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Some leaf "problem"
- Thread starter pwb
- Start date
I did give them some nutrient for the first time some days ago since i have topped some of them, the leafs have been like this for 2 weeks, how long should it go before its gone if they are short on nutrients? I dont know the ph (waiting on some stick to check it), the soil is draining ok. I have fan moving the air. I can try to dry them up to se if that helps. How many days could they stay without water?
They can go without water until they start to visibly wilt - if you think they are getting close SHUT THE FAN OFF to avoid damaging leaves. (Run the fan until the top 1/2" of soil is dry, then go ahead and stop it until they get full dry).
Once they begin to wilt you have about 12-24 hours or so (assuming no wind damaging leaves) to re-water them and not cause any permanent damage.
The BIG leaves will be the ones which will visibly start to "thin out and droop". Try not to handle those AT ALL and water very carefully around them; the leaves get very, very fragile when they start to wilt.
I've had pots I thought were BONE dry not show signs of wilting for 2-3 additional DAYS. It's very easy to over-water peppers. It's very difficult to underwater.
Once you add water (carefully) don't be tempted to super-soak them. Add about half of what you'd normally add, and watch them. If the leaves don't start perking back up and filling back out in 4-6 hours, add a little more. You can always add water. You can never really take it away.
Depending on your soil the water may pool on top of the soil when you re-water - that's fine, and makes it easy to measure - just add about 3/8" of water (depth) and let it soak in on it's own.
When the leaves plump back up you can restore the fan; it shouldn't take long, just a few hours and they'll start looking good again.
What I do after this you may or may not want to do - I let them go dry and wilt AGAIN.
When I do this, I learn how FAST they are really using water, and then can water the appropriate amount. I cut the amount I normally water in half, and cut the frequency from wilt/water/wilt in half.
So if they wilt, and I gave them 3/8" of water on day 0, and they wilt again 4 days later, I'll give them about 1/4" of water (depth) every 2 days. (If you have a turkey baster you can also measure by volume that way).
Hope this helps!
How fast they dry out depends almost entirely on the size of the plants, and the type of pots and soil you are using. Some soil holds more water than others, and bigger plants use more than smaller plants.
If the soil is TOO saturated or holds too much water, the roots will begin to rot. The water acts as a buffer, and closes off all the air gaps in the soil - without oxygen in the soil the plants' roots can't do their work and pick up nutrients! The water will stagnate and mold will form, eventually killing the plant.
Let them dry.
if you have any doubt about how WET they are just pop them out and feel the soil. It should feel moist, NOT soaked.
Once they begin to wilt you have about 12-24 hours or so (assuming no wind damaging leaves) to re-water them and not cause any permanent damage.
The BIG leaves will be the ones which will visibly start to "thin out and droop". Try not to handle those AT ALL and water very carefully around them; the leaves get very, very fragile when they start to wilt.
I've had pots I thought were BONE dry not show signs of wilting for 2-3 additional DAYS. It's very easy to over-water peppers. It's very difficult to underwater.
Once you add water (carefully) don't be tempted to super-soak them. Add about half of what you'd normally add, and watch them. If the leaves don't start perking back up and filling back out in 4-6 hours, add a little more. You can always add water. You can never really take it away.
Depending on your soil the water may pool on top of the soil when you re-water - that's fine, and makes it easy to measure - just add about 3/8" of water (depth) and let it soak in on it's own.
When the leaves plump back up you can restore the fan; it shouldn't take long, just a few hours and they'll start looking good again.
What I do after this you may or may not want to do - I let them go dry and wilt AGAIN.
When I do this, I learn how FAST they are really using water, and then can water the appropriate amount. I cut the amount I normally water in half, and cut the frequency from wilt/water/wilt in half.
So if they wilt, and I gave them 3/8" of water on day 0, and they wilt again 4 days later, I'll give them about 1/4" of water (depth) every 2 days. (If you have a turkey baster you can also measure by volume that way).
Hope this helps!
How fast they dry out depends almost entirely on the size of the plants, and the type of pots and soil you are using. Some soil holds more water than others, and bigger plants use more than smaller plants.
