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water What to do about overwatering?

swaybelly

swaybelly

Please read the entire post before responding with what sounds like the obvious answer.
 
In the last 90 days, our area has received more than 24" of rainfall, which is about double the normal average for the same period. The outlook from the local forecasters are calling for at least two more weeks of high chances of rain daily.
 
I currently have about two dozen plants in 3-5 gallon containers with several that are now showing signs of overwatering, but because of space I cannot keep all of them out of the rain. I am switching them out daily, placing some under cover on the porch trying to keep some dry, but I have only so much room. The peppers are already sharing room with a bunch of tomatoes, basils and other vegetables and herbs.
 
The soil was made from Black Kow, peat moss, composted pine/oak/leaves and perlite with bones meal, Epsom salt and fish emulsion added. The mixture drains pretty good, and the buckets I have them in all have good drainage slots added, but at this point due to ongoing rain and constant humidity the soil will not dry out. I'm sure the nutes are starting to get washed out.
 
Any ideas on how to lessen the shock? And unless you know the moves to some archaic Pagan rain-stopping dance or have a direct hotline to the Almighty Himself, no need to say "stop watering". :)
 
put some tinfoil or saran wrap or whatever over the pot so rain water doesn't get in.
 
greenhousefig4.jpg
 
I have a pair with foil on them, but I'm afraid that it will end up sealing the moisture in as well. It is a catch-22.
 
Have you considered the material tents are made of? There waterproof, and I believe there would be some oxygen exchange.
 
I have the same problem.  I have Scorpion and Ghost peppers in 5 gal containers, with extra drainage holes on bottom.  We had three days of heavy rain.  The larger leaves started turning brown and falling off.  The plants are 4 months old.  Before the rain, they looked awesome, now I'm worried that they won't survive.  I'll be watching this thread.  Oh, also my parameters, soil, etc are almost identical to the original poster.
 
Its not so much a constant humidity in the soil that you have to worry about with over watering, as it is gas exchanges. Hydroponic grows are a perfect example of this. Pepper plants are grown in an aqueous environment in which a chief component is the deliberate availability of oxygen along with the constant presence of water on the root systems.
 
There are many ways to provide oxygen to the root systems in a planned scenario. In your particular situation I would hypothesize purging the media with a diluted H2O2 solution would prove some level of additional oxygen to the roots. 
In a more planned out system, air lines such as those used in the aquaculture industry could be used with air pumps to get oxygen into the root system.
 
.021/2
 
I've read a lot about the H2o2 treatment.  I read to mix 1/2 cup of 3% per gallon?  How much would you use per 5 gal container to provide an adequate flush?  It's kinda scary to water them at all right now, but I'd be willing to try it.  I just went and cleaned out more fallen leaves, and now I notice the new leaves at the top are all shriveled and curled. 
 
mmscuba said:
I've read a lot about the H2o2 treatment.  I read to mix 1/2 cup of 3% per gallon?  How much would you use per 5 gal container to provide an adequate flush?  It's kinda scary to water them at all right now, but I'd be willing to try it.  I just went and cleaned out more fallen leaves, and now I notice the new leaves at the top are all shriveled and curled. 
Click to expand...
THAT, is a very good question.  I would say this though, whenever a H2O2 solution is recommended, it is always in the form of a dilution. I would surmise that the dilution is already present in the form of rainfall. so now, how much should be used. I would think a 3% straight solution might be OK, but I dont have a absolute answer.
 
It is these, fortunately rare instances that threaten our grows from time to time that allow us a learning experience. I have had mine so it is not with out a lack of personal experience that I loosely make the previous statement. But it is indeed these dire moments that we face loosing all the plants that we make decisions that also could cause the lose of the plants. It is also these moment of decision that could, and many times do, grant reprise of our efforts.
If nothing can be or is done, is all lost? Then what is the cost of doing something/anything?
 
I used to look like an idiot out there at midnight when I put a tarp on all my plants to prepare for two days of rain. Cover em. Some how some way and pray for sunny days. That's what I did.
 
Tropical Storms have destroyed my grows weeks after plant out twice in the past five years.
 
Days of rain don't just cause what you are seeing, the worst is yet to come I'm afraid ...
 
Not only do you want to try the H2O2 for the roots, you need to start working in advance to deal w/ the mildew and infections that are coming above ground ...
 
In fact, spray some of that on the leaves, I bet ...
 
I would use something like Serenade or whatever you've found effective for the powdery mildew class of fuzzies ...
 
If you have the ability to make AACT, make AACT ... it's been the best thing of all for dealing w/ the realities of very high humidity in my experience ... hard to make a critical mistake and go to far when you are support bene's rather than trying to kill baddies without killing the patient (I find using chemical treatments turns things into something more like managing chemo meds) ...
 
