently. Another tip is to have your plants somewhere you see them every day, because if your plant is somewhere you have to specifically go to see it and water it, it is likely you'll forget about its existence until it's too late. Even writing this I remembered I had some plants on a window that I don't usually use, and I've forgot to water them for two weeks. Oops. (they're fine I watered them now).

I hope these tricks help you have confidence in caring for your plants! It took me a while to figure it out, so I'm happy to share my knowledge. If you know more tricks please write them on this post so that I may become smarter too.

#plant care #houseplants #over watering #overwatering #gardening #inside plants #seedlings #i'm gonna start my seedlings soon!!!#plants #growing plants

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anipgarden · 1 year

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Off topic but to anyone who’s struggled to grow Lavender. Oh my god.

I love lavender! I’ve tried growing it basically every year since I started gardening! I love the color, the smell, and how much pollinators like it. But every year, it would die the instant I tried to repot it. The issue is, it doesn't like to have 'wet feet' (basically stay in wet soil for long), but as a Floridian... yeah. I tried in-ground, I tried potting soil, I tried mixing potting soil with sand. No dice.

This year a cashier at a gardening store suggested I try fucking SUCCULENT SOIL.

And its doing WONDERS.

Gaze upon my lavender plants in AWE! They aren’t dying, they aren’t wimpy and weak, they are THRIVING in their environment! All because of succulent soil!!!

Granted, we'll have to wait until the summer stormy season starts to see how they do with tons of rainfall, but as it stands so far? I wish I knew this sooner, so I'm telling you now!!!

#gardening #lavender #flowers #purple flowers #lavender flowers #growing plants #outdoor gardening #pollinator gardening #pollinator garden #homies it's been like a month of having lavender in succulent soil and theyre doing SO WELL #im SO STOKED ABOUT THIS #out of queue #ani rambles #flower gardening

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talkingtomyhouseplants · 1 month

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Book shelves 💚

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shining-star-system · 24 days

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GEORGE

He’s a growing boy!

#did system #did #system #dissociative identity disorder #endos dni #osddid #dni endos #did osdd #anti endo #osdd #plants!#george is still growing #growing plants #plants

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saturnisscreaming · 7 months

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A test for magic

Prick a finger and let the blood drip into unfertile dirt. If plants start sprouting you have your answer

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softangelstims · 3 days

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Growing Baby Eggplant Timelapse!

source

#my post #stim #vegetables #plants #nature #flowers #eggplant #green #purple #timelapse #gardening #growing plants #leaves #sprout #food #gif

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atsushi-crow · 6 months

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My carnivorous plant flowered!

#pagan witch #paganism #eclectic witch #pagan #witchy tips #magick #witch community #altar #green witch #plants #primrose #growing plants

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melitadala · 1 year

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#growing plants #greenery #kitchen witch #cooking hacks #cooking at home #rosemary #thyme #once upon a sleepytime

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fortunatehazelnut · 2 years

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My first response to people on here who talk about native wildflower seed bombing is: hey. Don't actually trust wildflower seed packets automatically to be like. Fully correct.

This is coming from me living in California, but our state is INCREDIBLY large, with many different microclimates. Seed packets are labeled "California native seeds" much of the time, but what is native to L.A. will not always do well in Humboldt and vice versa. In other parts of the U.S., seeds may be labeled based on region instead, which is even more vague. Actually look at the seeds in the mix and do your research as to what conditions each plant actually prefers.

Also, in my experience, wildflower seed packets tend to contain the same 15-20 wildflowers... this is not all there is to offer in your area, almost certainly. California poppies are beautiful... but maintaining biodiversity is also incredibly important. I'd reccomend looking for smaller seed and plant retailers serving your area with native plants that are often glossed over or less appreciated.

Obviously, all efforts to maintain native flora (which in turn helps native fauna) are great. But I wish people were a little more practical at times.

#gardening #native plants #seeds #biodiversity #growing plants #actuallg tagging this one because this always annoys me

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wo3backup · 23 days

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I miss home and my pets so much.

But then I got the idea to grow my own plant.

Now I wake up excited to greet my plant.

I come home from work excited to see my plant.

I go to bed wishing my plant sweet dreams.

Every chance I get I tell the little sprouts how proud I am of them.

It was a real touch and go the first 2 weeks. A fungus formed threatening my babies. But I wasn't gonna let them down. They're working so hard to grow their little leaves!

Now they're growing bigger. Soon I'll have to look up what else they might need.

Baby Chamomile. I love them so much.

#plants #plant mom #chamomile #growing plants #indoor plants #indoor garden #growing your own chamomile

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balkanradfem · 3 months

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I have important question, what do you use as fertilizer for plants? I don't really want to buy one and I read there are options, like veggie broth or tea, but I am unsure what works best. I read some use a bit of menstrual blood diluted in water, which I am tempted to try, but wonder how weird it is.

