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How many days does a plant need water? Is it every day?

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How many days does a plant need water? Is it every day?
That depends on a lot of factors unique to your plant and site conditions:

How big is the plant?

Is the plant delicate with thin leaves or thick like a succulent?

Is the plant inside or outside?

Is the plant in a pot or in the ground?

If it’s in a pot, does the pot have drainage holes (it REALLY should have drainage holes)? Is the pot plastic or ceramic? If it’s ceramic, is it glazed or unglazed? Plastic and glazed ceramic pots don’t also air or moisture to pass between the potting mix and the pot walls. This reduces the amount of moisture that leaves the potting mix, but also reduces (slightly) the amount of oxygen the roots receive. Unglazed ceramic pots allow moisture and air to pass through the pot walls, improving the roots’ access to oxygen but increasing the amount of moisture pulled out of the potting mix.

What medium is the plant growing in inside the pot? Is it a well draining mix with lots of large material that allows water to drain through rapidly or is it a fine material with lots of peat that retains water for longer periods of time?

If the plant is in the ground, what is the soil structure like? Is it gritty and loose, a nice loam, or packed/sticky clay? Is the plant located on top of a slope, along a slope, at the base of a slope, on flat land, or in a depression? How much rain falls over your property each year?
Is the plant exposed to direct sunlight for more than 6–8 hours a day or is it in shade or partial shade for hours each day?

Is the plant located in a windy site?

Which season of the year is the plant in? Plants need different amounts of water at different times of the year, if you live in a temperate climate zone. Generally, more water during the hot months and less water during the cold months.

I have 8 tomato plants right now. Four are in a raised bed and four are in plastic pots. The pots are too small for the size of the plants. I’ve had to water the potted tomatoes each day so far this summer. I’ve had to water the plants in the raised bed every 2–3 days each week (when there haven’t been any rainy days that week). I did just move the potted plants into larger pots. Hopefully I’ll be able to water them just every other day now instead of every day.

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