NewEnglandFarmer
Well-Known Member
I have several 10g fabric pots outside vegging and we had a 3-week stretch in June with lots of rain, drizzle, and fog. When I realized they were wicking moisture up from the wet ground I moved them onto a covered porch so they could dry out (they were saturated). Soil is Coast of Maine's Stonington Blend.
Some of them started to get droopy and/or the leaves wilted, some yellowing and even some decay in lower leaves, guessing there's some root rot going on. Been doing my best to dry them out over the past two weeks but the humidity has been really high. Try to get them in sun (when we have it!) to help dry things out but several can no longer transpire very well, they start wilting badly when in direct sun so have kept them in shade. However a few remain wilted even in shade. Have removed any yellowing/dying leaves. Did a light foliar feed with kelp a few days ago but no visible improvement. Poked aeration holes in one with a chopstick to see if that would help, didn't seem to.
After 2 weeks pots still aren't light but soil feels bone dry when I put a finger in. This morning I gave them a very light watering, just enough to "cut the dust" on the top layer of soil. Seemed like 2 weeks with no water was not a great situation for the top part of the root zone.
Any suggestions on how to turn this around? I know, better to prevent it from happening in the first place--I will never leave fabric pots on wet ground again, my bad, lesson learned. But I still have 2-3 weeks until flowering begins so if I can just nurse them back I might be OK. But it's looking pretty iffy. Looking for others who've successfully come back from a mishap like this. Thanks for any tips.
These two were wilting in the sun so have kept them mostly in shade, still looking pretty sad though:
This one seems like it just be salvageable but after 2 weeks she's still drooping:
This one also might be salvageable but still not looking healthy:
Not sure I can save this one. After I moved them up off the ground this pot started to feel pretty light and looked only very slightly droopy so I gave it a good drink. Next day it looked really bad and has not really recovered even spending most of its time in the shade. That watering must've kicked the root rot into high gear. Should've watered lightly or waited longer I guess.
Some of them started to get droopy and/or the leaves wilted, some yellowing and even some decay in lower leaves, guessing there's some root rot going on. Been doing my best to dry them out over the past two weeks but the humidity has been really high. Try to get them in sun (when we have it!) to help dry things out but several can no longer transpire very well, they start wilting badly when in direct sun so have kept them in shade. However a few remain wilted even in shade. Have removed any yellowing/dying leaves. Did a light foliar feed with kelp a few days ago but no visible improvement. Poked aeration holes in one with a chopstick to see if that would help, didn't seem to.
After 2 weeks pots still aren't light but soil feels bone dry when I put a finger in. This morning I gave them a very light watering, just enough to "cut the dust" on the top layer of soil. Seemed like 2 weeks with no water was not a great situation for the top part of the root zone.
Any suggestions on how to turn this around? I know, better to prevent it from happening in the first place--I will never leave fabric pots on wet ground again, my bad, lesson learned. But I still have 2-3 weeks until flowering begins so if I can just nurse them back I might be OK. But it's looking pretty iffy. Looking for others who've successfully come back from a mishap like this. Thanks for any tips.
These two were wilting in the sun so have kept them mostly in shade, still looking pretty sad though:
This one seems like it just be salvageable but after 2 weeks she's still drooping:
This one also might be salvageable but still not looking healthy:
Not sure I can save this one. After I moved them up off the ground this pot started to feel pretty light and looked only very slightly droopy so I gave it a good drink. Next day it looked really bad and has not really recovered even spending most of its time in the shade. That watering must've kicked the root rot into high gear. Should've watered lightly or waited longer I guess.
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