I use menstrual blood diluted in water every time! But there's not enough of that to be a consistent fertilizer, or to work for the entire garden. Here's stuff that I have tried out:

urine dilluted 1:10 with water! It has a great amount of nitrogen and trace amounts of other minerals, do not use it more than two times a month, and not on tiny plants. It's the best for green growth

fermented nettle: for this, fill a plastic container that you can close, with big nettles, and then pour water on them, all the way to the top, and close it up. Leave in hot sun to ferment for 10 days. Once it's done it will stink, and I mean, stink badly. Dillute 1:10 before watering your plants with! Don't use on peas, beans and other legumes, they do not like the nitrogen.

fermented comfrey: same as nettle, has so many good nutrients in there, has tons of calcium, will help your plants a lot!

menstrual blood diluted with water: safe for all plants, plants absolutely love blood

if you suspect your plants are lacking in some minerals you can use egg shells, or even crushed shells from the beach/river, and put them in your soil to make sure there's enough calcium in it! I didn't do a lot of this but the plant lady is always doing it

Mulch: it means putting organic material on top of the soil, this can be hay, straw, cut grass, dried leaves, pine needles, cut off tree branches, plant cuttings or leftovers, whatever has fallen off a plant or a tree is in this category. Now what will happen is these materials, exposed to the sun and elements, will start to degrade and compost themselves into your soil, and you will have fresh organic compost on top of your soil. Once your mulch degrades to compost you can add more material! Endless fertilization and fixing the soil and making sure you little worms have food to eat.

Stuff I've only heard of:

coffee grounds: apparently they're very good for soil and feeding the plants!

if you have leftovers of food in the forms of fish or bones, those are great for fertilization! There even are specific fertilizers called 'bone meal' or 'fish fertilizer' because plants really love that kind of stuff. It's better to compost them first though or add them in crushed form, they need to be reduced to the elements before plants can absorb them

Mushrooms: if you can get any fungal growth in your garden it's extremely healthy for your plants! If you're only looking for potted soil disregard this. But garden plants love having mushrooms around and if you have any mushroom growth it means your soil is super healthy

compost tea: I am sure this one is amazing because 'Roots and Refuge' farm used it to rejuvinate their soil after it's been poisoned by herbicide. I'm not sure how I would do it with my outside compost pile but the idea is to put your half-composted leftovers into water, leave it there for some hours, and strain it out, so the water has taken tons of nutrients from it, and then you water your plants with it! In general, whatever you use dissolved in water will have immediate effect because your plants will draw that water in immediately. It takes a bit to absorb stuff you put in the soil!

I guess I shouldn't leave out the 'traditional' fertilization methods, which is animal poop, just in case you have like, chicken or bunnies or something making a lot of poop, that can be used as fertilizer. Do look up what poop needs to be composted for a while first though! Some animals like cows produce poop so nitrogen-rich it would fry your plants if used immediately, it needs to sit for a year first.

Good luck to your plants, you never have to buy fertilizer because there is so much of nutrients in nature you can always get it for free, with just some basic knowledge of how to get to it :)

#fertilizing plants #plant fertilizers #homemade fertilizers #gardening #growing plants #diy fertilizer #homegrown food #i haven't bought fertilizer ever in my life :)))

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afrogsmoraldilemma · 6 months

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I am begging people to please please PLEASE grow plants. Even if you think you don't have a green thumb, I promise it's easier than people make it out to be. Plants have even been linked to reduced stress levels, and you can grow food as well, and reduce your grocery bill. You don't have to have a huge backyard, or even a balcony to grow stuff. Hell, even if you don't have a windowsill that receives regular sunlight, there are so many community gardens that are out there, and you can meet new people. Do you have a patch of dirt outside your building? A vacant block? Throw some wildflower seeds down (check if they're an environmental weed first tho). Buy a cactus and stick it near a window somewhere, give it some water once a fortnight and it'll survive a nuclear bomb. Are you really convinced that you can't care for a plant, but still want to help the environment/save pollinators/make green spaces? Meet up with your local land-care group and plant trees. Don't have the money to buy plants (which can be really costly)? Steal 'em. Nothing stopping you from asking a friend if you can have a cutting from one of their plants, nothing stopping you from knocking on your neighbors door, complimenting the plants in their yard and (politely) asking if you could have a cutting. (I have done this, and most people will say yes, but ALWAYS ask before. If they say no, it's probably because the plant is too young/has been under stress) There's also nothing (morally) wrong with grabbing a fallen succulent leaf off the floor of a garden center and planting them. Download that plant.

I promise you, no matter what, you can make your spaces more green. Grow a plant today.

#plant propaganda #i have seven plants in my room rn and i love them all #plants #gardens #walkable cities #food #growing plants #i think i might add a list of links as well

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talkingtomyhouseplants · 2 months

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Alocasia Frydek

(Green Velvet Alocasia)