If the soil is TOO saturated or holds too much water, the roots will begin to rot. The water acts as a buffer, and closes off all the air gaps in the soil - without oxygen in the soil the plants' roots can't do their work and pick up nutrients! The water will stagnate and mold will form, eventually killing the plant.
Let them dry.
if you have any doubt about how WET they are just pop them out and feel the soil. It should feel moist, NOT soaked.
ok, the soil has always been moist when i have moved them to lager pots (this is pot number 3). I have given them 3-9 ml water a day the last 3 weeks, the small one has got 3ml and the big one 6-9ml (0,0008-0,0024 gallon) and i have sprayed them twice a day to get the humidity in the growing tent/greenhous up. I also have some type of watering mat under the pots that is held i litle moist all the time, not dripping wet, only moist since some of the plants are starting to get the roots out of the pots. I did have vermiculite and perlite in the soil (the soil is for cactus) so its draining well. On some of the pots i have perlite on top of the soil and on them the top of the soil isnt drying out, but on the pots that dont have perlite on top its drying out between watering.
When you transplanted, you didn't pack down the soil by chance? Something's not right with the roots. Did this start after the last transplant?
I'd let them dry some.. when they are this small you can more easily gauge whether they need water by the weight (mass) of the pot, than feeling the top of the soil. The pots should feel pretty "light".
If you have a gardening store nearby, get a soil test kit which tests for N-P-K and see how your soil is balanced with nutrients. The kits are usually not too expensive.
I'd let them dry some.. when they are this small you can more easily gauge whether they need water by the weight (mass) of the pot, than feeling the top of the soil. The pots should feel pretty "light".
If you have a gardening store nearby, get a soil test kit which tests for N-P-K and see how your soil is balanced with nutrients. The kits are usually not too expensive.
TrentL said:
I didnt pack the soil very hard, and they are starting to get roots thru the hole in the bottom of the pot and there was maybe 1/2 inch soil at the bottom of the new pots. Yes, i can feel the difference on the weight on the plants that now are dry and the one that has the layer of perlite on top. I will let it dry a litle more to see what happens.
Here is two of the plants and there roots, i have moved them to larger pots. This time i didnt pack the soil at all. Does the roots seems ok?
This dont have any problemwith the leaf, but after i topped it it havent grown any new branches yet, all the other i have topped are growing new branches/leafs
This dont have any problemwith the leaf, but after i topped it it havent grown any new branches yet, all the other i have topped are growing new branches/leafs
They look kinda of stretched out...what light you using?
That said its mostly likely one of the three mentioned above...water, nutes or PH or a combo of them plus bad lighting.
That said its mostly likely one of the three mentioned above...water, nutes or PH or a combo of them plus bad lighting.
Those are starting to get a little rootbound... would pot up further. Roots look pretty good!
If a plant is low on Nitrogen it won't respond well to topping - won't send out new shoots / leaf clusters. I'd give that one a dose of liquid 12-8-8 next time you water (1 tsp / gal or what the directions call for, for dilution) You can use any ratio as long as the "N" part (nitrogen) is higher; 12-6-6, 8-4-4, etc..
The spotting you have could also be calcium deficiency - overwatered plants suffer from that. Should clear up as they dry out a little.
There's a good guide to this here; http://5e.plantphys.net/article.php?ch=5&id=289
(In English, not sure if there's an equivalent in your native tongue)
If a plant is low on Nitrogen it won't respond well to topping - won't send out new shoots / leaf clusters. I'd give that one a dose of liquid 12-8-8 next time you water (1 tsp / gal or what the directions call for, for dilution) You can use any ratio as long as the "N" part (nitrogen) is higher; 12-6-6, 8-4-4, etc..
The spotting you have could also be calcium deficiency - overwatered plants suffer from that. Should clear up as they dry out a little.
There's a good guide to this here; http://5e.plantphys.net/article.php?ch=5&id=289
(In English, not sure if there's an equivalent in your native tongue)
Pics in post 13 are oedema (edema) which is caused exclusively by overwatering. On the subject of spraying the plants to keep the humidity up...don't. Peppers grow just fine outdoors in the summer in New Mexico where the daytime humidity goes below 10% on a regular basis. All you are doing is inviting mold/mildew.