Q. Watering my many plants used to be just a once-a-week, water everything at the same time. Then I discovered (duh) that some needed more water and others less. The question: I now put my finger into the soil to judge when to water. Is that a good idea or is there something more scientific about watering? — C. Wolfe, Portsmouth
A. Determining and meeting your indoor plants’ water needs during the winter can be difficult. The winter indoor environment presents a different set of challenges. It is a drastic change in temperature, humidity and light levels. And these are subject to change, both weekly, and from one room to the next. But in general, indoors needs will be much less: You must be careful to avoid overwatering.
Monitor each of your plants individually when watering. As well, keep an eye on the changing conditions in the different rooms of your home — the sunlight, humidity levels, potential drafts. Don’t try to adhere to a set-schedule to do all your watering. Your plants need water when they need watering — not on Saturdays or a particular day of the week.
Thoroughness, not frequency is the key. Take care to saturate your pot completely and collect/dump the extra water that collects in the saucer. The goal is to wait until just before moisture stress to apply water. Plant color and wilting are clues you can use to help make this determination. A subtle change in color or every-so-slightest wilting should be hints.
What about those “water meters?” Several are on the market, but I’ve always been skeptical of these relatively low-cost devices. The more sophisticated and accurate meters cost well-over most homeowner’s budget. The “finger” method you describe can be reliable with small pots, but not so much as pot size increases. I’ve always relied onthe “weight method.” Learn to differentiate, on the basis of weight, between a dry and a well-watered pot. With smaller pots this is relatively easy. With larger pots, this can be more difficult. After some practice, you will get the hang of this.
Q. Is it worth saving the seeds of squash such as Sweet Dumpling (which is a wonderful eating squash) or better to just buy the seeds in the spring from a seed catalog? I read that often seeds from squash sold in stores will not regrow as the parent plant but will grow and produce squash different from the parent plant. — M. Paul, Hampton
A. This small and attractive winter squash (Cucurbita pepo) is easy to grow and is nutritious. You are correct that many of our squash varieties are hybrids, the saved seeds of which are not true-to-type. It is necessary to repurchase them each season. But with this heirloom, an open-pollinated variety, you can save the seeds for replanting from season-to-season.
If you haven’t tried to grow winter squash, they take about 50% longer to mature than summer types and are harvested later in the season. Some are bush or semi-bush, while others are short or long runner. Be sure to have room for the sprawling types. Winter squashes have thicker skin and sweeter inner flesh that make them ideal for baking and stuffing. Another plus — they will keep for several months when stored at 50 to 60 degrees with low humidity and good ventilation. Put them in a similar location as with your root crops.
And one more thing
Once again, I’m soliciting your best holiday gift ideas for gardeners. With Christmas just five weeks away, help me offer readers some tried and proven gift ideas. Now, my reputation as a last-minute shopper precedes me, but I’m trying to help readers get out front on this. Please send your suggestions, with a brief description, price and source.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Send questions to wkspen@gmail.
