How Often Water Herb Garden

Watering herbs properly is one of the most important jobs in herb gardening.

At the same time, watering plants is easy. You definitely don't need to overthink the small details here.

Instead, you should focus on the big picture and just make sure your herbs are getting watered routinely.

There has been much debate among gardeners as to how often herbs should be watered.

You can compare different gardeners' watering approaches and choose the one that suits you best.

Let's consider this subject in more detail.

How Often Should You Water Herbs?
How to Know if You're Doing Things Right
Tips and Advice to Water Efficiently

How Often Should You Water Herbs?

In general, herbs require less water than flowers and vegetables because most species of herbs have adapted to grow in dry conditions. Some herbs also taste better when they're given their minimum water requirements.

Let's not overgeneralize though. The best way to look at your herbs, in this case, is to categorize them into two groups: moisture-loving herbs and drought-tolerant herbs.

Moisture-loving Herbs:

Moisture-loving herbs grow better in wet rather than dry soil. These include mint, dill, chervil, and bee balm.

Interestingly, most of these herbs are annual or treated as such, which means they live only for one year and usually die at the beginning of winter.

Drought-tolerant Herbs:

Herbs that thrive in dry soil are considered drought-tolerant or drought-loving herbs. Rosemary, thyme, and sage are all considered to be drought-tolerant herbs.

A few perennials, such as oregano and catnip, are even said to be xeriscape species that can survive on very little water.

Herbs that fall between these two categories can be treated as moisture-loving herbs.

Refer to a plant encyclopedia or Google to know your herbs' water requirements.

After you have found out into which category a particular herb falls, you can easily decide how to water it.

Expert gardeners recommend that you only water herbs according to their needs and not according to a random schedule.

A rule of thumb in knowing when to water your moisture-loving herbs is to check the first few top inches of your soil (Don't be afraid to use your finger feel the soil). If you feel it's dry, then you need to water.

Drought-loving herbs have deeper and wider root systems, so you can water them when you feel that the soil is extremely dry.

how often should you water oregano herb?

On the other hand, it's certainly valid to follow a watering schedule as long as you're doing it properly.

It's important to note that herbs growing outdoors in the garden require a different watering schedule than potted ones.

In general, moisture-loving herbs need a ½ liter of water for each square foot (nearly 0.1 square meters) of soil every week.

However, you can't use that measurement with potted plants. Instead, you should water your moisture-loving potted herbs once or twice every day, especially in hot seasons.

You don't need to follow a strict schedule with your drought-loving potted herbs. You can water them every few days or each week, depending on the season.

In all cases, remember that the best time to water your herbs is very early in the morning or in the evening so they don't lose water by evaporation.

If you can't monitor your potted herbs daily, you can use a self-watering device that irrigates your plants automatically through drip irrigation.

Some of the most famous self-watering devices are called "watering globes". These drippers are very effective, easy-to-use, and affordable. They can keep on irrigating your herbs up to 2 weeks after each time you fill them with water.

You can check them here on Amazon.

How to Know if You're Doing Things Right

Herbs are honest about their needs and will warn you when they're disturbed by the amount of water they're getting.

There are several signs you should look out for in such a situation:

Overwatering Signs:

Leaves may become discolored (brown)

Blisters and lesions appear

Wilting (in moist soil)

Fungal diseases infect the herbs

Underwatering Signs:

Wilting (in dry soil)

Leaves will become curly and yellow and sometimes decay

It's very unlikely that you'll encounter these symptoms in your plants, but if you do, you should act quickly, especially in drought conditions.

Add one drop of biodegradable liquid soap to each ½ liter of water before you feed your thirsty herbs. Soap will allow the dry soil to open and help water reach the roots faster.

In both cases, change your watering routine to a more balanced one by increasing or decreasing the amount of water and the number of watering days per week or month.

Tips and Advice to Water Efficiently

Here a few important tips that can help you become more efficient in watering.

Soil:

Check the type of soil you're using before establishing a watering schedule because some soils can trap more water than others.

You should always avoid clay soil that traps a lot of water and sandy soil that drains too quickly.

Focus your choices on a premium fast-draining or organic soil that traps a balanced amount of water and allows the roots to breathe.

Depending on the plant you're growing, you can amend the soil with perlite (water-draining material) or organic matter (water-trapping material) to increase or decrease its water retention capacity.

Organic Matter and Compost:

The best way to keep your moisture-loving herbs happy all the time is by using organic substances in your garden.

Any organic matter, such as compost, can retain water and trap it. Such a feature allows you to use less water.

You can use compost or any other organic matter, such as shredded bark, to cover the soil. We call that "top-dressing." Learn more about compost for herbs.

Water Your Herbs Deeply:

Be sure you're not watering only the first few inches of soil at the top, especially if you're growing your herbs in your outdoor garden.

In other words, water your herbs deeply.

Be patient while watering and don't stop immediately. Most importantly, make sure to water right at the base of the herb and not around it.

Herb Seeds & Seedlings Have Delicate Water Requirements:

It's important to bear in mind that seeds and seedlings shouldn't be treated the same as grown herbs.

Seeds should be watered gently every day so that the soil stays moist, but at the same time you shouldn't overwater them or else they will rot and fail to sprout.

Seedlings also require a lot of water. They should be watered in small amounts once or twice daily because their roots are shallow.

The Weather:

Growing herbs under unregulated conditions would require you to monitor the weather carefully.

You'll need to water your herbs more frequently when it's hot to compensate for the water lost by evaporation.

That's all you need to know about watering herbs!

Don't forget to tell us about your watering experience, and be sure to leave any questions in the comments below!

Jad D

I'm Jad, a biologist, blogger, and experienced indoor gardener. I am knowledgeable in plant biology, particularly in plant cultivation and propagation. I founded HerbsWithin.com in 2019 to share my knowledge in indoor gardening with passionate home growers.