how much damage can one episode of overwatering cause? is under-watering worse than over-watering? seems this plant never gets enough water and it makes me want to water till it starts pouring out of the holes in the bottom just so i know for sure that it is not dry. leaves keep turning yellow even with added 19-6-12. would a one time over-watering cause irrepairable damage to an established outdoor plant that doesnt get any rain? and to kill 2 birds with 1 stick, does soap and water sprayed all over the leaves really keep bugs away? can you use any dishsoap? thanks a million
Underwatering is worse. When not getting enough water, the plants begin to die. They can die (drown basically) from too much water, but if it's just once the plant sorta "goes to sleep" until the soil dries out a bit. Leaves that die won't come back--ever. Continued yellowing of leaves indicates a problem BUT It's too early for most strains to begin flowering, but during flowering it's normal for the fan leaves to yellow, wither, die and fall off. It's totally ok to put enough water in the container until the excess just begins to run out the bottom. Dishwashing soap (like Dawn) is effective against insects. You don't need much, just 2--3 drops to a quart of water. Commercially available insecticidal soap is better. Spray on both sides of the leaves.
here are a few images i have been wanting to post just to see if anyone thinks there is anything wrong with this chick. im not sure why there are yellows. it has had 19-6-12 for a few days now. also, what these dont show are a few leaves with what look like, for lack of a better term, worm trails, or a maze. squiggly little lines. they dont dominate any leaf, but are on maybe the ends of them or a part of the side. is it a bug? i guess im looking for a check-up. any insight as to how this lady is doing, from what you can tell, would be great. thanks. edit: i guess you have to click on my gallery to see the pics.
here is a photo of the wormy stuff i was trying to explain. they seem to bo only on the lower part of the plant. to me it doesnt seem like natural decay. looks like someting is borrowing or something. do i need to spray the entire plant with walmart brand dishsoap and water? thanks another billion
well i started with miracle grow potting mix. about 3 or 4 days ago i gave it some of this stuff called Expert Gardener Slow release all purpose plant food. it claims 19-6-12. the bottle is filled with little round pellets and i sprinkled about 1.5 teaspoons of it on the soil and scrathed it in so it was kind of covered. i havent noticed it geting any greener. maybe a little. the yellowing has however seemed to slowly reverse. maybe i need a fast release instead of slow release? you can see some more of this same plant in my gallery. i would like someone to tell me if it looks normal. i wouldnt know. i have never done this before. thanks
Might sound weird at first but a great alternative to those time released chemicals is to use your own urine and dilute it with water. I usually take one or two monster pisses in my 2 gallon watering cans, it's a great source of not only free but organic nitrogen that will be absorbed much faster by the plants. I read in a few places that a ratio of 1:10 urine to water is ample but i just take a piss in the can before watering and my plants seem to thrive on it just fine =)
globox--you've probably got a nutrient imbalance with that witche's brew of crap you've been putting on it. One reason I always emphasize that people read a grow book BEFORE they even drop a seed is because of what's happening right now. If you had done some research you would have found out that -You DON'T want time-release anything. -And reading boards like this you'd find out that miracle grow products are crap. Throughly flush your plants (3 times as much water as the container size) and hope that corrects the problem. Rivers--While urine is a nice addition to a nutrient regimen, you need a LOT more N, as well as P & K, micronuitrients and trace elements, things piss has little or none of, for optimum results. Also, heavy doses of piss will cause a salt build-up in the soil--not good. I reccommend using a full-spectrum nutrient, and add pee at no more than 3--4 ounces per gal/water.
yeh, i didnt think it would be this involved. i was just like, "its a plant, how hard can it be." and now here i am. so is flushing with 3 times the container size the safest way? i take it that you mean give it all the water at one time...not spread apart in 3 days or something. it just sounds contradictive to the 'dont water too much' rules. anywho, ill give the flush in the morning and hope for a response between now and then. thanks. globox EDIT: taking a closer look it seems some of the stems (the ones that connect directly to a leaf) are turning dark, maybe a purple color, on the top only. not the top of the plant, the top side of the stem. is this part of the imbalance or is it just getting ready to flower?
if your growing straight in the ground should you watter more? and should it be covered when it rains?
natureslaze - How much you need to water your plants is a knack that you just have to pick up. Think of it more like an "art" than a "science". The main thing is to pay attention to the plant - it will let you know if it's "happy". If it's not getting enough water it will wilt or look saggy. If it's overwatered the soil doesn't dry out enough to let air into the root system, plus it leaches nutrients away faster. Overwatering may be harder to recognize. Use the old "Finger Test" - stick your finger into the soil near the plant, if it feels dry at about three inches add water; if it still feels moist at three inches let it dry out some more. Plants in pots will react faster to these problems. "if your growing straight in the ground should you watter more?" If the ground around you is "dry" it will suck up a lot of your water, so you will have to water more. If the ground around you is "holding" a decent amount of water it wont make any difference. There is a big difference between underwatering and overwatering, that leaves a good "safty zone" in between. Use the finger test till you get the hang of it. "and should it be covered when it rains?" Young plants (a few inches tall) need to be protected from heavy rains - bigger plants (a foot or so) are pretty tough. Just use common sense - if the rain is "beatting up" your plant, protect it. globox - What the Ranger is telling you is solid information. Your day-to-day watering pattern is one thing, flushing is something else. Flushing is a maintenance proceedure, it works like the rinse cycle in a washing machine - it carries the unwanted crap away and prevents it from building up. It should be done periodicaly even if you're not having a problem. Yea, all at the same time; but don't flood the pot with too much water at once or it may turn into "Quicksand". It should be more like a continual process - let it keep trickling through. Yes it's safe, about once a month - the plant thinks it's getting a rain storm. One more thing. If your slow release fertilizer is just scratched into the surface, you should be able to "peel off" the top layer and remove it then replace the top layer. Then pick another kind of fertilizer. "yeh, i didnt think it would be this involved. i was just like, "its a plant, how hard can it be." That's what everybody thinks at first!!! You can throw some crap together and bake it, but I wouldn't call it a cake. If you want a cake you need to use the right ingredients and follow the recipe. Growing works the same way, do you want schwag or do you want killer buds?
