Outdoor Plants Huge But Now Drooping, Don't Need Water

[DGP]

Ok, so here is a problem I have never seen. My outdoor plants are 6 feet tall and 5 feet across and up till a few days back were praying and looked fantastic. They are not in need of watering but here are some observations:

1. Been feeding 1/2 strength Alaska fish and calmag every other watering
2. It has been hot for a few days but cools off now and again, its Oregon and the weather varies widely. Watering often when its hot sometimes they are asking daily for water when it is above 90F, otherwise every other day or so. Have not been overwatering because the pots are packed with roots so pretty sure I don't have an over-watering issue
3. They are in 30 gallon fabric pots with Happy Frog, perlite and some coco, pretty light airy soil
4. Pots are literally full of roots, the bags are packed out.
5. Did a slurry test and the PH was about 6.2 and TDS of 100 ppm so I did increase the feeding slightly cause 100 ppm slurry seemed low
6. Water here is super clean at 15-25 ppm out of the tap
7. Pheno selected Cheesequake BX of my own hybrid from cuttings (pheno hunted for the best and then made cuts early this year).
8. Been vegging since early January.
9. The leaves are droopy but the new growth isn't falling like they would if they were really thirsty.
10. After slurry testing and then watering they perked up a little but still look a little bitchy
11. Top dressed with some additional soil to give the roots a small amount of additional room
12. No indications of any sort of bugs or other issues with mold, mildew etc.

They just look a little bitchy like something isn't right and we are 2 weeks from the time they will start to flip. I suppose if the problem is they are root bound and outta room then when they flip they will pretty much stop growing much in the way of new roots but I want to know if it is something else. My suspicion is they are out of room and a little pissed about it but IDK for sure.

Any help would be much appreciated,

Dee

 

[DGP]

 

[RuralFarmer]

Pics?

 

[DGP]

posts probably crossed, pics up...

Dee

 

[RuralFarmer]

Maybe a bit rootbound. But they look pretty good overall. Possibly some heat stress?

 

[DGP]

Yeah, it could be heat but the last 2 days have been under 80F, could it still be from the previous two days which were 93 and then close to 100F? Pretty wicked those 2 days but they had water when they needed it.

Don't some of theleaves look awful droopy? what is weird is not all the leaves on each plant are doing it.

 

[DGP]

 

[RuralFarmer]

It's been years since I had one with heat stress, but I'm thinking that may be it. Maybe some more experienced folks will chime in here. Rootbound, every leaf should be effected I think. If they line out then you will know.

 

[DGP]

Actually now that I look at the weather history the 12th thru the 16th or 17th was pretty brutal.

 

[RuralFarmer]

View attachment 817338

Wow, your temps have really fluctuated lately. We haven't had a nice high of 72 since May Lol Hot here.

 

[DGP]

Thanks for the feedback. What do you mean by "line out"?

YEah Western Oregon can be insane day to day....

Dee

 

[RuralFarmer]

Thanks for the feedback. What do you mean by "line out"?

Dee

If things return to normal

 

[DGP]

We have weird ass weather. One day you might see 40 mph winds and T-storms, the next cold at 50F and then later in the week 90's and then back to rain. I have stepped out into my driveway and spotted a funnel cloud and then later in the day perfectly clear. Funnel clouds in W. Oregon? yep and sometimes a good hailstorm completely out of the blue. One year we had snow in March. Its a real bad place to be a weatherman, everyone hates your ass.

Dee

 

[RuralFarmer]

Our weather is fairly consistent, but records are set continuously all year long, highs and lows on temps. We just had a big storm and I got my power back yesterday at 12:30pm after 14 hours without. A few spots nearby still no power. But that's unusual. A funnel cloud is rare in southern Appalachia but it happens. Never seen one myself.

I spent just over 8 years in service and lived in New Hampshire, New Mexico, and South Carolina, saw lots of different weather. Spent 3 years in central Europe. 3.5 months in Denver tech school. Had friends who had been stationed in Washington. McCord AFB and my best friend retired from Fairchild in Spokane. Had a instructor in Tech School went on and on about Walla Walla, Wa.

But, never been to the NW.