I mean, if you can tarp, that's even better, but I have never been able to go from 0 to tarped all of a sudden, my life's just not like that and I would need a trip to HD for a bunch of shit to go that route ...
 
Hmmmmm ...
 
Saturated is saturated, it's wet ... try displacing the liquid w/ whatever these guys say is the right H2O2 because I've sat and watched this go wrong ... and the worst part afterwards was that feeling from watching something I knew was going wrong, and didn't act. Don't do that, that part sucks - feels much better to say "I tried and did the best I could" ...
Oh yeah, and this is key, DO separate the leaves then they get saturated (dark green) and lay flat on one another ... that is bad, bad ...
 
grantmichaels said:
Tropical Storms have destroyed my grows weeks after plant out twice in the past five years.
 
Days of rain don't just cause what you are seeing, the worst is yet to come I'm afraid ...
 
Not only do you want to try the H2O2 for the roots, you need to start working in advance to deal w/ the mildew and infections that are coming above ground ...
 
In fact, spray some of that on the leaves, I bet ...
 
I would use something like Serenade or whatever you've found effective for the powdery mildew class of fuzzies ...
 
If you have the ability to make AACT, make AACT ... it's been the best thing of all for dealing w/ the realities of very high humidity in my experience ... hard to make a critical mistake and go to far when you are support bene's rather than trying to kill baddies without killing the patient (I find using chemical treatments turns things into something more like managing chemo meds) ...
 
I mean, if you can tarp, that's even better, but I have never been able to go from 0 to tarped all of a sudden, my life's just not like that and I would need a trip to HD for a bunch of shit to go that route ...
 
Hmmmmm ...
 
Saturated is saturated, it's wet ... try displacing the liquid w/ whatever these guys say is the right H2O2 because I've sat and watched this go wrong ... and the worst part afterwards was that feeling from watching something I knew was going wrong, and didn't act. Don't do that, that part sucks - feels much better to say "I tried and did the best I could" ...

Oh yeah, and this is key, DO separate the leaves then they get saturated (dark green) and lay flat on one another ... that is bad, bad ...
Click to expand...
Agreed, you do not want the epitaph of your grow to be, Maybe, I shoulda tried that.
And reread this thread, for what is soon to follow after the rain stops. No worse feeling than averting one disaster and taking a breather or patting yourself on the back for a battle well won, when the tidal wave from the earthquake hits.
 
Too late for you for this season, but I've been using large custom made self irrigated planters, to great effect.   I made the soil mix really simple - 20% coco coir, 40% peat moss, and 30% perlite.  Fertilize with Dr. Earth and rabbit poo. We had a few rains that were 5+ inches at a time, and all has been well.  In fact, I got earliest peppers I've ever gotten.

Maybe not good for now, but If you get a chance to experiment next time around...
 
Ugh! Texas rain! I know it! I'm in Dallas and I'm having the same problem... I however build a pretty big hoop house over my garden that I can take off and put back on when it rains.. Here is the link to my picture! http://imgur.com/NWICqnpI just put the cover on tonight because its supposed to rain all day tomorrow! Hopefully you can save your plants from all of this rain! Good luck!
 
Seems you have a heavy rain over there right now!
 
I might add - tilt containers/pots steeply (support the plants in needed so they dont break) - that will reduce the ammount of water which comes in, a lot! Try to combine that with an improvised cover above the plants if you can.. Putting the tinfoil under the leaves would be bad idea indeed, especially if it's going to rain for a long period. Mold guaranteed, count in possible random illness. 
 
I think a hoop house may be in the works for a summer project. Monday, we received about another 4.5" of rain, about an inch yesterday, and have got about an inch so far today with an outlook of all day rain today, and 50% chance of rain for the next 10 days straight.
 
Sunday I lost three tomato plants from the wind and hail. I patched them up the best I could. It has me thinking about making some sort of 'hardened hoop house' that can attempt to withstand the spring/summer weather here.
 
Cover with plastic, dont worry about trapping water in, it is a non-issue.
Water can evaporate from even the smallest opening in the plastic (such as the gap that will be around the stem)
 
Make sure you dont just crate a funnel for the water to pool up and get collected into the pot; create a mound of soil around the stem under the plastic, so the water flows cleanly off the side of the pot.
 
Check out this video for a sample of how I handle irrigation control with plastic covering.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSWWzWY7tmQ
 
Do you have any fold up plastic tables?  Move the plants under them during the rain and on top when not raining.  Any overhangs on your house?  I use a combination of these since I had sooo many plants.  
 
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