Pots & rain, a handy tip

All Sydney gardeners don't need to be told about the weather right now, but for those of you elsewhere on the planet, we are living through a stormy, tropical style summer this year. Hot, humid days, with violent thunderstorms every afternoon and evening. 

And that's the kind of weather which can kill a lot of potted plants, for the simple reason that gardeners think there's no need to water their potted plants, as Huey the weather god has that job covered. And that's my handy tip: go check your potted plants. There's a good chance the soil could be dry (amazingly enough), and so you should still think about watering your potted plants, crazy as it sounds. I checked my potted plants this morning, and they all needed watering. Here's why...

This potted cherry tomato's leaves form a virtual
umbrella over the top of the pot, and the "catchment
area" of potted soil for water from that violent
10-minute downpour of rain is no bigger than
a handkerchief. When I checked this morning, the
intense heat of yesterday had dried out the pot,
and the downpour of rain hadn't made up the
shortfall of moisture. So I watered it.

It was the same story with my potted fig tree, and
right now, as those delicious fruits are forming, this
little Turkish Brown fig tree loves water.

The Thai Lime is also forming fruits galore, and
even though it is in a big pot (as is the fig), it
still needed watering this morning.

So this is an old gardener's tip that is well worth repeating. Never take it for granted that last night's shower of rain has properly watered your pots. Check them the next morning, and you could save a life — a precious, delicious, fruit-bearing life!