Picked terracotta over plastic pots for my herbs and learned a hard lesson about watering

I was deciding between cheap plastic pots and these nice terracotta ones for my basil and mint on my balcony in Portland. Went with terracotta because they looked way better, but after two weeks my basil started wilting because the clay was sucking all the moisture out in the dry summer air. Now I have to water everything every 16 hours instead of every two days like with plastic. Anyone else have herbs that just hate terracotta or am I doing it wrong?

2 comments

2 Comments

cameron_palmer15d ago

Grouping them together is a solid tip. I'd also throw a saucer under the terracotta and keep it topped off so the pot can wick water from below. It buys you a few extra hours before the soil turns into dust. And if you're feeling crafty, a thin layer of pebbles or mulch on top of the soil really slows down evaporation from the surface.

leo56715d ago

Saw this same thing happen with my rosemary last year. I thought terracotta was supposed to be better for airflow but it just dried out way too fast in the heat. Had to water twice a day sometimes. Have you tried moving the pots to a spot that gets some afternoon shade or grouping them together? It helped slow down the drying for me a bit.