hello everyone’ I seem to be having a problem. And I believe it to be over watering I am doing everything outdoors, right from the start. i started 17 from seeds i had left from last year, They started popping around 48 hrs and i potted them in 1 gals @ 72 hrs in last years soil mixed 75 % last years and 25 % new soil. Looked good at first then 1 x 1 they started just wilting away. i was giving them approx 1 cup or 2 cups of water each, every day. We had a little heat wave that week , it was 90 % + for a couple days, so it may have been to hot to fast. Down to seven, I transplanted them into new soil in 2 gal pots. I filled the pots and shook them down and wet them thoroughly, and let them set over night before i planted in them , then transplanted into them. Meanwhile I was germinating another 30 seeds, and they were ready for a pot, so i planted them directly into the 2 gal pots i had filled and wet. Now I have 7 that are about 3 inches tall and just starting third nod, and 30 that are all just about popped and they are starting to reach out. Watering with a spray bottle around the base of the seedling in a 2 gallon pot hardly seemed adiquit to me for some reason, but now that i think about it it may be that i over water. I will try to post a couple pics today some time. And if anyone can get me squared away on this watering thing, I’ll be stoked, thanks
Badger
The simplest way to prevent over watering is in the pot size. Keep it small and you will go through rapid wet to dry cycles and probably improve root growth. You can buy a cheap moisture meter for less than $10 which is money well spent.
So going straight into 2 gals is not a good idea then, I did that , not only because i had a bunch of nice 2’s, i figured I would only transplant once on may 1st into my 100 gal smart pots, YKWIM. As for the moisture meter, mine is pretty vague, MOIST / DRY, I guess i have to just believe it when it says moist but feels dry to me. Right on 410, Thanks
Badger
It seems more hazardous to be transplanting multiple times but the plants are hardy and it gives you a chance to assess the root health of the plants. I transplant 4 times throughout although I’m not going into the large smart pots. I’m currently in (I’m guessing) 8 gallon pots and I watered 2 plants yesterday. They each took 3 1/2 gallons of water, which tells you just how far I went with them before watering.
to check for watering issues - do the fingure test (if dry up to the 2nd knuckle water) you will learn to read the plant
thanks, Ill try that
It’s simple and after a while you will get to know if your plants need watering. Remember it’s very important to let the plant dry when growing (example out of 7 days have 2 day’s be dry)
A 2 gallon pot will stay wet for weeks - the plant isn’t going to be using any of the moisture outside it’s root zone (which for a seedling is a single tap root of a few inches long). Much better to start in a small pot or plastic cup. (If using cups make sure and cut drainage holes.)
Cool, i wanted to know if i should be going into peat pots first, and why. And you just cleared that up for me , thanks
@Myfriendis410 and @Man and @steve2
I want to thank all of you for helping our member out. I’ve been very busy and now just getting caught up on things. once again thank you and it’s awesome working with you all.
Will
@garrigan62, I’m just having fun with the whole thing now that it’s legal.