Leaves Drop After Irrigation

LegalHigh

LegalHigh

New Member
SOIL GROW

Strain - White Widow (Nirvana Seeds)
# of Plants -5
Grow Type - Soil
Grow Stage - Flowering
Bucket Size - 6.5 Liter (about 2 gallons)
Lights - (1) 250W CFL Elektrox Dual spectrum
Nutrients - BioBizz Product Line
Medium - BioBizz Light Mix
RH - 35% to 45%
Room Temperature - 20-21°C (night) 25-27°C (Day)
Room Square Footage - 1m x 1m x 1.8m Homebox L 1.8
Pests - None Known ​

Here's my problem folks:


I water my plants every 3 days, or when the upper 1 1/2" layer of the soil feels dry with 400ml of water. This gives me a 10-20% runoff each time. Pretty much 20 min. after I watered the plants I can tell how the top leaves of each plant curl down, showing a dropping impression. The leaves do go back up after 1-2 hours after watering. I am now not sure if this a form of over watering, as I believe over watering comes from leaving the soil soggy and watering it again without properly drying the soil out for the roots to breath. All 5 plants look very healthy and are a little bigger than 2'.

I appreciate any form of advice for this particular problem.

Thanks!

Cheers
 
This is completely normal. Nothing to worry about.

How's the temperature of your water? I've noticed this a little more when the water is chilly.
 
Great! Thanks on that.
Water temp. Is around 20-21°C.
Thats around 68°F.
I keep about a gallon of tap water in a bucket and let it stand for at least 24h before watering my plants with it.

Cheers
 
Sounds like you're good to go.

Do they ever use chloramines for tap water treatment in Switzerland, or just chlorine? I just ask because chloramines won't evaporate off like chlorine will.
 
LegalHigh,

Regarding your runoff. Assuming you're using an organic soil and/or organic nutrients, you really don't want "runoff". I was doing the same thing until Rrog pointed out my mistake. With synthetics you're OK doing this considering you are directly feeding the plant when you water (and salt buildup). With organics there are inputs in your soil and/or nutrients that need to remain in the medium for the microbes to break down, which in turn feeds the plant. Watering until you have 20% runoff is counter-productive by leaching those organic inputs out of your soil.
 
st0wandgrow said:
LegalHigh,

Regarding your runoff. Assuming you're using an organic soil and/or organic nutrients, you really don't want "runoff". I was doing the same thing until Rrog pointed out my mistake. With synthetics you're OK doing this considering you are directly feeding the plant when you water (and salt buildup). With organics there are inputs in your soil and/or nutrients that need to remain in the medium for the microbes to break down, which in turn feeds the plant. Watering until you have 20% runoff is counter-productive by leaching those organic inputs out of your soil.
Click to expand...

This is true. I keep my pots in saucers, and stop watering when I see a little bit starting to drain. The pots quickly wick up any little bit of drainage, so the roots are never sitting in stagnant water.
 
Another quick tip... That top 1.5 inches of soil you are allowing to dry out each time is essentially wasted space. When it gets dry like that every few days, it can't support healthy roots. If you add an inch or so of mulch, that top layer of soil will remain moist, and the whole pot will dry out evenly instead of from the top down. You'll notice the plant will start shooting roots upward to take advantage of that extra leg room.

Orchid bark makes a good (cheap) mulch. Get the "fine" size chunks, and layer it on about an inch thick.


Good luck!
 
SpicySativa said:
Another quick tip... That top 1.5 inches of soil you are allowing to dry out each time is essentially wasted space. When it gets dry like that every few days, it can't support healthy roots. If you add an inch or so of mulch, that top layer of soil will remain moist, and the whole pot will dry out evenly instead of from the top down. You'll notice the plant will start shooting roots upward to take advantage of that extra leg room.

Orchid bark makes a good (cheap) mulch. Get the "fine" size chunks, and layer it on about an inch thick.


Good luck!
Click to expand...


Yep! Great tip! I had a guy point this out to me as well. He uses a combination of comfrey leaves and ewc as a mulch for his indoor plants. In his veggie garden he suggested just leaving the fallen stalks from the garden along with a layer of alfalfa hay. I rich layer of humus will be the end result, along with better water retention (less watering) and next to no weeding. So simple, and so effective!
 
Yup. I have a comfrey plant that's just getting established out in the veggie garden. As soon as it grows a little more, I'll be "borrowing" some leaves and tucking them under my mulch layer along with a sprinkle of home made worm castings.
 
I need to do the same. I was going to wait until spring to start a few chunks of comfrey root outside, but I think I'm going to start them in 1 gallon pots inside over the winter and hopefully transplant some established plants outside when the weather breaks. So many uses for a bio accumulator like comfrey! Can't wait....
 
Another handy nutrient accumulator that you may already have is dandelions. We don't treat our "lawn" with any chemicals or fertilizers; inevitably we get quite a few dandelions. Whenever one pops up, I let it grow a bit, then pull it and feed to my worm bins. The worms love them, and they provide a wide variety of nutrients to the castings.

I may try burying a couple dandelion leaves under my mulch. I'm sure the "accidental" worms living in my pots would appreciate the free meal.
 
I've heard that before spicy. I'm going to have to pluck some of those for my worm bin next summer. Some people are making teas from them too. Funny how I used to consider them a nuisance, and now I'm going to be watering and taking care of the dandelions in my lawn! lol
 
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