Are You Over-Watering Your Pepper Plants? Pepper Geek

hey there welcome back to peppergeek in today's video we'll be talking about whether or not you're over Watering your pepper plants so many of the symptoms of over watering actually underwatering as well so the symptoms overlap and it can be really difficult to determine what the problem really is so in this video we'll talk first about how to properly water pepper plants and then we'll get into some of the common symptoms of over watering and it is worth mentioning that it's more likely that you're over Watering your plants rather than underwatering because when we have pepper plants growing inside we tend to kind of just over nurse them and kind of give them too much care rather than not enough right so what is the ideal way to water your pepper plants Pepper's really like even watering so they like to have evenly moist soil without drowning in water but also without becoming overly dry so the key really is to only water when necessary fuel the soil the first inch or two and make sure that it's dried before you water the next time and we like to use the rule of watering deeply and thoroughly and less frequently so when you're Watering your pepper plants you definitely don't want to just walk by and give them a little bit of water here and there you want to make sure you are thoroughly watering the entire plant until you see the water coming out of the drainage holes and the reason for this is that the root system of your plant is going to search for water so as the top portion of your soil begins to dry out there's still water down lower and those roots are going to naturally travel and expand in search of water and in the process your plant actually develops a stronger overall root system and eventually with your potted pepper plants you should get into the habit of feeling the weight because a potted pepper plant that's just been watered definitely weighs more than a plant that's dried out and thirsty while we're on the topic of watering we have an exciting giveaway from our sponsor today which is hose link they make retractable hose reels so they tidy themselves up and easily get out of the way after you're done using them I've been excited to use ours for a long time now close link is hosting a giveaway worth over five hundred dollars so two lucky winners will get a hose link reel along with some of their other amazing gardening products so if that sounds good to you enter the giveaway in the first link in the description below and if you want to learn more about the hose link reel and how it works how to set it up we have a video over on our other channel geeky Greenhouse explaining all of that thank you so much to hoseling for supporting our Channel and the pepper growing community so now let's get into some of the symptoms of over watering the first symptom is wilting leaves and that can actually mean that your plant is underwatered or over watered pepper plants are very dramatic when they're underwater these two fixtures were taken just an hour apart it's a pretty stressed out underwater plant and after giving it a good sorrow drenching it perked right up but if your wilted plant doesn't perk up after watering then it's most likely that the plant is over watered or there's something else going on so over watering can especially be a problem with seedlings very young pepper plants since the root systems aren't developed yet they don't use or take up as much water so excess water in the soil can lead to a low oxygen environment potentially leading to root rot which can cause the plants to slump over and eventually die so it's definitely worth checking your potted plants and taking a look at the roots root rot will manifest as kind of brown slimy Roots instead of good white firm roots and root rot also kind of has a rotten egg smell so if you notice that you may have a rotting issue and really common way to over water younger plants indoors is to leave the water in your trays after you've watered instead of dumping it out so after you bottom water your seedlings or even water from the top that water can become trapped underneath and you really want to get rid of that to avoid water logging the bottom of the soil so let's move on to the second symptom of over watering now leaves turning yellow can definitely be a symptom of many different things including over watering underwatering or some sort of nutrient deficiency yellowing leaves can happen at any stage and we mostly associate this with over watering so if you're seeing yellowing leaves and you've ruled out things like nutrient deficiency or cold weather then you may be over Watering your plants if they're soggy and mushy and turning yellow it's more indicative of over watering and if they're dry and crispy it's more indicative of underwatering again there are many different types of yellowing leaves there are spots from diseases or cold weather damage so we have a video All About yellowing leaves on peppers if you want to learn more so moving on to another symptom of over watering which is very common in the nightshade family including Peppers is Blossom and rot While most people think that Blossom and raw is strictly a Calcium deficiency it's actually the result of inconsistent and poor watering habits and this is really common in the nightshade family so peppers tomatoes and eggplants can all be susceptible to Blossom and rot so again the solution here is even watering you want to make sure you're watering frequently enough but not too frequently to avoid Blossom and rot in addition to the symptoms we just talked about there are some other things worth looking out for when you're trying to determine if you're over watering or underwatering your plants if you notice soil pulling away from the sides of your pot that's a pretty good indication that your plant is underwatered and thirsty and the type of pot you're using definitely matters too if you're using a clay pot or a grow bag it's more likely that plant is going to be underwatered or need more frequent watering than if you're using a plastic or ceramic pot a couple other symptoms that are associated with improper watering are flower drops so if you see excessive flour drop and you've ruled out high temperatures or cold temperatures then you might have an over watering problem and also fungus gnats are associated with lots of water they need water to live they will typically breed in the first inch or so of the soil when it's really moist and finally if you notice pooling on the surface of your soil whether it be in a pot or in the ground that's a good indication that you have poor drainage which can result in over watering so we've been talking a lot about growing in containers but what if you're growing in a raised bed or directly in the ground and your plants are over watered what do you do about that well the issue stems from the composition of your soil some soil drains really well and other soil just doesn't drain at all so depending on where you live and what your soil is made up of you may have poor drainage in your ground soil so sandy soil will drain really well and soil that has too much clay will hold water and won't drain well so if you see pooling on the surface of your soil and you're seeing symptoms of over watering in your pepper plants it's pretty safe to say that your soil isn't draining well one short-term solution you can do is to plant your pepper plants on mounds and that will allow for better drainage around the plant and you also want to be adding compost on an annual basis we amend our soil with compost not only for the nutritional benefits but because it helps with drainage as well and compost will help whether you have good or bad drainage so if your soil is draining too freely or if you have really heavy clay soil the compost is going to help either way so it's always a good idea to add compost to your soil so all that being said there are a lot of factors that will determine how frequently you need to water your pepper plants the amount of sunlight they're getting the type of soil they're in the size of the plant the weather how much natural rainfall is happening I mean what else yeah it's a pretty heavy topic and there are so many factors that change how often we water and there's also only so much that you can control but just try to err on the side of watering less frequently and deeper and you should be in a good spot don't forget to get your entries in for the hosling giveaway before the giveaway ends yep click that link the first link in the description or visit hoselink.com win thanks so much for watching we'll see you next time

Channel: Pepper Geek

Views: 55,646

Keywords: gardening, growing, peppers

Id: 6X_nv6SeHrg

Length: 8min 12sec (492 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 26 2023