From the fryer into the frying pan

Jack in the Bud said:

mlahonta,

While they're looking much better than what they were I still think you're not watering them enough. They just look to dry to me.

If I were you I would find something to put under the pots to get them up an inch or so, so that they don't end up sitting in the run off water. Plus that will help you get good air circulation under the pot so it doesn't become a staring place for mold or fungus.

I'm using pots very similar to what you're using. But instead of sitting in a catch pan like you have yours I've got mine set up on a gently sloped low platform that drains all the run off to catch basin I can empty out. I've still got my pots sitting up a half inch off of this surface so they drain good and air circulates under them. I've got a bunch of 1/2" high rings I've cut off of a scrape piece of 2" PVC pipe to set them on. I use three of them under each pot to form a stable tripod for them to sit on.

I'm of the opinion that this generally accepted rule about letting the soil get real dry between waterings is a bad idea.
You end up forming a lot of dry pockets in the soil that won't easily re-absorb moisture when you do water them. Even though you get some water running out the bottom of the pot when you do water there'll still be lots of dry channels in the soil (where the roots will suffer).

If this condition develops about the only thing you can do to correct it is to set them in a pan of water for several hours until they suck up enough of it that the soil on top becomes moist again by the soil's having had watered itself from the bottom up.

This is just a corrective measure though. In general you don't want the pot sitting in standing water for long periods of time. An hour or so after you watered them would be fine but then you need to get them up out of it so they can finish draining good.

If I were you I think I'd give those plants a good drenching soak with plain water that had 1 or 2 drops of Ivory Dish Soap / gallon in it. Let them stand in it for an hour or so and then get them up out of it so their feet are dry. Then I'd keep the soil moist at all times never letting that top layer become as dry as it appears in your pictures.

O.K. [lecture mode off]

Jack

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