Suggestions for watering Smart Pot in Southern California

Chipsazoy · June 11, 2012

This is my first attempt at growing tomatoes in a 65 gallon smart pot and I've been beating myself up on how much to water and how often.

I'm in Southern California and it's starting to get hot out here 90-95 degrees.

I planted them 2 weeks ago and they are 18" tall now, getting direct sun from 9AM to 4PM. I have a drip system set up with 1gph emitters on the tomatoes and I've been watering 10 min early morning and then 10 min again in late afternoon (about 10-12 hrs apart). The soil seems to drain very well (maybe too well) as when i check the soil by digging my finger down an inch or two at these times it is dry.

Although it seems they are growing the leaves seem a little small to me and are curling. Not sure if I'm just impatient with the growing pace as i should know it will take few months for them to start going off.

Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated as i am a newbie to the site and gardening!

walkinggin · June 11, 2012

Although I have never tried smart pots I can think of a few things you might consider.

You didn't mention how many emitters you have per 65gal pot or how many plants per pot. I would check the soil in a number of different places immediately after watering and check further down at least to your knuckle. With the drip and fast draining potting mixes I have found water doesn't always disperse well throughout the pot, leaving pockets of dry soil with most of the water either running out quickly or perching at the bottom if either the pot or mix doesn't have good drainage. For this reason I prefer the emitters that have a small sprayer rather than the drip.

Do the fabric smartpots have actual drainage holes at the bottom? Is it possible that you have water collecting at the bottom of the pot? The small leaves and curling suggest over watering to me.

Chipsazoy · June 11, 2012

Thanks for the reply walkinggin!
I have 2 Tomatoe, 2 Jalapeno, 1 zuchinni, 1 crookneck squash & 1 cucumber

I have 1gph emitters on the tomatoe and .5gph emitters on everything else. So a total of 7 emitters.

The Smart Pot is made of a permeable fabric to allow drainage and airflow.
Here is a link for reference. http://www.smartpots.com/

I've used spray/bubbler emitters on my ground plants and you can usually adjust from 1-10 gph. Thought these would be too much water. If i check the soil before watering down to my second knuckle it's usually dry.

I'm really frustrated trying to figure out whether to water once a day, twice a day etc...
It's really starting to heat up where i live and not sure to focus on keeping the soil moist all day with the frequent watering or to allow soil to dry and water less frequently. Definitely think i should water every day though with 90+ and windy weather.

Thanks again for your input!

Crandrew · June 11, 2012

Depends where in SoCal. Im by the coast so i only water my mators once a week maybe twice max. If you were in Riverside you might want to water every other day. If I were you I would test the soil like you test a cupcake or cake in the oven.
Place a skewer in the soil. If it comes up with dirt attached or moist after 15min then its got plenty of water.

Chipsazoy · June 11, 2012

Thanks Crandrew! I'm in the San Fernando Valley so somewaht comparable to Riverside type weather. Hot & Dry!

Crandrew · June 11, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chipsazoy

Thanks Crandrew! I'm in the San Fernando Valley so somewaht comparable to Riverside type weather. Hot & Dry!

Ok, yeah then you dont get a morning marine layer 50% of time

So i would test the soil moisture as I said above and go from there. You will need to take a new baseline every few weeks as the weather heats up.

augiedog55 · June 11, 2012

My smart pots aren't near a big as yours. I have 1- 5 gallon smart pot with a forth of july tomato in it. Its planted in a 60-40 mix of promix to manure. I water it once a day one gallon of water. The plant is fairly big with 30 tomatoes on it. The other 15 smart pots of mine are 15 gal.(10) and 10 gal.(5). The weather hear is around 85 to 90 at day and 60 to 70 at night. I water them every other day. Some of the plants are 3 ft + in size with fruit on them. They are in the same mixture as the 5 gal. I water the 10 gal. pots 2 gallons water and the 15 gal. 3 gallons of water. I've found with my smart pot plants that the leaves curl up at night and during the day they go back to their regular shape. It happens regulrly on the days I water. This is my first yr with smart pots and I'm learning as i go. I hope this helps. I hand water

Chipsazoy · June 11, 2012

Thanks augiedog. My day/night temps are identical to yours right now. As of right now i'm watering the tomatoes about .5 gallon of water a day 1/4 gallon in morning, 1/4 gallon in the evening. This is were i'm torn. Water more, like 1 gallon every other day or still water daily. I think i'm going to dig down deeper, about 6-7 inches and see if the soil is retaining water further down and it's just the top 2-3" that are drying out. I've also got about 2" of mulch on top.

augiedog55 · June 11, 2012

I don't see how a half a gallon of water can keep and 65 gallon container moist top to bottom. Maybe a drip system is different from hand watering. When I water the water comes out the bottom and sides so I know it is wet top to bottom.

Crandrew · June 11, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by augiedog55

I don't see how a half a gallon of water can keep and 65 gallon container moist top to bottom. Maybe a drip system is different from hand watering. When I water the water comes out the bottom and sides so I know it is wet top to bottom.

