Soil Drying out probalem

[blink_inc]

Well the problem is that the soil dry's out very quickly and forms a hard "crust" on the top.
When watering the water just floats on top or runs down the inside and out the drainage holes.
Most frustrating.

I am using a soil that I pick up at the local garden center. Indoor/outdoor potting soil. It's mised with 1/3 small bag of perlite.

I seem to be watering every 2 days which seems like a lot, and it is sure taking a lot of time out of every day....

Is my extraction fan sucking all of the moisture out of the room?

Is the soil/perlite ratio too high?

Should I check a new soil?

I know the problem sounds petty however it is most annoying when the rooms floor is covered in water and the plants are still dry..

Anyone else have this problem?

[Greenthing]

Hi blink_inc,
Dont know if this is of any help, my mix is 50 50 compost and perlite 2 and a half liter pots and i water every 2 days.:)

[texas grass]

if you are just using top soil and perlite, it would be better and have better water holding capabilities, but mix in either compost, composted manure, composted manure & humus, earth worm castings, leaf mold. any of that stuff will help in most departments of growing

[420freedme]

use a fork and airiate the soil manually. next time add more perlite. or get better soil.

[hudson88]

Hey blink,

To get the soil to hold more water you've got to let the soil soak up the water more slowly. What I do from time to time when the soil gets very dry is fill the bath with a couple inches of water and let the plants sit in it for about 15 mins, then I water them from the top slowly, alternating between plants to give them a minute or two before I water each plant a little more. It takes a while to do it but its the only way of doing it properly and like I said it's only from time to time when the soil gets really dry, not every watering.

[grey1223]

Take your time when watering. If you're watering every other day you shouldn't have a problem with drying out. I suspect you let them get too dry and then water too fast. Sometimes I'll have a few pots that want to do that in the last week or two. Give them a little water, wait 5 minutes and repeat. Continue until plants are thoroughly moist. By adding a little at a time the medium will expand and fill those dry gulleys that funnel water out. Water a little slower in the future.