Poor drainage, Empire Builder soil

My Empire Builder soil was too hot and for two weeks I have been rinsing it. Tonight I brought in some 3 gallon pots of soil and was dumping them out on the concrete and re-potting Green Point plants.
It has been 3 days since I last rinsed and four since it last rained on it. The soil is wet! It is too wet at only 3-4 days since watering. That is the regular time between waterings and the soil is not only to wet but the drainage is obviously poor! Empire is supposed to be the best soil and I have never had a problem with it.
I however have a '50Lb size' bag of perlite and have been up all night mixing it with my soil. I had perlite mixed in but not enough. I read 25% perlite is about right and I can see that would drain soil well. The soil should be fluffy and not hard to dig out of a pot with with ones hands. Fluffy and not sticky.

I have been having a hard time with my little Oregon Grown OG plants in that they are as old as new Green point seedlings but are not growing. it is the poor drainage and I am proud to say that I have learned something else useful about growing my meds. I'll mix in perlite today and re-pot everything.

I found this under 'slow plant growth'
Overwatering
Soil moisture that is not absorbed rapidly turns stagnant; the plant quickly uses up any oxygen within the water, then is unable to respire further, resulting in moisture low in o2. Pythium thrives in low-oxygen (anaerobic) conditions.

In short, overwatering will slowly suffocate your roots, preventing sufficient oxygen uptake by the roots, and ultimately causing root rot.


Also when filling a pot with soil I pack it around the edge so the water doesn't run down the sides of the roots and out the bottom of the bucket without soaking the soil. This packing of the dirt in the pot has also made the drainage poor and I am not only re-potting but fluffing the soil up rather than packing it down. I won't pack the soil down any more for the sake of 'not draining' I want drainage! Drainage is good.

I feel much better now!


Thank you...


The Poet...♪


.

Over watering and under watering look the same, and you are right too much water and they suffocate. Learning learning learning...me too.

A little extra something to help the overwatering; If you will get a good fish tank air pump, hose, and stone, and aerate your water for about 6-12 hours before using it (and keep the water temps between 65F and 71f, the water will hold more oxygen and this will help prevent overwatering some.

I have seen hydro systems where the plants sat in pots of coco coir and had a top watering system that ran constantly. So much so that the water literally sat on top of the coco in the pots as it drained through. But because it was so well aerated, the plants didn't suffer. They were literally swimming in water.

Hushpuppy,

As I learn how much water my plants like and about drainage,
I remember what the Mandala Site says ie.
"Everybody gives their plants too much water and too much fertilizer."
Then I remember something I learned a long time ago that all the most important,
all the most time and effort saving things I have learned in my life are simple.
So simple that once learned they seem obvious.

I was watering my clones and my plants way too much.

"Moist but not wet"


The Poet...

Oxygen/Drainage,

You know how the soil shrinks and separates from the edge of the pot and leaves a gap?
It is that gap that I was poking my finger in packing the soil tighter so water would not run down the gap and not be absorbed.
I said in my above post that this poking causes poor drainage because it eventually, after much packing 'compacts' the soil.
Well, the soil SHOULD... shrink away from the edge of the inside of the pot as this gives the soil/plant an outlet for moisture and I wonder if it is the oxygen that is filling the gap, the space... which lets the soil/plant breath. Which provides good drainage, that lets the soil/plant dry out without smelling bad. I don't know if plants can absorb oxygen from the air but without the oxygen provided by the gap the soil does not drain.
The only drainage outlet are those holes in the bottom of the pot.
The gap allow water to reach the bottom drain holes.

One more thing...
I went out and watered my outdoor crop recently moved outside and they look great!
Growing in a closet under a light is not how this plant was intended to live. Good drainage and the sun are all they want.


Thank you...

The Poet...

FWIW, *I* usually end up with 40%+ perlite in my mixes. I've been making my own mixes for over 40 years and experience has borne out my mantra of "When it looks like there is too much, it's just right", concerning perlite.

A poorly aerated/too dense mix just causes so many problems that are easily avoidable by using enough aeration. But, even the 'new' recc of 33% aeration seems a bit light with some reporting drainage problems at that amount. 25% would be a gimme for problems.

Wet

Wetdog said:

FWIW, *I* usually end up with 40%+ perlite in my mixes. I've been making my own mixes for over 40 years and experience has borne out my mantra of "When it looks like there is too much, it's just right", concerning perlite.

A poorly aerated/too dense mix just causes so many problems that are easily avoidable by using enough aeration. But, even the 'new' recc of 33% aeration seems a bit light with some reporting drainage problems at that amount. 25% would be a gimme for problems.

Wet

Click to expand...

I never add enough perlite as well. i like a 60/40 mix of foxfarm(60%), roots green light (40%). the green light has sooo much perelite in it, i dont need to add much any more.

Thanks, I'll up my percentage of perlite.


The Poet...

I use perlite and zeolite.

I use a combination of pearlite and coco chunks. I try to get at least 25% pearlite by eyeball but I can tell when it hasn't been enough because I can see it pack down and not drain as fast as others. I'm not sure if the roots actually take in the oxygen or if it just keeps them from getting waterlogged, but I have seen systems where the roots and medium were submerged in water 24/7 with no bad effects from it due to the water being strongly aerated and kept close to 68f.