What do we think. Under or overwatering this jalapeno (lemmy.world)

submitted 11 months ago by Mojojojo1993@lemmy.world to c/gardening@lemmy.world

12 comments fedilink hide all child comments

So this is a year old jalapeno plant. Has been inside over winter. It's currently in some coir mix. It's just struggling along. At this point it's just an experiment as all other seeds grew massively, gave hundreds of chilli's and didn't survive winter outside.

It's in an undraining pot that might be an issue. It seems to grow strong leaves then go yellow wither and die. It's currently summer here but temps range from 30c to 0c. So it's in the house and gets about 6 -8 hours light when we get sun. I put it outside to get as much sun as possible when it's hot out.

Just playing around to see how I go.

Disregard the seedlings. They are capsicums I'm just getting ready to plant. Was easy to chuck them In. They are a few days old

top 12 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[-] Coreidan@lemmy.world 16 points 11 months ago

A non draining pot is a cardinal sin. Even if it’s not a problem now it will be

[-] Mojojojo1993@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago

I get ya. Just a pot I found. Had my snake plant in it but I moved it to a larger pot.

[-] prettybunnys@sh.itjust.works 9 points 11 months ago

Pop holes in the pot, don’t water it until it’s dry at the top.

[-] Mojojojo1993@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

The shitty coir is really hard to determine the dryness level. I'm thinking of chucking out the coir as it's just a bit of a hassle to garden with. Doesn't seem to retain moisture. Probably what it's meant for. Don't think it works well in this situation.

I usually do just make holes but it's ceramic and has several cracks. Don't think i can get away with any holes without shattering the thing.

[-] prettybunnys@sh.itjust.works 5 points 11 months ago

Then repot it into something that has drainage.

Drainage is necessary if you’re using tap water because over time the minerals in the water will build up if they can’t also be washed away.

Just all around you’re best suited to have this thing in a pot that can drain, you want the water to move not pool

[-] Mojojojo1993@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago

Yeah makes sense. I try to only water with rain water but I'll repot. Thanks for advice

[-] Bitswap@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago

My bet is that the pot is the issue. Repot in a draining pot or get some aggression out poking holes in the bottom of that one. Seems like they like thier roots to dry out between waterings.

[-] Mojojojo1993@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

Yeah makes sense. I will shift it to a new pot. I did kinda assume but looking for easy way out

[-] toaster@slrpnk.net 2 points 11 months ago

If you have a drill bit for ceramic, drill some holes in the base of the planter to add drainage, then just put a saucer underneath. The bits can be found at a tool library or odds are someone you know has one.

You can use a skewer to test the soil moisture or a hygrometer to get a feel for when to water. Then, just pick up the pot and go by weight.

[-] Mojojojo1993@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

No chance it will survive. It's got cracks throughout and any tension and it will shatter. I'll just move it to a better draining plant. Not sure what I'll replace it with. Everything needs drainage