Feeding and watering well

The right care should keep plants on track, says Ruth

- Ruth Hayes

ONE of our main preoccupations is keeping our plants properly watered and fed while at the same time conserving as much water as possible in times of drought.

There are several simple ways to optimise the water you have. Watering in the early morning or early evening, before or after the worst of the day’s heat, allows the maximum amount of moisture to sink into the soil before evaporating.

Water slowly, so it has time to absorb rather than running off when compost or soil is very dry.

The tool I have found most useful when watering large areas is an adjustable spray gun attached to the end of a hose. It allows me to moderate the force of the flow and halt the water flow when moving between borders so none is wasted.

Plants prefer rain to tap water because it doesn’t have the chemical content of drinking water.