How can I correct it?

[carly]

So I gave courgette, jalepino and sweet peppers all planted in big pots. My soil was quite clay but I let it dry out for a year and I added compost to it. When I water these plants I was doing it daily when it was in the high 80's low 90's but now it has been much cooler I'm going by how dry the soil is. It had been 2 days today that I last watered but when I feel the soil it's still quite damp. What should I do?

[lottie dolly]

carry on as you are,the clay is good at holding water,it also has goodness in it,just as a point in question only,i had a cue growing in a pot indoors,it drank and drank,produced several fruit,BUT as the weather cooled it did not,you are doing it right by feeling the ground,so all good.

[happyhumph]

As lottie says - it's one of the advantages of clay. Just watch you don't water to much as it gets cooler and the water doesn't evaporate as much.

[carly]

How do you know if you over water?

[Jungle Jane]

Plants start wilting if they have too much water I think? What you're doing is good,I was just going to say if it's rained for 20 minutes like here,the top of the soil might be damp but the bottom of the pot dry,so being a rain watcher & judger of amount helps

[nickdub]

a) obviously keep an eye on the foliage for wilting
b) try lifting up the pots to get an idea of a reasonable weight after watering - if the composts gets too dry they'll feel light - if they really dry out you sometimes need to stand them in a bucket of water for an hour to get the compost wet again.

[carly]

a) obviously keep an eye on the foliage for wilting
b) try lifting up the pots to get an idea of a reasonable weight after watering - if the composts gets too dry they'll feel light - if they really dry out you sometimes need to stand them in a bucket of water for an hour to get the compost wet again.

The pots are the ones down on the floor.... they are quite big and heavy. I'm thinking feeling the difference between dry and wet weight may be difficult.
Also, could anyone tell me.... would the ' they like a soaking every few days' still apply to this size pot? It needs a fair amount of water to run out of the bottom of the pots and I was worried about water logging the plants.

[Scarlet]

Sit the pots in a tray and water from the bottom if you can't judge it.
When they stop taking up water they have had enough. I use large grow house trays.

[carly]

Sit the pots in a tray and water from the bottom if you can't judge it.
When they stop taking up water they have had enough. I use large grow house trays.

Thank you so much! I have never thought of doing this!