I have a few HUGE pots that have dried out pretty bad during a short
absence. My watering person missed them completely. These are HUGE pots and
impossible to lift let alone put in another pot to soak as I did with the
smaller ones. Is there anything I can put in the water to make it soak in
better instead of just flowing over the top and down the sides. I can't get
to the drainage hole so I can't do a soak and drain maneuver that way
either. I tried tilling up the surface soil and that helped a bit but not
very much.

Val

On Mon, 19 May 2003 10:54:23 -0700, Valkyrie wrote:

I have a few HUGE pots that have dried out pretty bad during a short
absence. My watering person missed them completely. These are HUGE pots
and impossible to lift let alone put in another pot to soak as I did with
the smaller ones. Is there anything I can put in the water to make it soak
in better instead of just flowing over the top and down the sides. I can't
get to the drainage hole so I can't do a soak and drain maneuver that way
either. I tried tilling up the surface soil and that helped a bit but not
very much.

Val


You could try to mix this in to the soil of the pots.
http://www.soilmoist.com/
It's worked well for me in hanging baskets. Or you could use a cheap drip
system and a water timer.
--
http://yard-works.netfirms.com

Too late for this now, I know, but I've learned the hard way to leave at
least 2 inches at the top of really big pots so that the water has room to
"fill it up" the rest of the way. That way, the water can't run anywhere
even if the soil is really dry. (Of course, the soil can shrink around the
edges, but I can make a dam if needed around the edge to allow the water to
pool.)

Another item that might help is a deep-watering irrigator. We use them for
new trees -- they are easy to find at a garden center and are not very
expensive. You could try one if your pot is big enough. One of these would
let you water under crusted surface of your big pot.

--
-- pelirojaroja
"Valkyrie" wrote in message
news:1053366869.668868@yasure...
I have a few HUGE pots that have dried out pretty bad during a short
absence. My watering person missed them completely. These are HUGE pots
and
impossible to lift let alone put in another pot to soak as I did with the
smaller ones. Is there anything I can put in the water to make it soak in
better instead of just flowing over the top and down the sides. I can't
get
to the drainage hole so I can't do a soak and drain maneuver that way
either. I tried tilling up the surface soil and that helped a bit but not
very much.

Val

"Valkyrie" wrote in message news:1053366869.668868@yasure...
I have a few HUGE pots that have dried out pretty bad during a short
absence. My watering person missed them completely. These are HUGE pots and
impossible to lift let alone put in another pot to soak as I did with the
smaller ones. Is there anything I can put in the water to make it soak in
better instead of just flowing over the top and down the sides. I can't get
to the drainage hole so I can't do a soak and drain maneuver that way
either. I tried tilling up the surface soil and that helped a bit but not
very much.

Val

A drop or two of dish detergent in the watering can.
Don't overdo it

"Valkyrie" wrote:

I have a few HUGE pots that have dried out pretty bad during a short
absence. My watering person missed them completely. These are HUGE pots and
impossible to lift let alone put in another pot to soak as I did with the
smaller ones.

Take a big plastic trash bag. TIP the pot and slide the bag
under the pot, opening side up. Tip the pot the other way and
pull the bag under the pot. Then pull the bag up over the sides
of the pot and start watering. The water will run out but will
puddle in the bag and soak into the soil.




Tsu

--
To doubt everything or to believe everything
are two equally convenient solutions; both
dispense with the necessity of reflection.
- Jules Henri Poincaré

"Beecrofter" wrote in message
om...
"Valkyrie" wrote in message
news:1053366869.668868@yasure...
I have a few HUGE pots that have dried out pretty bad during a short
absence. My watering person missed them completely. These are HUGE pots
and
impossible to lift let alone put in another pot to soak as I did with
the
smaller ones. Is there anything I can put in the water to make it soak
in
better instead of just flowing over the top and down the sides. I can't
get
to the drainage hole so I can't do a soak and drain maneuver that way
either. I tried tilling up the surface soil and that helped a bit but
not
very much.

Val

A drop or two of dish detergent in the watering can.
Don't overdo it

Will Dr Bonner's Peppermint Soap do the same thing?

Val

A couple of possibilities... add a mild surfactant to your re-wetting
water (a tsp. of baby shampoo in a gallon of water) -- note, this may
cause burning of some plants. There are horticultural surfactants made
for this purpose, but shampoo works for me.

Or find a smallish unglazed clay pot, and a cork to fit the hole. Dig
down enough to bury the unglazed pot to the rim, and fill the pot
with water. Keep the pot full until the soil in the main pot has been
thoroughly re-wetted.

Sounds like you've got the soil level in the big pot nearly up to the
rim... might be a good idea to take some out to gain some space for
watering.

"Kay Lancaster" wrote in message
...
A couple of possibilities... add a mild surfactant to your re-wetting
water (a tsp. of baby shampoo in a gallon of water) -- note, this may
cause burning of some plants. There are horticultural surfactants made
for this purpose, but shampoo works for me.

Or find a smallish unglazed clay pot, and a cork to fit the hole. Dig
down enough to bury the unglazed pot to the rim, and fill the pot
with water. Keep the pot full until the soil in the main pot has been
thoroughly re-wetted.

Sounds like you've got the soil level in the big pot nearly up to the
rim... might be a good idea to take some out to gain some space for
watering.

There's about 3-4 inches of rim above the soil line. I'm going to try the
soap thing tomorrow morning and see how that works.

Thanks,
Val

"Tsu Dho Nimh" wrote in message
...
"Valkyrie" wrote:

I have a few HUGE pots that have dried out pretty bad during a short
absence. My watering person missed them completely. These are HUGE pots
and
impossible to lift let alone put in another pot to soak as I did with the
smaller ones.

Take a big plastic trash bag. TIP the pot and slide the bag
under the pot, opening side up. Tip the pot the other way and
pull the bag under the pot. Then pull the bag up over the sides
of the pot and start watering. The water will run out but will
puddle in the bag and soak into the soil.

This would be a good solution but I'm not physically able to do the 'bag
trick', I just tried :-( I'll try the soap and clay pot suggestions and
see what happens. Thanks Tsu.

Val

On Mon, 19 May 2003 10:54:23 -0700, "Valkyrie"
wrote:

I have a few HUGE pots that have dried out pretty bad during a short
absence. My watering person missed them completely. These are HUGE pots and
impossible to lift let alone put in another pot to soak as I did with the
smaller ones. Is there anything I can put in the water to make it soak in
better instead of just flowing over the top and down the sides. I can't get
to the drainage hole so I can't do a soak and drain maneuver that way
either. I tried tilling up the surface soil and that helped a bit but not
very much.

You did the right thing by tilling, but IMHO, need to do it more
deeply than just the surface soil, as the rest has probably become
rather compacted during the waterless period.

Try tilling more deeply, and then set a hose barely trickling into the
plant for a long time. That way it won't "flow over the top and down
the sides".

Keep us posted!



--
Polar

"Valkyrie" wrote:


"Tsu Dho Nimh" wrote in message
Take a big plastic trash bag. TIP the pot and slide the bag
under the pot, opening side up.

This would be a good solution but I'm not physically able to do the 'bag
trick', I just tried :-(

Those must be HUMONGOUS pots!

The clay pot trick is a good idea. Or poke a tiny hole in the
bottom of a milk jug, to let a droplet at a time out, and put it
on top of the soil.

Tsu

--
To doubt everything or to believe everything
are two equally convenient solutions; both
dispense with the necessity of reflection.
- Jules Henri Poincaré

toss some ice cubes up onto the plant for watering. Ingrid


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