Making one change to your watering can could improve the health of your seedlings.
If you’ve got small plants growing in seed trays right now, you’ll know the importance of keeping them healthy and watered until they’re ready to go out into the garden or transferred into bigger pots for greenhouse growing.
Seedlings can be very delicate when they’re newly grown, and you have to take extreme care to make sure they grow into stable plants. If they’re handled too roughly when they’re young, that could stunt their growth and leave you with plants that never reach their full potential.
But it turns out you could be damaging your seedlings just by watering them. According to a gardening expert, there’s a specific way to use your watering can that means your small plants will stay healthy.
The gardener, named Helen, took to TikTok to share her advice which she said she learnt on “day one” of her time in “plant school” – also known as the horticultural course she took at an agricultural college.
Helen said all you need to do is turn the rose on your watering can so that it’s pointing upwards. This means your plants get a gentle watering experience instead of a harsh flow, and you won’t damage the delicate sprouts.
She said: “One of the very first things I learnt at plant school was how to water seedlings properly. Instead of just using the watering can as standard, make sure you twist the rose upwards and pass the watering can gently over the seedlings in an arc.
“This creates a less intense spray of water for them. The seedlings and seeds are quite delicate, so this avoids disturbing them.”
If you have the time, you can also fill up a large tray with water and then place your seed trays inside it so that the compost can soak up water from the roots up. This method ensures your soil is watered thoroughly, but it does take some patience. You cannot leave the trays in the water for too long, as you risk over-watering and causing rotting.
Commenters on Helen’s video were thankful for her advice, with many saying they had no idea they could get a gentle spray of water just by adjusting the rose on their watering can.
One person said: “I can’t lie, my mind is blown!” Another added: “Never knew that, thank you.” And a third also shared: “My son just taught me this after starting horticulture. Rocked me to the core.”