 

[123grow]

I'm sure they have run out of room to grow but they also can get a salt build up when theres more food than just plain water. I feed twice a week but i give them water everyday that i dont feed. The amount of water i give kinda depends on how the weather is so i don't over water but at the same time i dont want the food just to build up in the soil. The plants I'm refering to are in big kiddy pools and not all in full sun. (just a thought) I think they look good just a little wilted like you said. Good luck.. Julie

 

[Rcubed]

Ok, so here is a problem I have never seen. My outdoor plants are 6 feet tall and 5 feet across and up till a few days back were praying and looked fantastic. They are not in need of watering but here are some observations:

1. Been feeding 1/2 strength Alaska fish and calmag every other watering
2. It has been hot for a few days but cools off now and again, its Oregon and the weather varies widely. Watering often when its hot sometimes they are asking daily for water when it is above 90F, otherwise every other day or so. Have not been overwatering because the pots are packed with roots so pretty sure I don't have an over-watering issue
3. They are in 30 gallon fabric pots with Happy Frog, perlite and some coco, pretty light airy soil
4. Pots are literally full of roots, the bags are packed out.
5. Did a slurry test and the PH was about 6.2 and TDS of 100 ppm so I did increase the feeding slightly cause 100 ppm slurry seemed low
6. Water here is super clean at 15-25 ppm out of the tap
7. Pheno selected Cheesequake BX of my own hybrid from cuttings (pheno hunted for the best and then made cuts early this year).
8. Been vegging since early January.
9. The leaves are droopy but the new growth isn't falling like they would if they were really thirsty.
10. After slurry testing and then watering they perked up a little but still look a little bitchy
11. Top dressed with some additional soil to give the roots a small amount of additional room
12. No indications of any sort of bugs or other issues with mold, mildew etc.

They just look a little bitchy like something isn't right and we are 2 weeks from the time they will start to flip. I suppose if the problem is they are root bound and outta room then when they flip they will pretty much stop growing much in the way of new roots but I want to know if it is something else. My suspicion is they are out of room and a little pissed about it but IDK for sure.

Any help would be much appreciated,

Dee

The thing about black pots is they absorb heat from the sun then they heat up the soil and the roots. Roots don't like the heat and your plant will droop even though you're giving enough water and your soil balance is good. If you can keep the direct sun off of those black pots you'll do better. You won't see the problem as much when you plant straight in the ground because the soil heats up less.

 

[DGP]

I'm sure they have run out of room to grow but they also can get a salt build up when theres more food than just plain water. I feed twice a week but i give them water everyday that i dont feed. The amount of water i give kinda depends on how the weather is so i don't over water but at the same time i dont want the food just to build up in the soil. The plants I'm refering to are in big kiddy pools and not all in full sun. (just a thought) I think they look good just a little wilted like you said. Good luck.. Julie

Last slurry test indicated only 100 ppm in the soil, so I don't think there is a build up but I am not using any salts just fish. They are slowly coming back up now so maybe it was the heat.....may never know for sure.

Dee

 

[DGP]

The thing about black pots is they absorb heat from the sun then they heat up the soil and the roots. Roots don't like the heat and your plant will droop even though you're giving enough water and your soil balance is good. If you can keep the direct sun off of those black pots you'll do better. You won't see the problem as much when you plant straight in the ground because the soil heats up less.

Good point. I can make something to shield the ones in the front. The 2 in back don't really get direct sun on the grow bags.

 

[oldskol4evr]

The thing about black pots is they absorb heat from the sun then they heat up the soil and the roots. Roots don't like the heat and your plant will droop even though you're giving enough water and your soil balance is good. If you can keep the direct sun off of those black pots you'll do better. You won't see the problem as much when you plant straight in the ground because the soil heats up less.

i agree,i grow in containers and sides are like stone and hot a hell,i just put straw around outside my totes ,im gonna build fancy boxs for the totes come cooler weather,the dead air space in between the totes and box is all it needs,ive never had luck with them bags ,so i use cheap 33 gal totes,easier to amend too,trying to water the things was like sticking a hose threw every drain hole,when i killed my tomato plants,just for shits and giggles,i pulled it from a 5 gal bucket,the roots on the sides were almost petrified like from the summer heat,i was watering them twice a day to get fruit

 

[Rcubed]

i agree,i grow in containers and sides are like stone and hot a hell,i just put straw around outside my totes ,im gonna build fancy boxs for the totes come cooler weather,the dead air space in between the totes and box is all it needs,ive never had luck with them bags ,so i use cheap 33 gal totes,easier to amend too,trying to water the things was like sticking a hose threw every drain hole,when i killed my tomato plants,just for shits and giggles,i pulled it from a 5 gal bucket,the roots on the sides were almost petrified like from the summer heat,i was watering them twice a day to get fruit

Yeah I went through the same shit with my veggies too. I was finding the plants in the dark 5 gallon buckets were stressing out more than the white ones. I started putting 2 and 2 together and figured out I was frying the roots. I like your idea about leaving the air space. That's a good idea.