I grow in a peat based medium. I started to deviate from the standard "watering and then letting things dry out" methodology when 2 different growers who have been doing it a long time and who I respect suggested that erroring on the side of moist was advantageous. So for the last couple years I have striven to always water before things get dry. It not only produced great plants but has had the added advantage of reducing smell...not to be confused with reducing end-product dankness. I have possibly taken it a step further by virtue of a automatic drip system. I dialed in the system to the point just short of runoff by configuring the amt. of water and how often. I now then give them extra water once a week to actually produce runoff...as a salt cleanse. The plants so far seem to be thriving. Now peat is a perfect medium for this and coco probably would be too. Actually, ever since I stopped the drying out method and seen the great results, I kind of chocked drying out method up to just another thing growers have developed to protect newbs from themselves...overwatering being a classic newbie problem. That said, I have yet to flower with this system so it is not a done deal.
Agreed 100%! The whole wet/dry cycle thing is excellent advice for new growers growing/starting in small containers. It's horrible advice once plants have been moved up to 5 gallon+ pots and have developed established root systems. It only serves to lower yields, IMPE. I've stuck with the "evenly" moist mantra for several years now and would never go back or suggest anyone utilize this practice (wet/dry)... Too many uninformed "blades" still shelling out this bad advice...
Many noobs would agree with Glee! however you a proposing keeping your plant permanently wet and in water holding peat too I can only imagine harvest day with you..? and yet to encounter Ms Pythium and her Root Rot Kids theirs no Erroring on the side of Moist either you over water or you don't Noob or Not always lift you pot THINK Then water Good Luck ...your stubby plants will need it..lol
LOL. Its amazing. It is like you were just in my grow room!!! Seriously, I think you missed the "thriving" part. I have been averaging 20 zips from my 6 plant, 600W setup for a couple years...keeping things moist. Never have had root rot. Never have had stubby plants. Harvest day with me is all about Rock and Roll/ Bourbon/2 paper joints, and sharp scissors. You'd like it. I take Promix and add 30-40% perlite (and a couple other things) and there is no overwatering. Like coco, the water runs right through leaving the medium wet but there are no roots sitting in water. That said...I still lift pots...just leave them a little heavier than before. The drip system is new. I got it to water while on vacation. That may still be the case...but I have liked the results so far and it is kind of nice just keeping a bin full of water and not reaching for the back row. Got crowded fast. I will be topping the plants and will LST them horizontal in the next couple days...while spreading them out.
It is. 90 seconds every 12 hours. (.5-90). At .3 at 90 (runs every 7.2 hours) it produced run-off in my 5 gallon bags. I will be testing again in a couple days as assume water consumption is up with the last couple weeks of plant growth. Pots still are fairly heavy when lifted. Tonight when I LST etc. I will also give a full water to run off and will switch things to a .4 setting or runs every 9.6 hours and see what I get. I leave for Oregon on Friday morning returning 8 days later. Fingers will be crossed...but will be leaving some happy plants. BTW, I created my own watering rings that the AWS-10 shoots into out of cheap plastic plates so water is dispersed around the whole plant instead of trickled into one spot or spike. While doing my plant work tonight I will also be running warm RO water through the pump to hopefully dissolve and flush out any salt buildup in the unit. I have been adding Jacks Citrus 20-10-20 and Magnesium Sulfate to the bin.
There is a difference between moist and overwatered. I water/feed daily and a lot of people scoff at that. If you water just the right amount though you can water every day and still get a dry period. I have a large plant flowering in a 7 gallon smart pot right now. That plant drinks 1/2-3/4 of a gallon a day. If I skip one day it gets sad from getting too dry. One thing about a thriving plant is the feed rate is very fast. I had a plant that ate 1 gallon a day last round. It would almost empty it's DWC bucket every day. If you can get a plant feeding like that you almost can't water it enough. By the next day it will be dry enough to need water again. Weather you walk the edge of moist or not your roots still need oxygen to thrive. If your medium happens to breathe good enough to get air to the roots even though the medium is still a little moist that's great. Not every medium behaves that way. I think along with your watering rate being not too fast you also have a well draining medium that can get air to the roots even partially wet. Especially rookie growers use mediums straight from a bag with not enough perlite that typically packs too tight. In something like that when the medium is moist the roots can't get air. In that instance your plant probably won't thrive if you keep the medium wet. Your best watering cycle and what is optimal for each garden is going to depend on plant size, feed rate, pot size, type of medium, temps, humidity, type of lighting, ect., ect. There's not a one size fits all approach to feeding.
Hey bravedave, do you bubble your reservoir for the irrigation system? Just set up the AWS before I go away from location for several days and am testing. I don't want the water to be devoid of oxygen, so am bubbling it, but noticed the ph shoot up after 12 hours of bubbling. What is your method, and have you been using the AWS for a while?
Hey! Sorry, missed this...I think it came in about the time I was leaving. So I did the 8 day vacation and came back to healthy plants, but close to being in need of water. I needed to kick the watering up 1 notch. Which I did for about a week when I got home. When I flipped though I pulled the unit mainly because the bin I was using was fine when I was gone...but in the way when home...room was already crowded. I am back to watering by hand. This was my first use of the AWS and it worked just fine, and it will be nice to have a backup for times like these. I did not use any air stone or anything, BTW, to oxygenate the water. Might have helped...but not sure I would have noticed as they were still happy and beautiful when I got home.
Thanks! Yeah, I tried it. Did some math to see how much to give, because I didn't have time to test, and I think I got it pretty dialed in for 7 days away. Came back, and they were needing water, but still in pretty good shape. I used an air stone on some RH water. Thanks!
well you guys might love this....I use a SIP method and I never had a problem of root rot or over watering. I let the plant find it perfect moister level and let it take what it needs. I am on my 5th or 6th iteration of the perfect SIP design. I only add water every 10+ days or so. No problem if I have to leave for a week to 10 days even during stretch. Takes the "guess work" out of the equation. Something to consider.
Yeah, tell us more. I've seen some SIP designs but never decided to give it a go. Are you in soil, and any adjustments you need to make regarding nutrient solutions?
I am in soil and I cut nutes to 1/2 rec strength. I use ffof soil without modification. I made my own SIP and i think it rocks but im biased. Octopot makes one so no fabrication needed. Its a bit spendy but its ready to go and has all the features I built into mine. I wish I knew about them before I started down this path. Frankly, SIP make things very easy for a retardo like me.
Nice. I like ffof also. Do you alternate the reservoir with nutrients and pure water, or is it a constant supply of half strength nutrients? Any problems with salt build up, lockout, or having to flush? Thanks for sharing.
first 2 weeks in veg is pure tap water then half strength nutes in tap water throughout the grow. No problems with the last 5 strains.