Overwatering

[Tead]

As the clouds pass over and deposit an inch or two of fresh rainwater over my garden, I can't help but wonder about the process of overwatering.

I notice that overwatering causes apparently random leaves on my babies to yellow. I'm wondering what technical process causes the leaves to yellow.

I can imagine 2 or 3 different answers to the process, but I don't know the correct answer. Perhaps the additional moisture in the soil waters down the mix and plants don't get enough nitrogen to their roots. Perhaps the plants can't control their water uptake enough to deal with the added water and it causes the leaves to "bruise". Perhaps the rainwater throws off the ph for a while.

Any thoughts? Is there a biologist in the room?

Cheers!

 

[Ms.Fox]

What time does it rain there? Rain in the middle of the day will cause your plants to burn. The water droplets act as a magnifying glass and will create burn marks on the leaves.

 

[Tead]

What time does it rain there? Rain in the middle of the day will cause your plants to burn. The water droplets act as a magnifying glass and will create burn marks on the leaves.

We often get mid-day storms. I've seen some sun spotting from this, but the damage tends to be very minor and quite unusual. Mother Nature really does us a favor by sending us clouds whenever it rains, and the babies are usually dry by the time the sun comes back after a good rain, so it's all good.

I am, as always, concerned about mold issues. The heat, high humidity and occasional rain all combine to create an environment that contribute to the cause... but that's another post.

Cheers

 

[greenmonkey]

too much water will cause the roots to "drown", roots need oxygen in order to complete the photosynthesis process and the excess water on the roots will keep o2 from being absorbed. so when not enough oxygen is getting to the system, the plant will drop leaves that it cannot support since it is not making enough food to keep em going.
this is just what i remember from biology class and from reading on the net

ms fox, ive heard this from many people but have come to believe this is a myth or at least limited to indoor grows. think about when it does rain during the day and the sun comes back out, wouldnt leaves on trees and other plants have burn marks?

 

[Tead]

id go with your thoughts on the roots being to wet all the time and lack of o2 and may also throw ph out a bit as well
and for ms fox , yes this can happen but if its raining there is usualy no sun to cause the burn. unless it gets sunny real quick after.

hmmm.... I usually think of rainwater as being full of o2, so I'm not sure we could blame it on a lack of o2 at the root level... tho it might be a relative drop in o2 levels when the soil gets wet, no matter how much o2 is in the falling water. hmmm... curious.

We get very quick storms on occasion that blow in from the gulf. I do see the occasional burn, but it's just so hot here that the plants dry off very quickly.

Thanks for the input!

Cheers

 

[Tead]

too much water will cause the roots to "drown", roots need oxygen in order to complete the photosynthesis process and the excess water on the roots will keep o2 from being absorbed. so when not enough oxygen is getting to the system, the plant will drop leaves that it cannot support since it is not making enough food to keep em going.
this is just what i remember from biology class and from reading on the net

ms fox, ive heard this from many people but have come to believe this is a myth or at least limited to indoor grows. think about when it does rain during the day and the sun comes back out, wouldnt leaves on trees and other plants have burn marks?

So it is an o2 issue! Thanks GreenMonkey!

Cheers!

 

[Ms.Fox]

^ I agree. If there's too much water in the soil, the roots will be unable to absorb o2. Where I used to live in Florida grass and tender plants would completely suffer from watering during the day. People that aren't from Florida would try to water their grass during the day and end up with dead grass the next day. Of course in Florida, we would get storms mid day and the sun would immediately come out and bake anything in it's path. ;-)