I planted dill for the first time this year, in a container. It's a somewhat small container, but I had free seeds and an extra pot, so I figured "what the hey, I'll put the dill here."
I have used this container before for other plants and never experienced this... any dill on the outer rim of the container is rust orange. The dill in the center was completely normal and healthy-- I just cut it down yesterday.
Any ideas?
[img]https://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a360/madonnaswimmer/Jun182012042.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a360/madonnaswimmer/Jun182012043.jpg[/img]
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madonnaswimmer
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- Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
I don't think there should be water standing on top of the soil like that. It should drain straight through and out the bottom.
What kind of soil did you plant the dill in? Garden soil is too heavy and won't drain well. The plants generally die from root rot. If you used potting soil, you might be watering too often or too much at a time.
Gently pull the entire root ball out of the pot. If the bottom part of the soil is soggy wet, then that's probably what's wrong. While the root ball is out of the container, you can examine the roots. If the whole thing smells sour, then the roots are rotten. If everything with the root ball looks good, just slip it back into the pot and continue your search for what's wrong.
What kind of soil did you plant the dill in? Garden soil is too heavy and won't drain well. The plants generally die from root rot. If you used potting soil, you might be watering too often or too much at a time.
Gently pull the entire root ball out of the pot. If the bottom part of the soil is soggy wet, then that's probably what's wrong. While the root ball is out of the container, you can examine the roots. If the whole thing smells sour, then the roots are rotten. If everything with the root ball looks good, just slip it back into the pot and continue your search for what's wrong.
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madonnaswimmer
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It should be just fine growing in potting soil. I kinda thought you had just watered, but even so, water never stands on the surface of the soil in any of my containers.
I hope you report back about the condition of the root ball. I'd be very interested to learn if there has been water collecting in the lower soil in the container. Learning what you find in this container of dill will help me advance my own learning about how water drains out of a container. From everything I've studied and experienced with my own plants, it's a very different process than how water moves through the ground. That's why it's so important to use actual potting mixes for container plants.
It would also help to know if you put broken pottery, gravel, or anything else in the bottom of the container before you added the soil and planted the seeds. That was once thought to help the soil drain better, but I've tried it many times and found it to only create problems with the development of the plant's root system. I'd like to know if that has been your experience, too.
I hope you report back about the condition of the root ball. I'd be very interested to learn if there has been water collecting in the lower soil in the container. Learning what you find in this container of dill will help me advance my own learning about how water drains out of a container. From everything I've studied and experienced with my own plants, it's a very different process than how water moves through the ground. That's why it's so important to use actual potting mixes for container plants.
It would also help to know if you put broken pottery, gravel, or anything else in the bottom of the container before you added the soil and planted the seeds. That was once thought to help the soil drain better, but I've tried it many times and found it to only create problems with the development of the plant's root system. I'd like to know if that has been your experience, too.
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PunkRotten
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madonnaswimmer
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Kisal-- yes, for some reason the water always takes longer to drain from that pot and from my green onions. Don't really know why.
I have maybe gumball-to-ping-pong-ball-sized rocks in the bottom of all of my containers. What problems did your rocks cause with the root system? I personally haven't tried anything else, as this was what my family taught me. I had a wonderful older gentleman as a neighbor in my last apartment who would use women's nylons/pantyhose at the bottom of the pot-- tee hee! I would love to hear other suggestions...
I will definitely report back tomorrow.
I have maybe gumball-to-ping-pong-ball-sized rocks in the bottom of all of my containers. What problems did your rocks cause with the root system? I personally haven't tried anything else, as this was what my family taught me. I had a wonderful older gentleman as a neighbor in my last apartment who would use women's nylons/pantyhose at the bottom of the pot-- tee hee! I would love to hear other suggestions...
I will definitely report back tomorrow.
I use plastic screening, like for windows. I just cut a piece to fit the bottom of the container, place it inside, then add the soil.
More than once, when using rocks or broken pottery, I would find that the pieces had shifted in such a way that they blocked the drainage holes. The water would drain out, but not as fast as was best for the plant's root development. The window screening, since it laid flat over the drain holes, allowed for the best drainage, while still keeping the soil in the container and keeping insects from crawling into the soil through the drainage holes.
More than once, when using rocks or broken pottery, I would find that the pieces had shifted in such a way that they blocked the drainage holes. The water would drain out, but not as fast as was best for the plant's root development. The window screening, since it laid flat over the drain holes, allowed for the best drainage, while still keeping the soil in the container and keeping insects from crawling into the soil through the drainage holes.
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madonnaswimmer
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- Joined: Wed Apr 20, 2011 9:41 pm
- Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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madonnaswimmer
- Senior Member
- Posts: 146
- Joined: Wed Apr 20, 2011 9:41 pm
- Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Here is what the root looked like:
[img]https://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a360/madonnaswimmer/q001.jpg[/img]
Definitely rootbound (as was expected due to the small pot), but didn't smell rotten. Also wasn't very wet, so I think it may be draining ok. Perhaps it was just at the end of its life.
Coffee filters? And that drains fast enough?
[img]https://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a360/madonnaswimmer/q001.jpg[/img]
Definitely rootbound (as was expected due to the small pot), but didn't smell rotten. Also wasn't very wet, so I think it may be draining ok. Perhaps it was just at the end of its life.
Coffee filters? And that drains fast enough?