ShLUbY
Well-Known Member
no biggy. check these out. they seemed pretty awesome. not that expensive. hook up to a reservoir of fresh water and forget about manual watering!
What are your favorite ACTs?!
- Thread starter bankcee
- Start date
that's fucking dope. I don't recall if you said you have one or planning on getting one?
also how often should I be doing any teas til I harvest.. cause 3 of my 4 are still praying and look happy, other than the already existing yellow leaves (I don't think it's moving upwards), but one is looking rather sad..
and here's the girl that's dropping.. just noticed it now. didn't look as heavy this morning.
and here's the girl that's dropping.. just noticed it now. didn't look as heavy this morning.
ShLUbY
Well-Known Member
yeah the last one looks a little sad. do those pots have good drainage material underneath them? like some gravel or something that water can run away from the fabrics when they get too wet? almost looks like root issues... maybe too moist. does it drink water as fast as the other plants? do you lift your pots before you water to see if they ACTUALLY need water, or do you just water for the sake of watering?
I was actually just gonna make a post about how to check if a plant needs watering.. Lol a back to basics.. I usually do both the finger test and pot lift.. But my pot feels kinda light right now but it's still moist about an inch to two inches down..
I was gonna post though like at what point is too dry? I ask this because don't microbes go dormant in dry soil? What if I let 2 inches go dry then water..
ShLUbY
Well-Known Member
well there is one thing i know about peat, when it gets too dry, it gets hydrophobic. so there is a chance the bottom of your pot has no water because it's running through a path and out the sides.
just think about it this way... if a gallon of water weighs about 8lbs, and you put a gallon into a pot, with no run off it should be 8lbs heavier right? so if you water and see any run off, and your pot feels light, it probably needs more water!!!
i water about 1/2-3/4 of a gallon per container in flower with no runoff intended. i want all that water to stay in the soil. not so much that it runs out and oversaturates the soil... and makes a mess of my floor lol. sometimes though a good drench is necessary to get all that peat moistened back up if the soil gets wayy too dry... but it can't all be done at once. it needs to be watered in segments. like say you were to water 1 gallon into a pot that seems too dry, it should be done one quart at a time, every 20 or 30 min, to make sure the peat is absorbing all the water, and it's not forming runoff paths through the container.
here's another thing too, your hands have moisture sensors in them that detect THE SLIGHTEST amounts of moisture. this is not a good test IMO because even though you feel moisture, there is a point where water bonds tighter to the soil particles (ADHESION) than the plant can actually pull it away with its roots. this is known as HYGROSCOPIC soil. so you feel moisture... but is it available to your plant? i don't know.
another thing that really clicked for me in school was CEC. in order for CEC to be maximized you need what........... water!! you don't get ions in solution without water. so CEC can not take place without water in the soil, which leaves a plant starving for nutrients that don't get put into water solution.
just think about it this way... if a gallon of water weighs about 8lbs, and you put a gallon into a pot, with no run off it should be 8lbs heavier right? so if you water and see any run off, and your pot feels light, it probably needs more water!!!
i water about 1/2-3/4 of a gallon per container in flower with no runoff intended. i want all that water to stay in the soil. not so much that it runs out and oversaturates the soil... and makes a mess of my floor lol. sometimes though a good drench is necessary to get all that peat moistened back up if the soil gets wayy too dry... but it can't all be done at once. it needs to be watered in segments. like say you were to water 1 gallon into a pot that seems too dry, it should be done one quart at a time, every 20 or 30 min, to make sure the peat is absorbing all the water, and it's not forming runoff paths through the container.
here's another thing too, your hands have moisture sensors in them that detect THE SLIGHTEST amounts of moisture. this is not a good test IMO because even though you feel moisture, there is a point where water bonds tighter to the soil particles (ADHESION) than the plant can actually pull it away with its roots. this is known as HYGROSCOPIC soil. so you feel moisture... but is it available to your plant? i don't know.
another thing that really clicked for me in school was CEC. in order for CEC to be maximized you need what........... water!! you don't get ions in solution without water. so CEC can not take place without water in the soil, which leaves a plant starving for nutrients that don't get put into water solution.
