Best frequency/volume of water for marijuana, expertise appreciated

Discussion in 'Growing Marijuana Indoors' started by Ganja Thumb, Nov 7, 2010.

  1. So all over the place I see different suggestions such as "marijuana prefers a regular watering cycle" and "do not over water" and "water when the first 5-6cm of soil is dry" and more.

    If everyone could just tell me how often they water/ fertalize and how much they give each time I could get a better idea from the average of the responses, or maybe someone of great expertise could give me a rule of thumb.

    I will start with my schedule:
    200mL water one day
    200mL water with nutrients next day
    no watering on the following
    repeat

    I would really appreciate any responses I could get, this is something I wonder if I am doing ok everyday. I feel like I am confident is most of the things I do to my plants except this and some responses would really give me some peace of mind.
     
  2. There is no specific amount of water, nor any particular watering schedule, that is "right" or recommended because these kinds of measurements are missing the point. You give your plant all the water it needs when it needs it, that's all. It will depend on many, many factors: the size and shape of your pots, your soil mix or grow medium, your temps, your RH, your ventilation, your grow space, and the strain of your plants, just to name a few. And even when you get to the point that you know what your plants need, their needs will change as they get bigger and go through different phases.

    Water thoroughly when you water. That means you want to saturate the soil, so water slowly, I like to do a little bit then come back after a minute and add more after the first bit has soaked in, repeating until you get runoff out the bottom. Then, don't water again until the soil dries out a bit. You can tell by poking a finger into the soil up to the first knuckle or so, or you can buy a cheap moisture probe at a garden store, or once you get used to it you will be able to tell just by lifting the pot and feeling the weight.

    This could end up with you watering every other day or once every 10 days or anything in between, depending.

    Remember that you cannot overwater in a single watering -- anything you give that the soil can't hold will just run out. Overwatering comes from watering too frequently, MJ does not like constantly moist soil.
     
  3. As Toasty mentioned there are many factors that come into play regarding watering. Pot size is a big one as the more soil in the pot the more water it can hold in reserve for the plant. So a 6in plant in a 1/2gal pot will need watered more often than the same plant in a 3gal pot under the same conditions.
    The reason for wanting to give a complete watering each time you water is to promote good root growth. If you take a plant and put it into a large pot and give it small watering often, it will not be forced to sent it's roots deep for water so only has a small root mass. If this same plant is watered deeply but not often then the roots will grow bigger as they need to reach deeper to get at the water that is in the lower parts of the pot. That's part of the reason that you water when the top section of the soil has dried out, you've waited long enough to make the roots want to go deeper.
     
  4. in my garden the watering varies by the temp outside. when around 75 i need to water about every 3-4 days. when the temps are around 80-85 its like every other day
     
  5. I had the concept of watering down all wrong and this information should really help me greatly. Thanks to everyone who replied. I will let you guys know how my plants respond.
     

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