Q's about watering frequency and volume (droopy plant) [pics]

[jackal]

Hey guys.

About the plant:

I've got a fairly mature plant, growing indoors under floro, still vegging, strain is KC Mango, growing medium is soil.The plant has been growing fairly well for my first grow. I accidentally nute burned her a bit, but the pH is in check, and she seems to have recovered from that.

I'm finding that whenever I check up on the plant (every two or three days), the surface of the soil is bone dry, doing the finger test, the deeper soil is also dry, and gaging with a moisture meter, is registering on the very dry side. I've been using a 1 litre gatorade bottle to hold room temp water, and I find after each watering, I've used just under half of the bottle. (about 450ml).

Is this normal?

I watered on the 30th, and I checked the plant today, and the soil was dry, and EVERY SINGLE BRANCH on the entire plant was droopy, INSANELY droopy. I would find it hard to believe I'm over-watering. I think I have under-estimated how much water a big healthy plant actually needs.


Here is a picture of the plant on the 30th, before the drooping and dry soil:



And a picture from today, August 2nd, with the drooping.




So I ask the expects, how much, it terms of ml should a healthy plant be consuming every 2-3 days?

[sizzlasia]

That thing needs a transplant ASAP maybe its just rootbound

[jackal]

Should I transplant in it's current state?

I'd sooner have a dwarfed plant that kill it from the shock of a transplant.

What's the standard procedure here?

[sizzlasia]

kill it from transplant? that shit will thrive man look hohw small that pot is

Its no wonder its drooping and swallowing water so fast...

transplant NOW and only good things will happen

[Old Toby]

Transplant!
I had a droopy plant like that and I transplanted and now its my star plant!

[nenu]

i'm far from being an expert as i'm only on my second grow but, i totally agree.. transplant it as soon as possible... look up a thread on how best to do this so as you don't stress that baby out and in 2 or three days you will defenitaly notice a big difference... happy growing dude... : smoke:

[OmniscientOnus]

There is a fairly easy way to transplant your plant into a bigger pot with very little to no stress, however, it means sacrificing the pot that it's in. Here's how:

1)Get a larger pot, twice the size you have works best for this kind of transplant.

2) Fill the new pot about 2/3 of the way with your medium (soil in this case)

3) CAREFULLY take a sharp knife and cut an X on the bottom of your current pot, just enough to go through the plastic, but be careful of the root system that may be there. Go slow and be patient.

4) Carry your "X" cut up the sides of the pot, again very carefully as your roots are probably consuming around 70-80% of the soil that they are in. Only leave the lip around the top of the pot uncut.

5) Pick up your old pot by the sides that you cut putting pressure inward so that the plastic is held together and your plant doesn't fall out the bottom. If your pot is fairly strong (most pots are) then this won't take a whole lot of work.

6) Put the put into the new soil about 1/3 of the way down. You will need the top of the soil in the old pot to be no higher than the top of the new pot.

7) Build up dirt all the way around the old pot. Use more than you'll think you need here. You'll be surprised how much the dirt settles into places.

8) Carefully cut through the lip (you are basically cutting your pot into 4 equal parts here).

9) Finally, remove all the pieces of the pot, but try your best not to disturb the plant, or allow it to lean too much. If it makes it easier, cut the pot into more pieces, but always be cautious of the root system.

10) When you finally have all the pieces of the old pot removed, make sure your plant will stand on its own before letting it go. Add more soil if necessary.

And there you have it. You'll lose the old pot, but it's the best way to transplant without stressing your plant too much (if any). Now your plant has more room to spread it's roots, it didn't have to recover from stress, and you won't have to worry about water as much. All of this will only aid in the recovery of your plant.

Hope that helps.

Oh, and if that pot is ceramic, you can basically do the same thing, only skip cutting it obviously, and when it's in the new pot, shatter it and CAREFULLY remove the pieces of ceramic. It's a little harder that way, and your risk still stressing your plant (it's hard to be gentle when you're smashing ceramic with a hammer), but it is possible.

Good Luck!