Skipping one garden task that should be done every week could be damaging your plants.

We all want our garden plants to thrive. Whether you're growing fruits and vegetables that you want to harvest for use in the kitchen or have a garden full of flowers, we don't want our plants to wither away and die before they've had a chance to flourish.

Many of us might assume that if we water our plants regularly and prune them when we need to, they'll stay healthy for their entire life cycle - but that's not entirely true. According to one gardening expert, there's one step we're missing.

Jonny Hincks, known online as GardenWithJonny, shared a video on TikTok in which he encouraged all gardeners to make "a few small tweaks" to their plant care.

And one of the biggest changes he believes gardeners should make involves using plant food.

While you might use plant food on your crops to ensure a better yield, Jonny said it's equally important for your flowers, too, as it can provide them with essential nutrients for healthy growth and development.

He said: "Tell me, would you go months without food? No? Neither should your plants. Feed your plants once a week. A general multi-purpose fertiliser is great for most flowering and fruiting plants."

Gardener's World states that cultivated plants cannot live on water alone, and not feeding your garden can result in weak growth, poor colour, and a lack of flowers or fruit.

Plant foods often come packed with three main nutrients - nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium - that plants need for healthy leaf and shoot growth, strong root development, and increased flower and fruit production.

In his video, Jonny also said many of us make a mistake when we water our gardens, especially if we tend to water our plants every single day "just in case."

He explained: "There are a lot of plants that hate wet feet. Let the top inch of soil go dry before you go in again - trust your fingers, not your hose."

It should be noted, however, that in very hot weather some plants may need to be watered every day. You should always check the soil before you water your garden in order to make the best judgment.

And finally, Jonny urged gardeners to deadhead spent flowers in order to encourage their plants to grow more. He claimed that leaving dead flowers can tell the plant it's "done for the year", whereas removing them will keep the plant blooming for longer.