Watering big girls?

Discussion in 'Growing Marijuana Outdoors' started by VTX1800, Aug 16, 2012.

  1. Details:
    I have 5 big ( by my standards) girls in my garden.
    They are about 6-7 ft tall and 5-6 ft wide.
    They are in the ground (sand).
    There is a 3' wide depression around each plant that I fill with water
    twice a day. About 2-3 gal ea time. They wilt if I miss a watering.
    Question:
    Do the roots of a plant this size growing out more than 3ft from the plant.?
    Should I be watering the area further away from the plant. Say, 6 ft out from the stem?
    I don't mind watering more but don't want to waste it.
    Oh, I'm using filtered house water at ph 7.5

    Any help please.
     

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  2. Hey man my plant is a little bit bigger than yours width wise (about 7 or 8 wide) and I can tell you that the entire 60 gallon pot it's in is completely filled with rooots, so much so that they are popping out of the top of the soil. No doubt your roots are reaching, especially in loose airy sand. But thats also why it's drying out so quickly. Try getting a hose over ther, soaking the entire are real well, and then covering with some type of water retaining mulch. That should help your problem out a little bit until next season when you can get some more spongey material into that sand.
     
  3. Beautiful girls btw, Nice grow :)
     
  4. [quote name='"ThEbLuEMaGoO"']Hey man my plant is a little bit bigger than yours width wise (about 7 or 8 wide) and I can tell you that the entire 60 gallon pot it's in is completely filled with rooots, so much so that they are popping out of the top of the soil. No doubt your roots are reaching, especially in loose airy sand. But thats also why it's drying out so quickly. Try getting a hose over ther, soaking the entire are real well, and then covering with some type of water retaining mulch. That should help your problem out a little bit until next season when you can get some more spongey material into that sand.[/quote]

    Thanks man. I did add some peat and other stuff to the sand when I planted them but not enough I'm afraid.
     
  5. Plants that size will be using probably 5 to 10 gallons every day in hot weather especially in smart pots in the ground is a bit different. My 100 gallon smart pots get about 15 to 20 gallons a day.
     
  6. [quote name='"RichardDean"']Plants that size will be using probably 5 to 10 gallons every day in hot weather especially in smart pots in the ground is a bit different. My 100 gallon smart pots get about 15 to 20 gallons a day.[/quote]

    Yeah, I guess I have to think of the ground they're in as one big giant pot, maybe 2-3 hundred gal. And water accordingly.
    I've never had plants in the ground before, only pots outside and then only 5 gal at most.
    This is a whole new experience for me, but I like the results so far.
     
  7. I'm sure the roots spread out quite a bit. I know with trees you at least want to water to the drip line.. which is where the water drips off the canopy to the ground that can be quite a bit away from the trunk. It is amazing how much these plants can grow in a single season. I cant wait for the day they are legal to use as landscape plants. Instant privacy screen with a plus of a harvest. :)
     
  8. A good rule of thumb us the roots will grow as wide as the plant. Really it's more like the plant grows as wide as the roots. So if your plants are 5-6 ft wide. You will want to water a 5-6 ft area around them.
     

  9. Yeah some trees have root systems three to four times the size of the tree itself above the soil line.
     
  10. [quote name='"planty"']I'm sure the roots spread out quite a bit. I know with trees you at least want to water to the drip line.. which is where the water drips off the canopy to the ground that can be quite a bit away from the trunk. It is amazing how much these plants can grow in a single season. I cant wait for the day they are legal to use as landscape plants. Instant privacy screen with a plus of a harvest. :)[/quote]
    Won't that be nice. I'm in central Florida, I don't think it's happening here for a London time.

    [quote name='"mjmama25"']A good rule of thumb us the roots will grow as wide as the plant. Really it's more like the plant grows as wide as the roots. So if your plants are 5-6 ft wide. You will want to water a 5-6 ft area around them.[/quote]
    Yeah, I think I'm going to run a drip hose around all the plants about 6' out from the stem (trunk) and lit it soak in for a few house a day.

    [quote name='"RichardDean"']

    Yeah some trees have root systems three to four times the size of the tree itself above the soil line.[/quote]
    I knew that about trees, so I guess these are small trees buy now.
     
  11. Today's update.
     

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  12. Beautiful grow my man!
     