ShLUbY
Well-Known Member
lol not crazy, just things that one should know if they're looking to do well at growing stuff! i do the weight test, and to be honest, if they feel like they can make it one more day without water... i've learned to just water the fuckin things, but just to not use as much. so if i normally hit a pot with 3/4 gal and i don't want to wait til tomorrow cause it gets too dry, i'll just give it a 1/2 gal and call it a day.
i like to water with my water can, and i count 10-15 seconds per plant while watering and move to the next. when they're all wet on top (which helps let the next run of water in) i'll go back around and count another 15 seconds per plant. then i go through and lift up a few to see if they feel heavy enough, if they do, then fine. if they feel a little light still, i'll do another 10-15 second count of water on them. but that's with my watering can. my old water can i had to count 30 seconds because the holes were smaller.
counting and moving on to the next plant allows me to water the soil a little more slowly, and more efficiently. it gives the water a chance to move in and make way for new water to move in. i end up using less water i've found from saturating the soil enough that the plant can drink, and there aren't dry spots, but not so much that it runs off. water naturally wicks to dryer areas so it'll get there eventually. just gotta give it time.
ShLUbY
Well-Known Member
yeah that's not surprising, and doesn't mean that they are too wet, just that there's moisture. i would just put them up on some pea gravel or something that will let water drain away, and AIR under your pot. if you have some perlite to set them up on that will work too.
how much water would you say you give each plant, normally?
when I water I do that.. Like pot 1, 2, 3, 4 wait til it soaks in and then 1234 again..
A gallon each.. Daily..
ShLUbY
Well-Known Member
WAYYYY TOO MUCH BRO.
EDIT: well i shouldn't say WAAAYY too much... but damn... that's a lot. i've never watered a plant that much ever in my 5 years.... just saying.
what do you think I should do? shit.. lol now you scaring me into thinking t might be root probs.
ShLUbY
Well-Known Member
let them dry out!!! at the most, you should be watering every other day. i would say don't water them tomorrow, that's for sure. cut your water ration down to 1/2gal to 3/4 gal at the most. you should not see any run off with that little water. but it's just the right amount to moisturize your soil
even considering temps and size of pots.. I will do that though? also I got a question about temps outdoors. it's getting pretty nippy ot here in cali and my question is because I read low temps there will be a stall in growth and bud formation.. but is that ambient temp or root zone temp. and if it's root temps how can I insulate them?
letting them dry like that won't cause the microbes to go dormant though?
ShLUbY
Well-Known Member
no, because you're not gonna be letting them dry to a crisp. you need to let the roots breath man. too much water suffocates roots. suffocated soggy roots lead to rot (which is what the top of that one looks like is going on... soggy roots). i bet if you pulled that root ball outta the pot, they'll be soggy and brownish looking from that much water. i've seen it before in my own room from too much water when watering. i was letting them dry out just fine (sometimes too much). i've changed my perspective on this that's for sure.
ideal soil = 50% medium (including organic matter) 25% water 25% air....
1 gal of water every day seems like a lot to my experience for 7 gal of soil. but like i said, if they feel light, then by all means water. don't ignore that. i just have a hard time believing they need 1gal a day (esp with you watering at night usually) and i don't think you're realizing how light a container can be when it's dry. if the pot is way too dry, it will be so easy to lift, it'll surprise you. you'll realize holy shit this needs water. it may take one or two times letting it dry out to that extent before you can gauge when your soil needs or doesn't need water that day. you gotta lift them up, and know how much they weigh when water is low.
i wouldn't water them for a day if i was you, but that's just me. i mean think about it this way... does it rain every day? no way! try 3/4 gal every other day and see how they do man.
you're the pro boss. and I'm gonna do what you say. so they took a gallon yesterday and I'm not gonna water today.. but I think the cold is keeping the soil too moist like your saying. any way I can help this dry out? or just let the sun do its work?