Soil Isnt Drying Out Fast Enough

I'm not sure why you would want an organic soil to dry out....

 

Is this a homemade soil mix like the ones around here? If yes, then I'd say this is something leftover from the bottled nute paradigm. "Wet/dry" cycles are not necessary and can even be detrimental in living soil. Same deal with "watering until runnoff". My best experience has been by using frequent, light waterings rather than drenching and drying. Living soil will hold water wayyy longer than bagged soil and living soil is also more drought tolerant. Sometimes I'll let it get on the dry side, but I mostly just aim for constantly moist. If 100% saturation is drenched until runoff, and 0% saturation is bone dry, I try to stay in the 40%-70% range... if that makes sense...

 

 
Perlite doesn't absorb water, Vermiculite does. It helps hold water due to all the surface area, but doesn't absorb it.
 

 
*I* still water to run off. I like to make sure ALL the mix is saturated with no dry spot or air pockets and I agree with the root rot bit with constantly wet soil. Moist is good, but it takes a good bit of experience to keep it moist and not soggy and most just do not have that experience.
 
Water the way that you are most comfortable with and experienced with. You're not doing it wrong, neither is TMJ2. Do it whichever way works best in your situation.
 
It does sound like your mix is too heavy/dense. If you followed some of the recipes here I can understand it, same thing happened to me and my mixes have always been on the light side. Getting back to the light, well draining mix I've always used though.
 
Wet

 

What works for me is watering a little each day....just enough to saturate the top 1/2 inch of soil. This seems to keep the pot midway between saturation and dry. I only saturate when applying teas.

 

Great information man! Thanks for sharing...
 
So for your method of more frequent waterings, in 5 gallon pots how much water would you suggest, and how frequently?
 
I was doing the same as the other guy, watering (drenching) the soil until runoff, and my soil stays wet for a week or so, and I have had it kill off my roots. Lately I've reduced the feedings to about 8 cups of water per 5 gallon pot, but still it takes about 5 days to be ready to water, should I reduce it to 6?
 
I still manage to grow beautiful buds, but I know if I got my watering more tuned in, I think my results would be better.
 
Also, what is your method of knowing when to water, do you just have it on schedule, like every 3 days, or do you do like the lift the pot method, the finger check or a probe?
 
Thanks

 

Curious, what kind of soil medium are you using... I didn't have these issues using ocean forest and happy frog, but when I switched over to Promix, thats when my soil seems to just stay wet longer..

 

 
Promix, by itself, isn't all that heavy. What did you add to it AFA amendments?
 
Watering is a learned thing. Do it long enough and a light kick of the pot is enough to tell you to water or not. The hardest is what TMJ2 does. Light frequent waterings without over watering and keeping the mix too wet. That takes great skill and there is no way to tell you how to achieve that skill set, except practice.
 
Wet

 

Like wetdog said before every situation is different. 1) I have a pretty light, airy soil that is 1/3 peat, 1/3 aeration and 1/3 compost/ewc. 2) I use a Smart Pot SIP (Sub-Irrigating Planter). So I can get away with constant moisture because I always have constant aeration as well. It's all about the air-water ratio. I actually find it pretty difficult to overwater with this setup. I'd really hafta drown em. Plastic pots are a totally different story and the light, frequent waterings would probably be pretty difficult to dial in. If I was doing plastic pots, I'd check the container weight and still aim for a range between 30% and 70% moisture. Don't drench the hell out of it, but don't let it get bone dry either.