greene said:This is only a guess on my part - I have recently learned about the husk charcoal and that sometimes it retains too much moisture. Perhaps the two that did well liked more moisture and the two that failed would have preferred to be more dry?
I am also questioning putting manure in the mix too early on.
Container growing is sometimes tricky; plants that grow very quickly and vigorously can occasionally overcome soggy soils and prosper, while a slower growing neighbor in the same conditions might succumb to rot. If your containers are small enough to require watering twice a day in the shade, they probably won't be able to accommodate a fully grown plant in sun. You may unknowingly be over-watering your plants. Dump out any containers with losses and check the planting mix. If it's soggy or gooey lighten your mix (for future plantings) and lessen watering frequency; at least until the plants are accustomed to and growing well in the sun.
I've never grown plants in the husk charcoal, but I've received plant starts grown/shipped in husk materials and they all showed signs of rot. If you use it again I'd think you might mix it well with your other ingredients and only use it in the bottom third of your plant container. Most seedlings do best when started in a fairly lean and balanced mix, so the top two thirds of your container probably shouldn't have much in the way of husk or manure added.
Morning glories like to be fed regularly once they're accustomed to their sunny spot and heading toward bloom stage. Choice of fertilizer depends on what's available in your area, but the rule-of-thumb is to use a light concentration when plants are smaller and give a little more a bit at at time as plants head toward maturity. If you're using a soluble fertilizer this means that you'd use a slightly higher concentration of granules to the same amount of water as the plant grows, while not exceeding the recommended strength.
Hope this helps!
