Problems with soil drainage

[RudieJ]

Hey guys, I'm back growing again (check out my first micro grow thread in here from a while ago).

I have three plants and I recently potted them in 4" pots of Fox Farm Ocean Forest after starting them in coco-coir.

When I water them, it takes a LONG time for the water to drain, so I dug in my finger today and noticed that even after I water them (to the rim with standing water until it FINALLY dains, ugh) the soil is bone dry down about half inch in most places!
When I found this, I mixed the soil up on the sides with a fork, being careful not to cut any roots, and soaked them again.

Any ideas on how to prevent this in the future? I'm thinking I should have soaked the soil a few times and let it sit before I planted... but I've never had to before and it was never a problem.
More importantly, any ideas on how to fix this now? I don't want to replant yet, since they are not even rootbound in the 4" pots.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Architechno]

give them a bath.

 

[RudieJ]

give them a bath.

I could use one myself after digging in all this dirt.

 

[Architechno]

I could use one myself after digging in all this dirt.

I'm serious.
Fill a tupperware or something with ph balanced water, and then put the plant in - but slowly. If the water just spills over the top of the pot it will disrupt the hell out of the soil. Let it fill through the drainage holes. When it sinks, you should be good.

This is how I watered at first, but now I am in some ghetto home-made screen-bottom pots, and if I did this all my soil would come out the bottom. I'm on a quest for how best to water now.

 

[kingjames488]

ya... submerging the soil usually works well.
or you could try to re-pot them with added perlite.

take the rootball out of the pot carefully, try to take off any loose soil you can taking care not to damage the roots too much... then repot with a better draining mix.
as long as you dont hurt the roots TOO much it should be ok.
you could prolly even cut down the root clump a bit if its large... but that would prolly stall growth for a few days while the root network repairs.

then all will be well :>

EDIT: a little more info i didnt really put in...
what your experiancing can happen when the soil is too dence. the water can have trouble soaking in... happened to me when i tried growing with pure soil
well draining materials include: perlite, coco coir, and sand... but im sure there are others.

 

[Jnugg]

Add some perlite to the FFOF for better drainage.

Add a small amount of dish soap to your water/nute mix.

 

[spiral]

hey there.This is a bitch of a problem. Try adding lots of perlite if your not already. Your on the right track with cultivating the top of the soil with a fork, but be real careful of roots and still check the soil.

Try watering very slowly and make sure theres not a gap between your pot and soil or the water will just run down the sides. Also watering from the bottom is a good method, and dosnt take to long, I like doing that when im fellin lazy. After you do this feel the weight of your pots, then the next time you water youll know if the mediums saturated enough.

 

[swyork5]

Try using smartpots. After the water drains thru into the saucer and then it wickens the water back up. Check them out,i use them and have healthy roots and and no probelms when watering

 

[BLUNToPOTomuss]

dont pack the soil very much before planting.

I had 3 plants I just harvested. 1 of the 3 I packed the soil a little to much. It took a couple minutes longer to soak but the pot lasted a day and a half longer. I would say just be careful next time and leave the soil loose.

I did this and added soil as the grow went on aloowing te water to Pack the soil as needed. Worked great for me.

I would repot if its not to late. plus a little extra O2 never hurts.

 

[Leviathan]

maybe u got used to your coco coir drainige with your seedlings, my adivce is skip the perlite and add some coco to your mix.your plants will luv the combo

 

[RudieJ]

I'm serious.
Fill a tupperware or something with ph balanced water, and then put the plant in - but slowly. If the water just spills over the top of the pot it will disrupt the hell out of the soil. Let it fill through the drainage holes. When it sinks, you should be good.

This is how I watered at first, but now I am in some ghetto home-made screen-bottom pots, and if I did this all my soil would come out the bottom. I'm on a quest for how best to water now.

Incredible... I'm giving it a shot.

 

[Architechno]

maybe u got used to your coco coir drainige with your seedlings, my adivce is skip the perlite and add some coco to your mix.your plants will luv the combo

I put my seedlings into 50/50 FFOF and coco, and then transplanted to 25% coco 75% FFOF. Workin for me so far, but its my first grow.

 

[BLUNToPOTomuss]

I used 3 gallon 10'' pots with FFOF. NO ADD INS! I had to water every 3 days. My PH never dropped below 6 with chlorine infested tap water!

I dont get why everyone seems to want to add stuff to FFOF?? To me that is where the PH problems start....... It is already a PH buffering soil, so when you add to it, you totally change the makeup/chemistry of the soil.

keep it lightly packed and no need to add stuff. Maybe just a bit more soil as the grow progresses and the older soil naturally compacts.

My roots were bright white after harvest with zero additives.

 

[RudieJ]

Thanks Architechno... worked like a charm!

And BLUNToPOTomuss: I totally agree. I've always had great experiences with it until now... and that was my fault.

 

[darookie2000]

If you decide to repot, add some dolomite along with your FFOF and perlite. It helps prevent cal mag and pH issues later. Also, try adding some biodegradable soap with your water, it will help absorption. I use a drop per gallon or so.

 

[AinSophAur]

Your soil was too dry and didn't have enough perlite when you started. That's the problem.

 

[ColBatGuano]

Also, try adding some biodegradable soap with your water, it will help absorption. I use a drop per gallon or so.

I'd like to know more about this. It sounds like baloney to me. First of all the word "soap" has a lot of different meanings, biodegradable or not. Can you elaborate or point to a source on this idea? I don't know a lot about soaps, but I know enough to be skeptical. One drop in a gallon seems like a negligible ratio under most circumstances. Since you're probably not going to give the plant a gallon at a time, I don't see how a drop of soap, already sufficiently diluted to make it safe for your skin, diluted another thousand-or-so times can possibly aid a plant's moisture uptake.

 

[stihgnobevoli]

its not for the plant its for the soil. soap is a surfactant, it lowers the surface tension of the water so it can go into the soil easier.

 

[TanzanianMagic]

I have three plants and I recently potted them in 4" pots of Fox Farm Ocean Forest after starting them in coco-coir.

When I water them, it takes a LONG time for the water to drain, so I dug in my finger today and noticed that even after I water them (to the rim with standing water until it FINALLY dains, ugh) the soil is bone dry down about half inch in most places!

When I found this, I mixed the soil up on the sides with a fork, being careful not to cut any roots, and soaked them again.

Any ideas on how to prevent this in the future?

You should water with a drop of soap or vegetable oil - this breaks the surface tension and allows water to soak into the peat.

 

[magiccannabus]

Shoulda never got rid of the coir! My mix now is 50% coir, 20% peat(or pro-mix), 20% mushroom compost(or EWC), 5% composted humus, 5% fine clay.

I'm growing all organic with this mix, no chlorine in the water and no salts. Still, even in a chem grow, a mix with at least 1/3 coir will never drown your plants, and is just a delight to grow in. Organic coco is awesome though. I will never switch back from it.