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Peat free compost - rotting roots

lm00103000lm00103000 Posts: 3
in Problem solving
My wife has found a number of potted plants (varying from tomatoes to dahlias) are very wet. This is despite almost no rain, a decent amount of sun and very little watering.

She mixed peat free compost with grit and perlite but despite this they don't seem to be draining freely and as a result some roots were found to be rotting.

Looking for any advice and whether the type of compost could be the cause!

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    When you say 'almost no rain', do you mean the plants are outside?
    It's not warm enough yet for toms and dahlias to be outdoors. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • lm00103000lm00103000 Posts: 3
    Ah!

    Tom's have been inside overnight, dahlias were planted as bulbs and moved inside each frost but haven't even managed to get above the surface but apparently rotting.

    We were wondering whether compost could have been a factor or not.
  • hatty123hatty123 Posts: 125
    Seems weird that the pots are so wet when they've not had much rain or watering. I use peat-free compost for seeds and potting on, haven't had any issues, if anything peat-free tends to dry out quicker. Where are your pots located and what type of pots are you using? Are the drainage holes free to drain, i.e. not restricted by being on a hard surface?
  • lm00103000lm00103000 Posts: 3
    Pots have generally been moved into the sun (on grass) when it has been out, and on ceramic feet when not. Variety of pots, mainly plastic with quite a few holes drilled through the bottom. 
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