  13. We had 2" of rain last night, so I fed them all bloom fert today.
    Then it rained another 2" today so that should wet all the outter roots well.
    I've been watering the area 4' out from the stem (trunk) the last few days and they seem to be looking better.
    No more wilting in the afternoon.
     
  14. are you going organic or Chemical fert??

    Hemp lanscaping, honest officer..:D
     
  15. Hey vtx

    Be careful in Fla. Iused to live and grow in Coco and the law sucks in fla.

    I wouldnt water every day. Thats bad for the plants and will leach the nutes from the soil. Every 3-4 days is plenty. They need that in between time to dry out. They look good so far, but you threaten them with root rot watering every day.

    With regaurds to where to apply the water, its my view that its really somewhat irrelevant as long as there is moisture available in the soil for the plant. I grow guerilla and have to water often in Aug/sept. For an 8' plant, i pour 4 gallons of water, every
    5th day onto the soil within 12" of the main stem, and generally on one side. When i plant, i form a depression that measures approx 16" by 16" and 3" deep that will hold about 2 gallons of water. It covers approx 1/2 of the original planting hole and thats where i will pour the water for the entire season. This is a common practice for guerilla growers as i have seen it numerous times in video's and grow logs.

    I usually grow an outdoor strain called Spontanica and they easily reach 12' using that watering method. The plants certainly look healthy and unfettered by the fact that water is being poured repeatedly around the stem for much of the season. All ferts are mixed in water and applied in the "bowl".

    I just dont think it matters much where the water is poured as long as the plant can access it. I do think watering every day can cause problmes.

    Just me..
     
  16. #16 VTX1800, Aug 21, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 22, 2012
    [quote name='"clodhopper"']Hey vtx

    Be careful in Fla. Iused to live and grow in Coco and the law sucks in fla.

    I wouldnt water every day. Thats bad for the plants and will leach the nutes from the soil. Every 3-4 days is plenty. They need that in between time to dry out. They look good so far, but you threaten them with root rot watering every day.

    With regaurds to where to apply the water, its my view that its really somewhat irrelevant as long as there is moisture available in the soil for the plant. I grow guerilla and have to water often in Aug/sept. For an 8' plant, i pour 4 gallons of water, every
    5th day onto the soil within 12" of the main stem, and generally on one side. When i plant, i form a depression that measures approx 16" by 16" and 3" deep that will hold about 2 gallons of water. It covers approx 1/2 of the original planting hole and thats where i will pour the water for the entire season. This is a common practice for guerilla growers as i have seen it numerous times in video's and grow logs.

    I usually grow an outdoor strain called Spontanica and they easily reach 12' using that watering method. The plants certainly look healthy and unfettered by the fact that water is being poured repeatedly around the stem for much of the season. All ferts are mixed in water and applied in the "bowl".

    I just dont think it matters much where the water is poured as long as the plant can access it. I do think watering every day can cause problmes.

    Just me..[/quote]

    Clod, thanks for all that great info.
    I guess this is a guerilla grow, but they are out in the open so to speak. Sun all day. The ground is pure sand except right where I put the plant into the ground.
    There I mixed into the sand some roots organic potting mix, composted cow manure, sphagnum moss, bat guano, and worm castings.
    Dug a 20 gal hole PU the plant in and filled the hole up with the mix.
    I left a depression 2x2' around the stem.
    I water about 2 gals in the morning and if the sun is out all day, they will be wilting by the next morning. So I water again and they perk up right away.
    Lately I've been watering out away from the stem about 4' all around the plant and it seems to last the plant longer.
    I know the roots must be out that far, and if I only water at the base of the plant, I think the roots that are out away from the base, must need more watering.
    We had 2" of rain on Sunday, Monday, and today. They seem to like it that way. And a few weeks ago, it rained 14" in two days, no harm done.
    I would love to only water every other day but I'm afraid to stress them out.
    One of them is well into flowering and should be ready by the end of Sept.
    I have another that is ready now. A small plant 3' tall that is the second grow on the same stem. Never had one do that before.
    When I harvest, I usually pull the stem root and all, but this time I was lazy and just cut the stem and left the pot sitting out.
    One day I noticed some green coming out of the stem and I let it grow out to this 3 footer. I wonder if I can do that again with my 3 autos I have going.
    Anyway, thanks and check back again. I'll be posting updates every week.
     

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