My plants need too much water

NoobgrowerLbc said:

There are dry spots on the near the fabric. That’s becuase they will leak on the side. Temps hit 100 plus every other day. I would love to do get them to wick water but the roots had sinked into the ground. Impossible to lift the pots up now.

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I think the problem is you've got dry spots in the middle, which is what @whitebb2727 is referring to. When you water, the water is just shearing off the side of the dry spot and not fully soaking. You'll get runoff, but not full saturation.

Are you able to get a garden hose out there to do a multi stage soak?

Agreed, running some smart pots for the last bunch of grows. When the water stalls and runs out of the sides that is where it's hitting a dry spot/layer. Usually, this causes me to pick up an indoor plant and carry it to the yard so I can run a bunch of water through it and get it all well soaked again. I've been telling myself to lighten the mix for future rounds because of it.

NoobgrowerLbc said:

There are dry spots on the near the fabric. That’s becuase they will leak on the side. Temps hit 100 plus every other day. I would love to do get them to wick water but the roots had sinked into the ground. Impossible to lift the pots up now.

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That's understandable. I guess just put a few drops of dish soap in your water and keep watering them until the root zone is soaked all the way through. Start watering several times a day.

socaljoe said:

I think the problem is you've got dry spots in the middle, which is what @whitebb2727 is referring to. When you water, the water is just shearing off the side of the dry spot and not fully soaking. You'll get runoff, but not full saturation.

Are you able to get a garden hose out there to do a multi stage soak?

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That is what I meant by the dry spots. The center gets dry and becomes hydrophobic and is worsened by the smart pot. The water just runs off the side.

Maybe wrapping some plastic around the pots just while watering will help the water to go through the root balls and not the sides.

I do know a drop of soap helps break water tension and helps some.

You can't lift it to increase pot size so I would frame a box around it with cedar siding on the inside + put soil around the smartpot.
If the roots are growing into the ground then it's getting some of the run-off also

this is why you never want to skimp on soil,good soil won't support the plant without additional support. A good light soil with all the right ingredients gives you that nice even watering that we are all looking for

NoobgrowerLbc said:

i need to water them everyday. I water untill I see run off. Then next day they are drooping. I give each pot 5-7 gallons of water. Plants are 6 feet tall topped 3 times and bushy. They are in 30 gallon smart pots. Is this normal? Temps are 90 degrees here always.

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Are you using a peat based soil mix? If so you probably need to add a wetting agent to your waterings. Everytime peat dries out it loses some of its water retaining ability. Over time it progressively becomes more hydrophobic. A wetting agent like yucca extract will help it regain some of its ability to retain water.

eddy600 said:

this is why you never want to skimp on soil,good soil won't support the plant without additional support. A good light soil with all the right ingredients gives you that nice even watering that we are all looking for

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Nah, even good soil mixes can go hydrophobic with poor watering practices. I recommend looking into a drip system next time, the difference in growth when you have a constant moisture levels is remarkable. Handwatering 90 plants is a nightmare.

You could also airate the soil as well. Take something like a long thin rod and poke holes into the soil and root ball to loosen and allow more water to enter.

That with a wetting agent along with multiple waterings should help get moisture to the center of the soil.

I use a 5 gallon bucket twice per plant. it's like spending 2 to 3 hours every day at the gym.

this is why it's a good idea to sit down and make a careful plan before you jump into something.
go buy a couple of garden hoses and hook them together, and get a watering wand, until you can get a drip system installed.
do you have anything to use as a res for your drip system? do you have a pump or timer yet? you'll also need some kind of manifold to control the flow

You can also use Si to aid cooling, aloe vera, rice hulls, diatomite, are some sources..

a white DE Rock on top of mulch will help bounce light of medium...

I would bury them as mentioned, or build up the outside soil, and mulch it..

also, by increasing your fungals and maybe, watering in some myco, you could extend the plants reach and ability to fight off drought..

and to aid in drooping, I would use insect frass.. BSF frass to be exact.. tbsp per plant, and water in, those puppies should stay or get right perky for few days straight.. usually up to 5 subsequent waterings I'll notice them pray.. should knock a couple watering days off in the end too if used properly.

coco foliar

drips, also good ideas.

90 beasts, though, dang, good job!!