Why is the ground still feel damp when I watered my plants yesterday?
6 months ago
last modified: 6 months ago
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- 6 months agolast modified: 6 months ago
- 6 months ago
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A question for Al: Why is the water in my container doing this?
Comments (3)Part of the soil has become hydrophobic. Peat AND bark-based soils tend to repel water when they dry down to a moisture content below around 30%. Once you 'break' that water-repellency, they are much easier to wet evenly. Water will slowly diffuse into the dry layer, and by tomorrow the soil should be evenly moist. The water collected in the bottom of the pool should also migrate into the soil below. Let me know if what I said doesn't occur. Also, if you cover the pool with a tarp to slow evaporation, all should be well by AM. ;o) What's actually happening is, you're spraying the top layer which absorbs some water and becomes wet, but gravity helps the water form little passageways through the dry soil until it hits the bottom of the pool & 'backs up'; so the upper surface is exposed to lots of water, and the lower part of the soil is sitting in a puddle. The only water the middle of the soil sees is just 'passing through'. Since TIME is a factor in diffusion and breaking a soils tendency to repel water, the middle tends to stay dry until enough water to break the hydrophobic tendency diffuses into it. Al...See MoreI've tried everything! I still cant make my plant grow pitchers!!
Comments (32)Good to know! I almost gave it a buzz cut this morning!!! It looks so good in our bathroom (almost like a spider plant) but as I see the little pitchers growing, I wondered if the stems were not wasting the plant's energy to grow more. I often see pictures of pitcher plants with very few stem (only stems are the ones with pitchers attached) so I thought maybe this was the secret. I was ready to cut 3 off which would have broken the spell of the room. If it doesn't bother my plant I will let it be! :) Can you tell me which fertilizer you use? You mentioned a fertilizer with bat guano? You have a Source? A link? I don't trust the ones in store here (limited options)....See MoreWhy did my transplanted basil wilt and can I still save it?
Comments (4)It wilted due to stress. Maybe a lack of water. I'm guessing there were few root hairs on the roots. Transferring from a system where roots are constantly wet to one where they are only slightly damp can be a shock. Try watering heavily. They might pull out of it. Sometimes a plant can look like it's dead when it's in shock, but pulls out just fine. But, sometimes they really are dead. I grow all plants hydroponically at the beginning. All my soil garden plants are started in an ebb and flow system. However, these plants are in coco coir and develop some really nice root hairs. My plants rarely experience transplant shock and when they do, it's because I did something clutzy like dropped them when pulling them out. I've transplanted from DWC (where the roots just dangle in water) to soil, too. The plants suffered for a day, but pulled out of it. I thought they would die. Something to consider is that if you plant in direct sunlight, that could hurt them, too. It's best to transplant to soil on overcast days or shade the plants with something. I'm guessing the basil is of pretty good size, too. It's best to harvest some of the leaves to reduce transpiration if the plant is used to constantly being immersed in water. I wouldn't do it now as the plants seem to be overly stressed, but in the future you might keep that in mind....See MoreI feel older today after working yesterday
Comments (19)Guys, sorry if I got things off topic! I just know I'm tired of hurting and I really need to get out and weed weed weed! My husband and I were out for a bit and did some more weeding, trying to get the vetch out. OMG! It's so dry! We decided to take a rest and go visit my Mom in Hospice and then I'm coming back and watering so the weeds will be easier to get out. I haven't watered since the last rain which was almost 2 weeks ago. That area up there is in full sun almost all day, and the sprinklers can't go up there because it's up-hill and the water valve closest has the least amount of pressure. So I gotta go hand-water!! And I really need to mulch up there too. I started to in the fall, and even cleared out most of the weeds, but they came back with a vengeance with all this rain we've been having! (I'm not gonna complain about the rain...)...See MoreRelated Professionals
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- 6 months ago
- 6 months agolast modified: 6 months ago
- 6 months ago
- 6 months ago
- 6 months ago
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