Seeking advice from knowledgeable gardeners out there. This spring we purchased a couple flats of pepper plants from a local garden store, then potted them up in containers (because the soil under the lawn is a typical suburban clay-gravel mix under the decorative inch of topsoil).
But there was a glitch. This year we bought some new pots and didn't notice that the new ones lacked drainage holes in the bottom. After an initial watering and a week of recurrent rain, the seedlings in those pots were swimming in a soil/water soup that couldn't be poured out without losing the seedlings. So we moved those pots under the screen porch where they wouldn't receive any more rain.
Somewhat surprisingly, most of the plants survived, and have wound up looking quite different. The top photo shows the ones in full sun in the back yard (mulched with marsh hay). The peppers are forming nicely and on schedule, but the leaves look rather pale green.
Here are the pots that have been sitting under the screen porch for the past couple months:
Some died off (drowned, apparently), but these others are maturing and seem to be a week or two "behind schedule" in flowering and fruiting. But the curious feature is how much more deeply green their leaves are. (The photos may be slightly distorted because of the difference in ambient light, but the difference is real).
Why so different? I don't know. It seems statistically unlikely that the ones in the pots are from different flats/different strains of peppers. My instinct tells me that pale leaves represent nutritional deficiency of some type, but those out in the yard were planted in Miracle-Gro potting mix, which should have a superabundance of minerals for these modest-sized plants. Does repeated rain and watering wash out those additives from the potting mix when used outdoors?
Or are the under-deck dark-leaved plants intensifying their chlorophyll production because they are situated where they receive only indirect light?
Some reader out there may know. I'm just an English major blundering through the practicalities of life.
Maybe its more temperature than sunshine. How hot do the pots get? If there's still growing time, relocate some of each and see what happens.
ReplyDeleteSunlight also causes chlorophyll molecules to break down (plants must continually create new chlorophyll to replace what has been destroyed). Perhaps that is the difference as the plants under the patio are more protected? The production of chlorophyll requires not only sunlight but also warm temperatures so, as the previous person commented, the plants under the patio may be getting more heat as well. Just a guess :)
ReplyDeleteare the drainless pots plastic? do you have a gardening knife? or a cordless drill and a 1/4 inch drill bit? whattaya waitin' for? get drillin' and stabbin'! :-)
ReplyDeleteone of my tomato planters this year is drainless. it is black and it is also the driest. the other planters (white 4 gallon ice-melt buckets) have two 1/2 inch drain holes put in and all are normally wet / damp.
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I'm with Anonymous. Those pots look plastic. Just drill a few holes in the bottom. A plant in a drainless pot is like a prisoner in a toiletless isolation cell.
ReplyDeleteWhen you plant in a pot with a drain you can put a piece of broken clay pot (or a stone) in the drain hole. Water will still leak out, but your soil will stay in.
miracle grow is soluble nutrition (in salt form) it absolutely will drain out of the soil with repeated washings. I'm with your other commenters who say put holes in those pots and get them back into the sun. peppers won't set fruit or ripen well without some intense sun. you'll want to feed your other plants though. if miracle grow is your thing just mix up some fertilizer next time you're watering.
ReplyDeletei drilled the two holes in the sides, about one inch from the bottom. my unsubstantiated reasoning was that (1) that would keep 'some' water in the container rather than all running out the bottom, (2) keep bugs from crawling in to the container through holes in the bottom that were in contact with the ground, (3) only two holes in a four gallon pail, again, to keep some water in the container while letting excess water drain.
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Drill the holes! (been there done that)
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