POTTING 139 



water it. You will soon learn to do this work quickly 

 and neatly. 



And so, as the plants grow, you can move them from pot 

 to pot, always using but a single size larger. The method 

 is always the same. Have the new pot clean, damp, and 

 well drained, and holding enough fresh soil to keep the plant 

 at the proper depth. Loosen the roots when you take the 

 plant from the old pot ; break away as much of the old earth 

 as you can, and repot in the middle of the new pot. Have 

 no air spaces under or around the plant, yet do not pack 

 the earth so hard that the roots cannot easily grow. Then 

 set in the sun. Turn the plants every few days. If the 

 plant is growing slowly, and seems stunted, feed and water 

 freely ; but on the other hand, if the plant is growing tall 

 and looks pale and soft, feed and water less. Such plants 

 may well have their tops nipped back. 



Watering of pots is usually done from the top. If you 

 have an ordinary watering can, take off the sprinkler, so 

 as to direct the water at the pot, instead of pouring it every- 

 where. Better still is a can with a narrow nose, which can 

 be thrust among the plants without hurting them. Take 

 pains not to direct the water with such force at one particular 

 place that the earth is washed away. Instead, distribute 

 the water gently over the surface until it stands in a little 

 pool all around the plant. You will soon learn how much 

 is proper to give, by watching to see how much moisture 

 drains out below. If just a few drops trickle out, you have 

 given exactly enough. 



But there is another method of watering, just as there 

 was with flats. Stand the pots in pans, and then pour in a 

 couple of inches of water. The water should reach higher 

 than the drainage material in the bottoms of the pots. 

 When it reaches the fine earth it will climb, by capillary 



