Summary of BOTTOM WATERING PLANTS. HOW BOTTOM WATER PLANTS. A SOIL SCIENTIST VIEW | Gardening in Canada

00:00:00 - 00:10:00

The soil scientist in the video explains the concept of bottom watering plants, which involves watering them from the bottom up through capillary action. However, she cautions against bottom watering because it can lead to a build-up of salt in the soil, which can harm plants by causing deficiencies in nutrients. To avoid this issue, she recommends flushing the soil regularly and physically removing the salt before bottom watering. She also recommends checking if the plant is salt resilient or salt-sensitive to determine the frequency of repotting or fertilizing. It's essential to use bottom watering with caution and address any salt build-up promptly to avoid further issues.

• 00:00:00 are actually getting rid of all the salt that's accumulated in the soil. In this section, the soil scientist explains the concept of bottom watering, which involves placing a nursery pot inside a cover pot with water that flows up through capillary action. She cautions against bottom watering because it can lead to salt buildup, which is harmful to plants. She recommends taking the plant out of the pot, removing the top layer of soil, wiping down the pot's edges, and physically removing the salt before flushing the soil.
• 00:05:00 In this section, the soil scientist explains the importance of flushing the salt out of the soil when bottom watering plants. Salt can be a combination of various minerals, and when a plant is bottom watered, the salt is not flushed out because it sits in suspension. Roots use a higher salt concentration to facilitate a process called diffusion, which is one of the ways plants absorb nutrients. When the plant's roots have a lower salt concentration than the surrounding soil, water will stop flowing, and nutrients may leach out of the roots into the soil. Therefore, to avoid this issue, it is necessary to flush the soil regularly, especially when bottom watering plants.
• 00:10:00 In this section, the soil scientist explains that a build-up of salt in the soil can cause deficiencies in phosphorus, potassium, and zinc in plants because these are the three main nutrients transported through diffusion. To avoid salt build-up, it's essential to eliminate it by either flushing the soil or repotting the plant. It's also crucial to check if the plant is salt resilient or salt-sensitive, as this determines the frequency of repotting, fertilizing, or bottom watering. Finally, the soil scientist recommends using bottom watering with caution and resolving any build-up promptly to avoid further issues.