How to use the plant watering schedule printable
- List each plant with how often you water it, in days. Optionally give the first watering day.
- Choose the number of weeks to print, from 1 to 8.
- Optionally add a date for day 1 so the headings show weekdays and dates.
- Print the chart. A box appears on every day a plant is due, and the other days are shaded.
Formula
A plant is due on day d when d is at least its first day
and (d - first day) is a multiple of its interval in days
Day 1 is the first printed day and days keep counting across weeks.
A plant watered every 3 days
A fern watered every 3 days starting on day 1 is marked on days 1, 4 and 7 in week 1. The count carries on, so week 2 has boxes on days 10 and 13. A plant watered every 2 days is marked on days 1, 3, 5 and 7, then on days 9, 11 and 13.
A plant every 7 days that starts on day 2 is marked on days 2 and 9. A plant every 14 days starting on day 1 has a box on day 1 and none in week 2. With the four example plants, week 1 has 9 boxes and week 2 has 6.
How the schedule is built
Each plant is a row and each day is a column. The tool counts forward from the first day by the interval, so the pattern keeps going across weeks instead of restarting. Because the schedule never drifts, a plant on a 10 day interval gets its boxes on days 1 and 11 and so on.
The intervals are yours. The tool makes no claim about how often any plant needs water, which depends on the plant, the pot, the light and the season. Adjust the numbers as you learn what works.
Keeping a routine
Pin the chart near the plants and tick each box as you water. If you skip a day, water when you can and keep ticking against the printed days, or print a fresh sheet with a new first day. For daily and weekly habits in general, the habit tracker prints a monthly grid, and the cleaning schedule covers household jobs.
To record what you plant outdoors and what you harvest, use the gardening journal, and to plan planting dates, the planting schedule calculator.
Assumptions and limits
- Intervals are whole numbers of days from 1 to 60.
- The first watering day defaults to day 1.
- Up to 24 plants fit on one page per week.
- Without a date for day 1, the headings read Day 1, Day 2 and so on.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make a plant watering schedule?
List each plant with the interval you choose, in days. The chart marks every due day, so a plant every 3 days is marked on days 1, 4 and 7.
How often should I water my plants?
That depends on the plant and its conditions, and the tool does not say. Enter the interval you want to follow.
What does the first watering day do?
It staggers plants so they are not all due on the same day. A plant with first day 2 and an interval of 7 is due on days 2 and 9.
Why are some cells shaded?
Shaded cells are days when a plant is not due. Only due days have a box to tick.