Soil not retaining moisture

[falcao_mufc]

I have 2 bubblegummers in 40l pots roots have filled the pots nicely begore flowering. They are in a combined single scrog, so are not moveable. They are 19 days into flower and alredy showing nice buds.

The larger ones soil isnt retaining any water, its always wilted. The smaller one can go 3 days between every 5l feed, but the bigger one struggles to go throughout its lights on cycle without starting to wilt. I fed this morning, 5 liters, and now the soil is bone dry and its wilting, only 6 hours later. Theres a lot of run off occuring.


As theyre so heavy i have no way of bottom feeding them, and most weekends i struggle to get to them to feed them daily so i need an idea to help me keep it wet.

Apologies for the lights on pic. Its the plant at the back. It filled alot more room than the other in veg in the screen, but the smaller one has stretched more during flower, hence it looking bigger. However, 65% or so of the bud sites are from the affected plant.

 

[falcao_mufc]

Its only started this wilting business since flowering. As theyre in flexible buckets there is space on the sides, well a few mm, to try and compress something in to help? Long shot i know

 

[falcao_mufc]

Better pic, lights out

 

[WeedFreak78]

Sounds like it dried out too much and you need to rehydrate the soil. The soil pulling away from the sides is a dead giveaway. DON'T try compressing it, you need to slowly add water back in. Could, or would you be willing to, set up a simple top drip using a small pond pump, a timer, a drip ring and a 5-10gal reservoir? I think this would be your best bet. Or maybe adapt a drip ring to a 2 liter bottle, hang the bottle and just let it slowly drip. Ever see the Aquaglobes? You can easily make your own, take a couple 1 or 2 liter soda bottle..poke/drill/melt a small hole in the cap, and stick it in the soil upside down, it will self water, i use a couple in a 20+gal pot i have an avocado tree in.

If you can find them at a gardening store there are companies that make a spike attachment that goes on soda bottles just for this reason.

 

[falcao_mufc]

That looks like a brilliant idea. How long will the bottle last roughly?

 

[WeedFreak78]

Depends on how dry it is..i can have a single 2 liter last a couple days in my avocado. I'm guessing that will drink one 2 litre a day.

Oh, on those spike things..if you got that route..I've seen some that you can adjust the flow rate of the water. There were 2 styles I've seen, one was a perforated tube in a perforated tube, and you would just rotate it to line up more or less holes. One was just a slit with a slider that could be open or closed to adjust flow. I've never used either of those styles..just a FYI.

 

[Uncle Ben]

You're right, it did dry out too much and is probably peat based which is notorious for that. NEVER let a pot dry out completely or you'll see the soil pull away, dry channels develop and you'll never hydrate it thoroughly. Since you're locked into SCROG (and one of the many pitfalls and reasons I won't use it) and can't water thru the drainholes from the bottom up in a tub you'll need to use a surfactant in your water and drench top down 3 times. 1 tsp. of Ivory liquid soap (not detergent) in one gallon of water. Then add a normal fertilizing solution after the channels have disappeared.

Some folks use an upside down, tall but slender unglazed terracotta cylinder type pot. The water will diffuse slowly thru the walls based on osmosis. Dryer the soil, the more output thru the clay.

UB

 

[Uncle Ben]

Depends on how dry it is..i can have a single 2 liter last a couple days in my avocado.

Hate to hijack this thread but growing avocados is my new passion. If you know anything about cados, you know I have some of the best, and yes they are fruiting - Kona Sharwil, Gwen, Oro Negro. I'm now waiting on grafts to push on a new cocktail tree I'm trying to make - Gwen, Holiday, Edranol. Only the best will do.... http://www.avocadosource.com/AvocadoVarieties/QueryDB.asp

 

[WeedFreak78]

I talked to you about my tree a few weeks ago. It's nothing special, just something my mother originally started from a store bought avo, I couldn't even tell you the variety. I'm not expecting much out of it..but it makes for a nice canopy in the corner of the 4 season porch. I need to find a new pot for it the plastic one i have it in finally gave up and started cracking..the big clay pot are so damn expensive...

 

[Uncle Ben]

I talked to you about my tree a few weeks ago. It's nothing special, just something my mother originally started from a store bought avo, I couldn't even tell you the variety. I'm not expecting much out of it..but it makes for a nice canopy in the corner of the 4 season porch. I need to find a new pot for it the plastic one i have it in finally gave up and started cracking..the big clay pot are so damn expensive...

You have a Hass seedling which is REAL damn iffy. It may fruit and if it does it might take as long as 8 years. It is not cold hardy. Tell me where you live and your space limitations and I can recommend something that will excel. I use bottomless Rootbuilder pots. Recommend RootMaker for you if you have to move it, which isn't practical due to pot weight and tree size. Do a PM so we don't hijack this further.

 

[WeedFreak78]

I'm not a fan of 'cados really...it's more ornamental at this point..probably 5-6 years old now. I had fig trees that i was actively cultivating, but pretty sure they got wiped out this winter..one to freezing..one because my F'ing neighbors friends think they can use my yard as a turn around and drove over the one i had raised from a cutting..so pissed!

 

[Uncle Ben]

Depends on how dry it is..i can have a single 2 liter last a couple days in my avocado. I'm guessing that will drink one 2 litre a day.

Temp, RH, and air movement aside, the amount of wicking, drying action, is relative to the amount of rootmass and foliage. My indoor was always heavy foliage such that come flowering I had to add 1 qt., twice a day, to each 3 gallon pot. It's a judgment call on the part of the grower.....school of hard knocks.

 

[falcao_mufc]

Gonna give these a try