Just transplanted 8 of my seedlings to 16oz keg cups, they are all working on their 2nd set of leaves. I watered from the bottom like I have been with the 9oz cups, now that water only made it up to 1/2 - 3/4 of the way up the cup. Should I water from the top as well since it's a new transplant and the top section is not watered at all? Or will the water from below make its way to the top slowly?
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water Water from above or from below?
- Thread starter TjMartin
- Start date
Watch the seedlings - they will tell you. I learned the hard way - too much water leads to BIG problems, peppers will droop when really needing a drink. They recover quickly, but they don't swim well at all! Cool wet conditions invite damping off.
The water will wick up. You want those roots to grow down to the moisture. A few problems with top watering are fungus gnats,soil compaction,poor root growth. I don't pot up until the roots fill the container they are in. It sucks trying to repot a plant that has no root ball and can't hold soil. Often times you will rip the young roots. A plant that small is not going to need all the moisture that will be in a 16oz cup. Just my opinions,I have seen people sow seed directly into the solo cups with success.
I assume you're using soil?
My seeds germinate and grow in rockwool cubes. So far watering/fertilizing from the top of the cubes lead to problems, namely stunted plant growth and thick mats of algae coating the surface.
Now that I have been wicking up the water from the bottom of the cubes the pepper plants have been growing with less issues and there is no algae.
I don't know whether this advice can be used for soil growing but its just what my experience has taught me so far!
Good luck.
My seeds germinate and grow in rockwool cubes. So far watering/fertilizing from the top of the cubes lead to problems, namely stunted plant growth and thick mats of algae coating the surface.
Now that I have been wicking up the water from the bottom of the cubes the pepper plants have been growing with less issues and there is no algae.
I don't know whether this advice can be used for soil growing but its just what my experience has taught me so far!
Good luck.
I switch it up, water from the top some days and water from the bottom some days.... Mostly, top watering is with feedings and when the leaves start getting droopy before they would normally get watered.... When I top water just to water, I water close to the edge of the pots instead of closer to the stem....
Bottom watering has always produced good results, at least for me. Top watering can mat the soil down, while bottom watering keeps the top layer of soil "aerated". The key to the indoor medium is to use a lite weight composition. Some bags of "potting soil" can contain a heavy mix topsoil, humus and loom which can stay moist and compacted.
Outdoors I use a hand shovel to aerate and loosen the top soil around the plant. The roots need air as much as water.
Outdoors I use a hand shovel to aerate and loosen the top soil around the plant. The roots need air as much as water.
You need to know about damping off - it's a fungus that hits at the soil line. The first signs of it may be difficult to discern, as it is a brown growth on the surface of the soil - brown growth + brown soil = hard to see. But, if you carefully watch for it, you'll notice a difference in the soil surface texture. The next sign is a softness of the stem of the plant at the soil line. Eventually, the stem becomes so weak, the plant falls over. Usually this results in the death of the plant. Bottom-watering is one way to prevent it - making sure the water does not reach to the top of the soil. Running a fan on the plants both helps to simulate wind, strengthening the stems of the plants, and also to dry out the surface, to help prevent the fungus from growing. But yes, it can still happen. You can scrape the fungus off, then spray the soil surface with a mix of hydrogen peroxide and water to help kill any remaining fungus. Ideally, lightly spray the soil surface from time to time to prevent it in the first place, too.
Damping off most often occurs with top-watering, and younger plants are more susceptible to it than older plants, though older plants can be killed by it, too. As noted by others, regardless of your watering method, make sure your containers have plenty of drainage. I use Solo cups and cut fairly big holes in them, so they're fine to use. I fill a pot or the sink with an appropriate amount of water, set the cup with plant in there about a minute, then pull the cup out, letting it drain until it no longer drips. Keep in mind that pepper plants tend to like moist but not wet conditions - it is best to let the leaves start to droop just a tad before watering again.
Damping off most often occurs with top-watering, and younger plants are more susceptible to it than older plants, though older plants can be killed by it, too. As noted by others, regardless of your watering method, make sure your containers have plenty of drainage. I use Solo cups and cut fairly big holes in them, so they're fine to use. I fill a pot or the sink with an appropriate amount of water, set the cup with plant in there about a minute, then pull the cup out, letting it drain until it no longer drips. Keep in mind that pepper plants tend to like moist but not wet conditions - it is best to let the leaves start to droop just a tad before watering again.