water The "how much to water" problem...

[Zingo99]

Ive come to the conclusion I suck at determine how much water plants need. I've always read the "hot peppers dont like wet feet" etc and got hung up on it i think.
Now I have a couple of plants on my balcony in sunny location most of the day. Some plants get yellow leaves all over which I guessed was overwatering, but I aint so sure anymore, four of the plants I've begun bottomwatering to see if theres a difference, one plant wicked almost 2 liters of water in i a 2 gallon pot! If I stick my finger down 3 cm its a little moist but not wet after this procedure, top soil still bone-dry. theres no watering returning through the drain holes. So am I safe if theres no water retuning through the drain holes or can it still be "waterlogged" and get root-rot? Ive done this procedure every 2 days for a week, most leaves still yellow but i think some new growth is i litte darker green. My regular watering scheme have been splash a couple of deciliters each day but i dont think it have been getting down to the bottom of the roots...

 

[geeme]

Yellowing is most commonly caused by over watering, and based on your description, I'll stick with that. Too much or too little nitrogen can cause the same, though. Generally, ignore how the soil feels. You just can't get your fingers to where they need to be. There are two things that are more reliable:
 
- Pick up the pots every couple of days to feel the weight. You don't have to pick them up high, just lift them a tad so you can feel how heavy they are. Get used to what they feel like after you just watered them vs. when they need water. How do you know they need water? Look at the next item....
 
- Allow the leaves to droop slightly before you water them again. This is the plant's way of telling you it needs water. 
 
I don't like to let the leaves get droopy in the hottest part of the summer, as most of the time I miss it until they're excessively droopy. But I let them get a bit droopy when I'm first trying to figure out how heavy (light) a pot should be before it gets watered again. Just got to be careful not to let them get too droopy or they'll start dropping leaves/flowers/pods. At the "too droopy" point, though, the leaves will look extremely wilted. Don't wait that long. Just get used to the weight of the pots when they're slightly droopy. You'll figure it out after a few times of picking them up.
 
Keep in mind that individual plants uptake water at different rates. This means you may not be watering all of them on the same schedule. 

 

[Prehensile]

+1 on #2

 

[ThePepperManiac]

+1 on what geeme said

 

[ms1476]

Yep, pick up the pots to see if they need water. When they do, give em water until it runs out of the drainage holes in the bottom of your plant. Repeat process...

 

[Redrum801]

+1 , I've been doing what geeme says and it's been best way to judge when they need water . Was using the finger method , bought a cheap water meter , checking weight of pots has been best method by far . And what he said about the plants being on different schedules is right , the ones that feel light I water , others I wait on till they feel light also . If pots are light and there drooping a bit water them ASAP , nothing sucks more then getting a bunch of flowers and having them fall off because you over stressed the plant .