Sometime later last week, my 4 newest plants (the peppers I got at the farmer’s market) were all looking pretty rough, so I’d reached out to my Wise Gardening Friend for some help.
She recommended doing a “grand soak”, where you put the whole plant (and pot) in the sink (or tub, etc) and submerge it. She said fill it to the top of the soil (or as high as you can) and let it absorb water through the bottom (and also some from the sides, through the pot itself). Wait 2-3 hours (not more than that) and check for the top of the soil to be moist/damp/wet. Then remove.
My Master Gardening Friend had a slightly different take when I described this to her last night. She said you submerge the whole plant, even above the top of the soil, and wait for bubbles to stop coming out. This gets rid of any air pockets that then form some kind of static electricity that repels water (when watering normally) and causes that section to dry out. I’ll have to ask KE5MHJ for her thoughts on that variation!
Armed with only the Wise Gardening Friend version at the time, I started with 1 pot in the sink. It worked! That must’ve been on Thursday night, because I followed up on Friday morning with the other 3, soaking them all at once in the tub after clearing that with my Wise Gardening Friend.
I checked on them after a little more than 2 hours and nope, still no moisture at the top. So I waited until after 3 hours and yep, there it was! The plants themselves already looked completely different. I took before and after pics and showed them to others, several of whom said they look like different plants (!).
Over the weekend, the plants have only improved. Their leaves have uncurled and become greener, flatter, and less wilted. I’m even seeing a few new buds, more on some plants than others.
So, yay!!
Sorcha's Jungle 