Thai_Lights
Well-Known Member
New to organic soil... does same rule of thumb apply; water when 1 inch of the soil is dry?
Proper way to hand water cannabis grown in organic soil?
- Thread starter Thai_Lights
- Start date
Buba Blend
Well-Known Member
Plenty of newbies still over water using that method, especially if the plant is small..
Knowing how heavy the pot is when it is time to water by lifting or tipping is a better method.
If the pot is 5 gallons or smaller, weighing the pot is the most accurate way.
Knowing how heavy the pot is when it is time to water by lifting or tipping is a better method.
If the pot is 5 gallons or smaller, weighing the pot is the most accurate way.
chemphlegm
Well-Known Member
1)feel the weight of a filled dry soil container?
2)now add 1/4th the container volume in water all at once.(1 gallon container needs 1 quart of water)
3)feel the weight of the newly watered container?
4) when container feels like #1, before the plant wilts, go to # 2
your run off waste will be minimal and of no concern
2)now add 1/4th the container volume in water all at once.(1 gallon container needs 1 quart of water)
3)feel the weight of the newly watered container?
4) when container feels like #1, before the plant wilts, go to # 2
your run off waste will be minimal and of no concern
Thai_Lights
Well-Known Member
I grow in a 4x8 bed btw
Thai_Lights
Well-Known Member
With organics is it okay to let the pot dry put quite a bit?
Buba Blend
Well-Known Member
Most would say yes.
Everybody does things differently and I don't suggest anyone do it the way I did below.
This plant was the size of this seedling 26 days ago when it was transplanted into a 3 gallon pot. It was watered today. Today was the 3rd time it has been watered since transplant. My leaves never drooped, had they drooped I would have watered it sooner. I also misted the plant twice when it was out of the room. So I would say yes it is safe to let them dry out if they are in a good soil that was watered properly.
hillbill
Well-Known Member
Underwatering is much easier to deal with than overwatering which will display confusing symptoms and cause nutrients to be locked out which can prompt the grower to try to feed their way out. That really screws things up. I have a kitchen scale and have established at what weight I add water. Helps a lot. Sometimes the best thing a grower can do is to drop that watering can and move away from the plants!
ANC
Well-Known Member
If you want to use soil in containers, set up a diy earthbox wicking system with a small reservoir.
As long as you top up the res, the plants will always be at ideal moisture levels.
If you are lazy, they even sell self-watering pots of suitable size at the gardening section.
Actually going to pick up a new one for a cheese mom.
As long as you top up the res, the plants will always be at ideal moisture levels.
If you are lazy, they even sell self-watering pots of suitable size at the gardening section.
Actually going to pick up a new one for a cheese mom.
chemphlegm
Well-Known Member
Tyleb173rd
Well-Known Member
Whoa....that looks cool. Do they yield more or grow faster?octopots performed well for me.
chemphlegm
Well-Known Member
In veg they are like a fast forward in flower just large perfectly watered plants result. and they facilitate nearly a week in between waterings, for vacations, etc.
I use them in the summer months for that reason.
pro mix and dry org ferts in top, water in the bottom, also did a promix up top and hydro nutes in the res, both ways are awesome.
Its a great way for me to use up the habitual bottles from my hydro days.
most interesting thing is you can see only one main root seeks this reservoir, the site called this the water root(s). its true but never saw this any other style. the bags are a huge pita to clean, if clean grow bags is your thing. Its not mine lol and I used them until they were hard shelled and cracked open, bought new ones. I have 60 stacked awaiting a charge in spring time.
I use them in the summer months for that reason.
pro mix and dry org ferts in top, water in the bottom, also did a promix up top and hydro nutes in the res, both ways are awesome.
Its a great way for me to use up the habitual bottles from my hydro days.
most interesting thing is you can see only one main root seeks this reservoir, the site called this the water root(s). its true but never saw this any other style. the bags are a huge pita to clean, if clean grow bags is your thing. Its not mine lol and I used them until they were hard shelled and cracked open, bought new ones. I have 60 stacked awaiting a charge in spring time.
pinner420
Well-Known Member
Did you ever hook them together and do an rdwc attempt? Love to know if you'd get soil taste and rdwc performance.
chemphlegm
Well-Known Member
I did not, too expensive to cut up, compared to a five gallon pail. I did follow another who did though, and it failed maybe for no chiller. I also saw someone attach an auto fill valve to them with success. tempting, but alone this unit is sealed and trouble free, start getting into valves and connections.....puts me back to my wet/vac on standby hydro days. I cant sleep knowing there could be a loose connection, a flood, or worse.
