76 Gardening Under Glass 



gardener has the hose and the watering can as 

 moisture-control apparatus. 



When I first began growing things in the green- 

 house, I found myself tempted to give them a 

 little sprinkling every day, but from my own 

 experience and the advice of older gardeners I 

 soon learned that the one thing about watering 

 is: Don't water until you have to; and then 

 water! I do not mean by this that you should 

 let your plants go until the soil is dried out and 

 hard, and the leaves are beginning to droop. 

 On the contrary, a careful watch should be kept 

 at all times, and watering done before the soil 

 begins to get really dry — usually just as it has 

 begun to get dry on the surface. Then, water to 

 the saturation point; but don't flood things so as 

 to make a muddy mess. 



How Much Water to Use 



The more gradually the water can be applied 

 the better. When you get experience j^ou can 

 tell the condition of the soil in a pot from the 

 "ring" of the pot when rapped sharply on the 

 side. The less moisture it holds the clearer the 

 ring. For practice in watering knock a plant 

 or two out of their pots ten or fifteen minutes 

 after watering, to see if you have given enough 

 to soak the soil thoroughly through to the 



