On 30/5/04 6:18 pm, in article , "Deborah P."
wrote:

Sacha wrote:

On 30/5/04 5:34 pm, in article , "Deborah P."
wrote:

snip

snip
Drainage is vital for most herbs. They'll put up with drought conditions
for quite a while but they won't stand having their feet in water.
snip

I'm glad to know about the drought conditions because the reason my
herbs sometimes receive excess water is that I often don't get around to
watering them until they almost dry out and then give them a thorough
drenching. I also usually use clay pots with crocks in the bottom. Maybe
I should give up on plastic self-watering containers - they're certainly
not as attractive.

Deborah

I think watering your plants yourself, therefore keeping an eye on them is
the best, if not the only, way to go. While we do use spray lines here in
*very* dry weather, most early morning watering is done by hand and it means
everyone keeps an eye on the plants and how they're doing, both in the
houses and outside. No watering here is truly automatic - even the spray
lines are operated by a person, not a timer.
To be honest, without really good drainage, many plants won't be happy with
a drenching, standing their feet in water, drying out of their own accord
and then being drenched again. This is even worse when there's a bit of
cold weather around and the water they stand in is cold, too. And - even
when we were having the hottest days here, the nights were cold, so........
I know it's very time consuming for busy people and that we are lucky here -
work is only yards away but I find watering very soothing, contemplative.
If you can't do it first thing in the morning because of work, perhaps last
thing in the evening could be enjoyable for you? Bit of a switch off etc?
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds after garden to email me)