+1 I have no idea how its keeping it moist either. You got to use the skewer method and see if there is any moisture down below. I warn against digging because you dont want to disturb the root system.

Chipsazoy · June 11, 2012

You have a point. After i water, i notice the edges along the bottom of the container on the ground are soaked but that's it. Nothing seaps out of the actual fabric on the pot. Do you have your pots rasied off the ground or are they in direct contact? I have mine sitting on the ground which is heavy clay soil.
Pardon my cluelessness, but this is where i'm trying to figure out if i'm watering too much or not enough.

augiedog55 · June 11, 2012

One of the great things about smart pots is you can';t over water because the water will some out the sides and bottom when their is excess moisture in your grow meduim.

augiedog55 · June 11, 2012

Even if you have the bottoms of the smart pots on a hard surface the water will come out the sides round the bottom...I have half of them on 2- 2x8s with the smart pot centered on them on the deck and the other I have 2 2x4's about 15 inches apart with a ten foot piece of stainless steel expanded metal on top of the 2x4's and the smart pots on top of them so water can come out the bottoms. I know people on here that grow in grow bags on there drive ways.

Crandrew · June 11, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by augiedog55

I know people on here that grow in grow bags on there drive ways.

I'd be one of them. I ran out of raised bed room so i have about 20 grow bags between 3 and 5 Gal sizes and am doing peppers, strawberries and tomatoes.

I keep thin pieces of bamboo near my bags and test the soil for moisture every few days. Also a plant will droop when its time to water. In the case of hot peppers thats actually a good thing, makes em hotter

Or so I read.

June 11, 2012	#1
Chipsazoy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: California Posts: 14	Suggestions for watering Smart Pot in Southern California This is my first attempt at growing tomatoes in a 65 gallon smart pot and I've been beating myself up on how much to water and how often. I'm in Southern California and it's starting to get hot out here 90-95 degrees. I planted them 2 weeks ago and they are 18" tall now, getting direct sun from 9AM to 4PM. I have a drip system set up with 1gph emitters on the tomatoes and I've been watering 10 min early morning and then 10 min again in late afternoon (about 10-12 hrs apart). The soil seems to drain very well (maybe too well) as when i check the soil by digging my finger down an inch or two at these times it is dry. Although it seems they are growing the leaves seem a little small to me and are curling. Not sure if I'm just impatient with the growing pace as i should know it will take few months for them to start going off. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated as i am a newbie to the site and gardening!

June 11, 2012	#4
Crandrew Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: asdf Posts: 1,202	Depends where in SoCal. Im by the coast so i only water my mators once a week maybe twice max. If you were in Riverside you might want to water every other day. If I were you I would test the soil like you test a cupcake or cake in the oven. Place a skewer in the soil. If it comes up with dirt attached or moist after 15min then its got plenty of water. Last edited by Crandrew; June 11, 2012 at 05:04 PM.

June 11, 2012	#7
augiedog55 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: oak grove mo Posts: 406	My smart pots aren't near a big as yours. I have 1- 5 gallon smart pot with a forth of july tomato in it. Its planted in a 60-40 mix of promix to manure. I water it once a day one gallon of water. The plant is fairly big with 30 tomatoes on it. The other 15 smart pots of mine are 15 gal.(10) and 10 gal.(5). The weather hear is around 85 to 90 at day and 60 to 70 at night. I water them every other day. Some of the plants are 3 ft + in size with fruit on them. They are in the same mixture as the 5 gal. I water the 10 gal. pots 2 gallons water and the 15 gal. 3 gallons of water. I've found with my smart pot plants that the leaves curl up at night and during the day they go back to their regular shape. It happens regulrly on the days I water. This is my first yr with smart pots and I'm learning as i go. I hope this helps. I hand water Last edited by augiedog55; June 11, 2012 at 05:20 PM.

June 11, 2012	#13
augiedog55 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: oak grove mo Posts: 406	Even if you have the bottoms of the smart pots on a hard surface the water will come out the sides round the bottom...I have half of them on 2- 2x8s with the smart pot centered on them on the deck and the other I have 2 2x4's about 15 inches apart with a ten foot piece of stainless steel expanded metal on top of the 2x4's and the smart pots on top of them so water can come out the bottoms. I know people on here that grow in grow bags on there drive ways. Last edited by augiedog55; June 11, 2012 at 05:49 PM.

June 11, 2012	#2
walkinggin Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Burbank, CA Posts: 196	Although I have never tried smart pots I can think of a few things you might consider. You didn't mention how many emitters you have per 65gal pot or how many plants per pot. I would check the soil in a number of different places immediately after watering and check further down at least to your knuckle. With the drip and fast draining potting mixes I have found water doesn't always disperse well throughout the pot, leaving pockets of dry soil with most of the water either running out quickly or perching at the bottom if either the pot or mix doesn't have good drainage. For this reason I prefer the emitters that have a small sprayer rather than the drip. Do the fabric smartpots have actual drainage holes at the bottom? Is it possible that you have water collecting at the bottom of the pot? The small leaves and curling suggest over watering to me.