One of the most common mistakes from beginners and even more experienced growers that are busy/rushing is overwatering. To have healthy vigorous growing plants it’s very important to avoid over watering and we will discuss how to avoid this.
Signs of Overwatering
Yellowing leaves/slow growth: Leaves will yellow & drop similar to a deficiency. Plants will fail to thrive; roots need oxygen & without adequate oxygen plants will grow much slower.
Root rot: Overly wet conditions can promote the growth of harmful bacteria and fungi, causing your roots to rot.
How to Avoid overwatering
One way is to manually pick up your pot to see if it feels light, it should feel significantly lighter than it does after a watering.
Another is to wait until the lower leaves on the plant start to droop a little before watering again. We do this quite a bit and it works very well.
Do not water again until the soil has actually dried out enough, no matter how long it takes just wait. As the soil dries out the roots will receive oxygen & grow into the lower parts of the soil that are still moist.
Also how does the soil look, you can stick your finger in the soil, as well as buy a moisture meter but a meter is by no means necessary nor do we use one.
How to water
When it’s time to water again you want to water thoroughly. Take your time watering, pour a little and wait for it to absorb. The top of the soil can become hydrophobic, if you water a lot at once it will just run down the sides and out of the pot and not actually absorb into soil. The wet-dry cycle is imperative.
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