I did use them with and without aeration, organic and bottled nutrients, organic feed in dirt with plain water in res
and water only from the top with bottled nutrients in the res. all were very successful, of course comes with its own negatives also.
the bags of dirt are heavy, the outside lowers are wet, reuse is tough, dirty, wash machines eat the bags, roots dry up the bag and crack it after a dozen cycles. They were the closest thing I had to a successful hybrid hydro/org grow.
soil taste when-
org ferts in dirt, water in res
org ferts in res, water only pro mix
the res gets really hot in the sun but I buried the res with some units and performance was great. humidity is increased in my sealed room when more than 10 of these are cycled at once, likely for the full time bottom of the wet bag.
I wanted root rot, I watched closely, sniffed daily, examined every root ball at finish....never a rotted root strangely.
a small cup of dirt connects the bag with the res, one large root reaches the water the remaining stay in the bag mostly.
I wouldnt keep moms in there but short cycles like 30-100 days is a blast.
pinner420
Well-Known Member
These seem like the ticket. Autopots have to small of a delivery line and work beautifully but cant move organics through 1/4 inch lines. In your opinion these outperform all other sip designs like earth box etc?
chemphlegm
Well-Known Member
1) I suggest picking one up, if you were local I'd loan you one. its imperative for proper operation
to water these only one time from the top. NO teas or liquids. Slow ferts are welcome. they hold five gallons of promix, I used four.
I've planted a seedling in it, watered one time from above then only added water below and all was golden. that root found its way to the water surprisingly quick right about the time the bag was drying to the bottom. top watering will wash bag nutrients into the res and will burn plants. I mix a small scoop in the topsoil every week or so, same as i do my normal pro mix pots.
I use them in the summer, once took a four day vacation, sweating on day 3, returned and found could have taken 2/3 more days away. if you want wheels under it be sure to use a board the size of the bottom and not a furniture mover with hollow center.
2) exactly, and even my water gummed it up too often
3) I loved on earth boxes man, you're not going to get me to bad mouth them....lol, but yes, Octopots for the win.-if they fit your garden habits/grow style. if you cannot restrain form adding liquid to the top more than one time you will hate them.
kratos015
Well-Known Member
Organics is a lot like cooking a meal. It's always much better to have too little as opposed to too much. Too little and you just gradually add more until you find what works.. too much and you're fucked.
Worst case scenario with an underwatered plant is droopy leaves and stunted growth, but overwatering will cause you a world of problems. Underwatering can be fixed just as easily as a dish that doesn't have enough salt, just gradually add more until you get your desired result. Underwatering will halt growth by 12, maybe 24 hours tops. As soon as they get the amount of water they need they are totally fine. Overwatering though? You'll need to wait at least 48-72 hours for the pots to dry out before things start to settle down, and God help you if you're in flower because you'll likely have problems with root rot, pH, as well as a higher risk to pests and disease.
If I may, I'll provide examples of my own fuck ups that confirm what I'm saying as truth.
My air conditioning went out in my grow, it must have been at least 7-8 hours before I finally discovered this. I remember begrudgingly waking up, wanting to go back to sleep but unable to shake this feeling that I should check the plants. So I get up and it's already over 100 degrees and it isn't even 10am yet, I open the door to my shed and the heat that hits me from inside the shed is way more intense than the heat I feel from outside. Uh oh. I go inside and discover that my air conditioning is out and half of my plants are totally sad and droopy and the temperature of my room was a fucking whopping 122 degrees. Thank God I was only in veg or this could have ended quite differently. I propped the door open and shut the lights off until I fixed my A/C situation, meanwhile I was foliar feeding with a diluted Pro-Tekt mixture like a madman and completely drenched my pots. Within an hour or so of having my A/C back up and running my temps were back in the 70s like normal and I turned my lights back on. When I went in the next day they looked so healthy you wouldn't even know they experienced that kind of stress.
When I would overwater though? Well, overwatering I would have to wait anywhere between 24-72 hours for the pots to fully dry out. The amount of time it will take for your pots to dry out will depend on your humidity (less water absorbed from the roots with higher humidity) and your root mass, as well as the intensity of your lights. So not only are you waiting 24-72 hours for your pots to dry out before you can water again, you'll also be praying hard that you don't get root rot, dips in pH, and/or nutrient deficiencies (from lock out) or toxicities (from the extra water). And even if none of this happens, your roots are getting zero oxygen because they are literally drowning.
I'll be grabbing Blumats as soon as my budget allows for it, because I feel that if I can't water 100% efficiently then it will always be a weak link for me. And weak links in any kind of grow translate to hindered yields. I currently use a pump sprayer from sowing seeds up until the last week or so of veg, then I pull out the hose. Until I get something automated I simply don't see myself being able to water 100% efficiently.
Thai_Lights
Well-Known Member
Thanks kratos. Best way to learn is by doing. My organic bed seems to be going well...and i love it lol. Day 2 of bloom