NewEnglandFarmer
- Posts
- 22
- Reactions
- 18
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2020
- Points
- 3
Bear with me please, first year growing.
Have an Orange Blossom Special plant from Greenpoint in a 7g smart pot. 15 weeks since germination from seed. In Coast of Maine Stonington soil mix, I've added some Coast of Maine Stonington Plant food about 4 weeks ago since it likely used up the existing nutrients. Doing this all organically.
I was away for 5 days and when I returned it looked droopy and had a few yellow and dying leaves. It's been very hot and dry, figured it was thirsty (soil seemed dry) so I removed the unhealthy leaves (maybe 6 or 7) and gave it 3 gallons of water. The first gallon had 4 tablespoons of fish hydrolysate mixed in, has been a good month since it's had any feeding.
Hot and dry weather continued, so 3 days later came back and gave it another 2 gallons. Even hotter the next couple days (nineties), so I stopped by this morning (3 days after last drink) with another couple gallons. It looked pretty droopy (photo below). We had a light rain sprinkle earlier this morning so the top of the soil was damp. I stuck a finger down to try and see what the soil below was like, really hard to tell but when I put a finger way down the edge along the fabric of the bag, it felt dry. So I gave it another 2 gallons.
Water is from a local brook, pH is 6.9.
I can't tell if it's water-logged or thirsty. Wondering if I'm not giving enough volume of water so that only the top half or so of the soil is getting damp? Does 2 gallons seem like enough to deeply water a 7g fabric pot? I'm not really seeing any runoff below so maybe that's the problem...
Or am I overdoing it with too much water?
Such a rookie question, I know, but am a little puzzled. I have some other plants in the ground and they're doing great, get watered about once a week, but this fabric pot has me a little unsure.
Thanks for any advice.
Have an Orange Blossom Special plant from Greenpoint in a 7g smart pot. 15 weeks since germination from seed. In Coast of Maine Stonington soil mix, I've added some Coast of Maine Stonington Plant food about 4 weeks ago since it likely used up the existing nutrients. Doing this all organically.
I was away for 5 days and when I returned it looked droopy and had a few yellow and dying leaves. It's been very hot and dry, figured it was thirsty (soil seemed dry) so I removed the unhealthy leaves (maybe 6 or 7) and gave it 3 gallons of water. The first gallon had 4 tablespoons of fish hydrolysate mixed in, has been a good month since it's had any feeding.
Hot and dry weather continued, so 3 days later came back and gave it another 2 gallons. Even hotter the next couple days (nineties), so I stopped by this morning (3 days after last drink) with another couple gallons. It looked pretty droopy (photo below). We had a light rain sprinkle earlier this morning so the top of the soil was damp. I stuck a finger down to try and see what the soil below was like, really hard to tell but when I put a finger way down the edge along the fabric of the bag, it felt dry. So I gave it another 2 gallons.
Water is from a local brook, pH is 6.9.
I can't tell if it's water-logged or thirsty. Wondering if I'm not giving enough volume of water so that only the top half or so of the soil is getting damp? Does 2 gallons seem like enough to deeply water a 7g fabric pot? I'm not really seeing any runoff below so maybe that's the problem...
Or am I overdoing it with too much water?
Such a rookie question, I know, but am a little puzzled. I have some other plants in the ground and they're doing great, get watered about once a week, but this fabric pot has me a little unsure.
Thanks for any advice.