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...♪
.
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...♪
.