I have two plants about 4 weeks into flower and are in 3 gal pots. Have about 250 actual watts in cfl lights. Right now I usually go off of weight and have been watering about every 5-6 days. But I hear on here about people watering every 2-3 days. Sent from my SM-T217S using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Water when the plant needs it, not some fixed schedule on a MJ forum, every plant is different. The lift test is a reliable method to test for dryness. PW
I only grow one plant under a 200W cfl in a 12 inch misco self watering pot. It's amazing how different the plant drinks from day to day. Some days it drinks almost a half gallon in 24 hours. Other days it barley drinks a half gallon in two days. Anyone on a human schedule like so much so often is probably over watering or under watering depending on the day. Dry soil on top and sticking your finger in two inches into the top soil is a very poor guide to what the plant wants.
Growing in 3 gallon pots I would think you would be watering more than once a week..you must water the hell out of them when you do water.
I usually do the lift test, but I think I wait until they are just about dry but not to the point of drooping before I water. when I do water, I put 1 gal through each plant. About 30% or so runoff. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Yep you could definitely call that watering the hell out of them Honestly instead of doing that I would be giving them less water more often instead of flooding them once a week..you are basically flushing your soil everytime you water. But if it works for you, who am I to tell you what works or not lol - I water twice a week in 7 gallon pots, but they don't get anywhere near a gallon of water at one time..each plant gets about a half gallon each watering.
Yea I wasn't sure. I figured they were supposed to have some sort of runoff when watered? What should I do a half gallon every 2-3 days instead? Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
When you see alot of runoff, you are overwatering. A little bit runoff is normal..but it shouldn't be pooling at the bottom of your grow area. All you are doing is washing away nutes imo. I think it's a better idea to do much less water more often instead of the way you've been doing it
Ok awesome, good to know. Thanks a ton man. I'll try that out and see how they like it. Instead of the gal every 5-6 days, I'll do 1/2 gal every 2-3 days. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
I shoot for a 10% run off, just enough so I know it went through But yeah each plant is definitely different, some guzzle water and others are wet for days!
Just like each plant is different, it varies by growing style as well. I believe that much water is ok, if your using chemical nutes. That extra runoff being used to keep toxic salts from building up. A little to no runoff is ideal, in my opinion, in organic only grows where the soil is living and you don't add anything beside an occasional tea. But a gallon of water is a bit much to put in a 3 gallon pot, just water until you get your proper runoff and continue with the 'pick up' method and you should be ok! Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
For a few years I was in the habit of watering my soil once every 4-5 days (5 gallon pots) until I saw runoff. I always ran into issues mid late flowering with lock ups, and salt build ups. I recently switched over to watering every single day, but in very little amounts, and my plants are healthier than they have ever been. Right now I am in flowering in 5 gallon square pots and I give them 2 cups of water every day each. When they were in young to mid veg I was only giving them 1 cup of water ever other day. I'm definitely a fan of more frequent feedings, but low volume of water.
I have a WW that I put into a flower cycle yesterday. I started using Landino clover as living mulch and have noticed I don't really need to water as much as the clovers hold a lot of water in the soil. But, she does drink at different rates. A lot of it has to do with ambient temperature. On hotter days, the stoma are open and the plant will use more water to regulate it's temperature. I once didn't water for two days and found her drooping in dry-as-bone soil. But, yesterday we got back from being on a 4-day vacation and the soil wasn't that dry. Lift test is a pretty good way to measure but takes time and experience. Sent from my garage-run gynecology office using Grasscity Forum.