My plant Elizabeth has a serious problem please let me know what you think

I really dont think I got off track on my watering...since she has been in the pot she is in I have given her a half gallon of water or mix every other day and she loves it and always drains back about 1/4 of what I give her.....so on Tuesday night I fed/watered and yesterday Wed when I pulled the drain tray it was 2x as full of water as normal more than even when i flush on her flush day...I let it slide and didnt give her a glass of water like she has been getting since shes gotten so big...this morning she looks droopy in places and not her usual self....her soil was dry a finger in an inch or so the soil was dry.....soooo I watered her the same 1/2 gallon only water.....she used to suck water immediately down this time it sat and took awhile to drain and then when i pulled the drain tray and measured it she had drained back 3/4 of the half gallon (the water is almost as clear as when i poured it in) just like when I watered on Tuesday...she only drank a 1/4 of the water....I squeezed the sides of my pot....

Urghh its like my soil is locked up and the water is just running right through and out...is that possible? do I really have to untie all those branches from the screen and try and get that pot out to replant it or something...

..HELP HELP please I never really ask questions...

I think im just going to detach the screen from the cart and uproot her and clean her roots then repot her in new soil.

thanks for all the response.

If in doubt flush - then dry bit I am no expert.

All the best

Check your journal...

pinksensa said:

I really dont think I got off track on my watering...since she has been in the pot she is in I have given her a half gallon of water or mix every other day and she loves it and always drains back about 1/4 of what I give her.....so on Tuesday night I fed/watered and yesterday Wed when I pulled the drain tray it was 2x as full of water as normal more than even when i flush on her flush day...I let it slide and didnt give her a glass of water like she has been getting since shes gotten so big...this morning she looks droopy in places and not her usual self....her soil was dry a finger in an inch or so the soil was dry.....soooo I watered her the same 1/2 gallon only water. Urghh its like my soil is locked up and the water is just running right through and out...is that possible

Click to expand...

in soil most folks feed once a week. in between, water with plain ph'd water. a half a gallon of water every other day seems extreme. course, that depends on the container size and room temps. overwatering (and underwatering) can cause plants to droop. 25% runoff in soil seems high. you don't want your plants sitting in trays wicking back up the runoff. it's like a flush, and then it gets sucked back up. sounds like you could have a build-up of salts from the plants wicking up the run-off. a flush will cure this. i would suggest elevating the bottom of your grow containers out of the drain tray with some other tray turned upside down, so it can drain completely w/o any wick-up, LOL wick-up! if your medium gets really dry, and then you water it, it can quickly run straight through and not soak in. it would probably help to get a couple of toothpicks and use them like a pitch-fork and till your soil. this will loosen things up, enabling the water to soak in really good. i think a good flush is in order. you know the old saying, "when in doubt, flush it out." good luck!!!

Growbot said:

in soil most folks feed once a week. in between, water with plain ph'd water. a half a gallon of water every other day seems extreme. course, that depends on the container size and room temps. overwatering (and underwatering) can cause plants to droop. 25% runoff in soil seems high. you don't want your plants sitting in trays wicking back up the runoff. it's like a flush, and then it gets sucked back up. sounds like you could have a build-up of salts from the plants wicking up the run-off. a flush will cure this. i would suggest elevating the bottom of your grow containers out of the drain tray with some other tray turned upside down, so it can drain completely w/o any wick-up, LOL wick-up! if your medium gets really dry, and then you water it, it can quickly run straight through and not soak in. it would probably help to get a couple of toothpicks and use them like a pitch-fork and till your soil. this will loosen things up, enabling the water to soak in really good. i think a good flush is in order. you know the old saying, "when in doubt, flush it out." good luck!!!

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thanks for the feedback however...my schedule is feed, feed, feed, flush...I flush ever fourth one..so I dont have any build up my water isnt all red and organy from buildup like it can get....oh and I never let any of my pots sit in water...elizabeth is hovering above a drain tray she has from the very begiining I always find some way to elevate them to keep them from sitting in runoff water..or wicking as you would say...so she like sits in a hole in the bottom of my grow cart and the drain tray is a good 4 inches below her...

but Im diggin the toothpick idea...

Check your jounal.. just posted some info.

Check my journal while you're at it!!

Peace,
Enigma

pinksensa said:

thanks for the feedback however...my schedule is feed, feed, feed, flush...I flush ever fourth one..so I dont have any build up my water isnt all red and organy from buildup like it can get....oh and I never let any of my pots sit in water...elizabeth is hovering above a drain tray she has from the very begiining I always find some way to elevate them to keep them from sitting in runoff water..or wicking as you would say...so she like sits in a hole in the bottom of my grow cart and the drain tray is a good 4 inches below her...
but Im diggin the toothpick idea...

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well, from the sound of it you're schedule isn't working now is it??? otherwise why would you ask for help and then dismiss it? i should have known you wouldn't accept info. from a know it all like me, LOL. grow on with your bad self!!!

Growbot said:

well, from the sound of it you're schedule isn't working now is it??? otherwise why would you ask for help and then dismiss it? i should have known you wouldn't accept info. from a know it all like me, LOL. grow on with your bad self!!!

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You mostly told me not to let my pots sit in water or wick water and they dont, me explaining how they sit isnt me dismissing your offered help...if my water ran any color when I flushed I would agree that I should flush it but if it runs clear then its okay. I figured it out and maybe I shouldnt have posted the question, for all the help I give others I really got very little response....Im not expert but i shouldve just worked it through in my head like I did and realized this:

Ima tard who used sand i KNOW in my heart the sand has compacted in the bottom so water is just running over it ....trust me I could take a pic of me running 2 gallons of flush water through there and it will all come out crystal clear...with no nute lock up....its actually ironic cuz just under a week ago I was reading about some guy who experimenting with growing on in sand and it compacted on him, etc...I mean no other factors have changed. I didnt mess up my watering and the feed/flush schedule does work but when you fill a pot with rocks, then sand, then bugdirt.....how could the noob in me not expect it to be fine...now w/ experience I know its not fine at all.
I dont have hard feelings towards you.....I appreciate the words you have shared on this...