I finally sat down and watched that gardening channel video on watering schedules someone in my cohort mentioned weeks ago, and the one thing that stuck was checking the soil two inches down before deciding to water at all.
I’d been doing the finger test but never that deep, so half the time I was watering plants that didn’t actually need it yet, which at my little community plot means dragging a watering can across the whole lot for nothing.
Tried it for 9 days now and cut my watering down to every other day instead of daily. The tomatoes look about the same, maybe even better since I’m not drowning the roots anymore.
What got me was the part where the guy said most people water on a schedule because it feels productive, not because the plant actually needs it. That hit a little close to home given everything else I’m trying to keep on a schedule right now between classes, shifts, and just generally staying steady.
Small thing, but it’s one less task I’m doing out of anxiety instead of actual need.