i sprouted a seed today. got a red solo cup, filled it with 3/4 foxfarm of and 1/4 perlite (mixed of course) and put the seed in. when i watered it eye decided to use an eyedropper. so i filled it with water and squirted the center where the seed was til damp. i didnt feel confident so i added a taple spoon of water a couple hours later. still seemed like it could take more so i added a table spoon a couple hours later.. then i ended up deciding that it could easily handle more so i gave it maybe 200mL of water.. and all of this was spread evenly over all the soil. by this point i figured water should be dripping out the holes i cut on the bottom but nothing. when i put the soil in i tried to keep it loose so maybe thats it.. i didnt think packing it would be a good idea, it feels like a pretty rich soil, but the water seems to have packed it considerably. i dont want to over water it but nothings even dripped out the bottom yet has anyone ran into this with of and perlite? it seems like the water should just go straight to the bottom in these conditions.
A mix of FFOF and perlite should make for nicely draining soil. If there is no water coming out the bottom then it's probably not saturated. Don't pack the soil either. It will settle on its own as water is added. If you want to get a good sense of how your soil mix behaves, just mix some up and put it in a cup like you did before, just leave the seed out. Add water until it drips. Let it pack. Observe what happens. Experiment with it and find the limitations. Can't hurt it since there's no seed in it.
We used solo cups and eyedroppers out of stones and raw gold. Saw it on ancient aliens its gotta be true