Water your pot plants

Ayokiwi717

Well-Known Member
one issue I seem to have is watering. I over watered last grow and killed half my plants in seedling phase. Now this grow I underwatered my seeds. They still haven't popped from the soil. Yesterday i dug them out very carefully and saw they didn't grow any more root, the root was starting to get smaller than before it was germinated. I think the seedlings will live though. I replanted and gave more water this time. The tap root didn't look fully ruined infact it looked like it was just starting to go south when I caught it. My question is how do you guys water your seedlings. Do you give them a cup of water once a week? I am growing autoflowets, so I'm growing in a 2.5 gallon pot. I was thinking about doing one shot glass of water every three days, will that be to little. Checking the soil to see if its dry does not work for me, when I grew my last grow, it always felt dry, but in reality it was really wet mabe 3inches down. I need an exact measurement on how to take care of watering for the first three weeks. How do you guys do it?
 

Wizzlebiz

Well-Known Member
I start everything in a solo cup, even autos,never had an issue

It's much worse to stress, starve, over or under water an auto early, than start in solo cups and transplant at week two
I need to try this tbh. I've been so stuck on the adage that autos need to start in there final pot.

However I have always started in final pot for autos and watering 1 cup of water at a time in a small circle around the seedling works very well.

As a bean I do 1 cup every 2 days to insure it stays moist.

Once it pops I guage when it needs water by scraping away at the top dirt to see how deep it is dry.

As it grows one cup of water in that small circle allows the water to go deep so that root has to search down for the water after a day or 2.
 

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
Don’t be afraid to transplant often; potting up is almost never a bad thing. Transplanting often allowing the roots to reach the edge and then capillary which increases o2 supply and drives fast growth. Plus it gives you the opportunity to add granular mycorrhizae in the hole at each transplant which helps with absorption of nutrients. Use the power of three: 1. A small cup to pop seeds,2. a larger size veg pot 3. Final size bloom container. No reason you can’t transplant more than 3x either; do it as often as is needed.
One thing I learned about watering seedlings is to do it with a “dolla store” hand sprayer until they get large enough to place in a tray and water them from the bottom. It is virtually impossible to overwater this way and you can give them the love every day. Use a hand sprayer to water them from seedling into early veg phase; gauge how heavy the containers are after a good watering to determine when you will need to give them water again. Weight is the best way to judge whether they need water or not imo.
 

Bigbryantn

Active Member
I start mine in 5 gallon fabric. I water them in with spray bottle. Maybe 1 shot glass worth. Then I take a clear solo cup and place over the seed till it pops. Then I remove it.
When germinating I stick seeds in glass of water or 24 to 36 hrs. It does not matter if they pop or not. I then place them straight into the dirt in 5 gallon fabric. I probably have 98% success rate.
 

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BostonBuds

Well-Known Member
I start everything in red solo cups, making sure to poke plenty of drainage holes in the bottom with a thumb tack. I will soak the seeds in a glass of tap water for 24hrs before planting. Autos I will transplant fairly quick, never had any issues.
 

Bigbryantn

Active Member
I start mine in 5 gallon fabric. I water them in with spray bottle. Maybe 1 shot glass worth. Then I take a clear solo cup and place over the seed till it pops. Then I remove it.
When germinating I stick seeds in glass of water or 24 to 36 hrs. It does not matter if they pop or not. I then place them straight into the dirt in 5 gallon fabric. I probably have 98% success rate.
I can only think of a few that didnt pop but they were older seeds. There's alot of ways to start plants off. This is just the way that works for me.
 

Merlin1147

Well-Known Member
If I direct seed in 3 or 5 gallon pots I fill the pots with as little soil compression as possible. Then I saturate the entire pot to run off, let It drain for 24-48 hours then plant and don’t water till the pot is light. Make the roots go find the water at the bottom of the pot.
 

Bigbryantn

Active Member
If I direct seed in 3 or 5 gallon pots I fill the pots with as little soil compression as possible. Then I saturate the entire pot to run off, let It drain for 24-48 hours then plant and don’t water till the pot is light. Make the roots go find the water at the bottom of the pot.
I am trying to let the plants tell me when they are thirsty but I also check pot weights. Really works once you get used to weight.
 

Bigbryantn

Active Member
I start mine in 5 gallon fabric. I water them in with spray bottle. Maybe 1 shot glass worth. Then I take a clear solo cup and place over the seed till it pops. Then I remove it.
When germinating I stick seeds in glass of water or 24 to 36 hrs. It does not matter if they pop or not. I then place them straight into the dirt in 5 gallon fabric. I probably have 98% success rate.
 

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Ayokiwi717

Well-Known Member
I start everything in red solo cups, making sure to poke plenty of drainage holes in the bottom with a thumb tack. I will soak the seeds in a glass of tap water for 24hrs before planting. Autos I will transplant fairly quick, never had any issues.
One of the biggest bitches I found with pot plants is water especially first 3 weeks, after that it gets way easier to feed.
 

Ayokiwi717

Well-Known Member
I killed half my plants last grow through overwatering . It was my first grow. I only got 1oz for two plants as well, that was because my kingled just does not do the job. Now I'm getting a kingbright watt, so both of them combined should provide better results
 

Bigbryantn

Active Member
I killed half my plants last grow through overwatering . It was my first grow. I only got 1oz for two plants as well, that was because my kingled just does not do the job. Now I'm getting a kingbright watt, so both of them combined should provide better results
I havent got into the led game yet. Still running 600w hid. I know it's coming once this light is done. As long as I can find and led equivalent to the 600 hps I wouldn't care to switch.
 
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