Decide whether your plant needs water

When to do it

Before watering, after useful rain, and more often when plants are young or weather is hot or windy. This is a check, not a fixed watering schedule.

What you need

• Your hand or a small trowel
• The weather forecast
• A moisture meter is optional

How to do it

1. Read the plant’s growing guide for its moisture needs. Check pots and newly planted root balls separately from established beds.
2. Move aside a little mulch. Feel the soil a few centimetres down; for an established plant, carefully inspect beside its deeper root area too. Avoid pushing a tool through roots.
3. Check a second spot. Dry surface soil alone is not enough evidence; the root area may still be moist. A meter reading should be checked against what the soil feels like.
4. If the root area is moist, wait and check again later. If dry for this plant, water gently. If saturated, stop watering and investigate drainage.
5. Consider forecast rain, but do not leave a genuinely dry, vulnerable seedling waiting indefinitely. Replace the mulch and reassess after rain or watering.

What success looks like

• You can explain why this plant needs water—or why it can wait.
• The decision reflects soil, plant stage and weather, not just the day of the week.

Watch out for

• Checking only the top crust.
• Treating midday wilting as proof of drought.
• Applying a single moisture threshold to every plant.

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