soil not drying out

[Hilo]

Hey, I bought some store brand organic soil and i tossed one of my plants in it then watered it till water came out the drainage holes in the pot like i always do...the thing is that was 8 days ago...

The soil is still damp and the plant seems to be doing very well but it has been 8 days since i watered it, is that cool? should i water it just to water it or still let it go till the top of the soil is dry? 1st time this has happened to me lol.

 

[massah]

You didn't add perlite to the soil or didn't add anywhere near enough...Most potting soil mixes come with a little perlite, but no where near enough for marijuana growing...try and dig out the plant without damaging the root structure and mix a good amount of perlite into the soil. Good way to tell if you have enough is to take a ball of soil+perlite into your hand and when you squeeze it it will hold shape when you open your hand, but if you touch it it will fall apart in your hand.

Do it ASAP before the root structure gets too big. If you did this in a small plant repot into a larger pot with the soil+perlite mixture mentioned above

 

[Kingrow1]

Good way to tell if you have enough is to take a ball of soil+perlite into your hand and when you squeeze it it will hold shape when you open your hand, but if you touch it it will fall apart in your hand.

Great idea, wish id thought of that one and i think im gona give this way a whirl too. Rep

 

[GorbertJones]

having the same problems myself. ill have to try this out

 

[Xcon]

How big are your pots? That's not unusual if you transplanted into 5 gal buckets, the bottom half of the soil has no root structure yet to absorb the excess water, and it takes a while to wick up to the rootball. In this case, after a fresh transplant, I don't water till runoff. Par for the course IME.

I agree with adding perlite to your soil, at the very least.

 

[themanwiththeplan]

call me crazy but wouldnt perlite just add to the problem as it has a tendency to retain water? what he needs is to add something to help with drainage not water retention.

 

[sworth]

perlite helps with the drainage my friend.

 

[sso]

"the plant seems to be doing very well"

dont you want to see if this is an actual problem, before you do anything?

how large are the containers? how are the ambient temps? how big are the plants?

 

[Xcon]

call me crazy but wouldnt perlite just add to the problem as it has a tendency to retain water? what he needs is to add something to help with drainage not water retention.

Perlite has a tendency to retain the proper ratio of water to air. Soil has a tendency to retain way too much water and very little air. That's why we add it to soil.

 

[skiweeds]

you could invest in one of those heating mats made for growing(dont use those ones made for humans). not only will it help your roots, but the water in the soil should evaporate faster.

 

[Kingrow1]

call me crazy but wouldnt perlite just add to the problem as it has a tendency to retain water? what he needs is to add something to help with drainage not water retention.

Also perlite creates air pockets and gaps in the soil hence why it drains faster. Peace

 

[themanwiththeplan]

i understand that much guys but wouldnt sand added to the mix help it drain faster (sand does NOT hold water 4 shit)

 

[shnkrmn]

No sand. Perlite. 40% is good. A pot wet for 8 days is going to rot your roots.

 

[themanwiththeplan]

No sand. Perlite. 40% is good. A pot wet for 8 days is going to rot your roots.

tell that to my plants...they have half a bag held hostage between them.

 

[Kingrow1]

i understand that much guys but wouldnt sand added to the mix help it drain faster (sand does NOT hold water 4 shit)

Add some sand to the seedling mix to make for a finer potting medium. Roots are encouraged by finer soil particles at this stage whereas in veg and flowering drainage is more important over root development so very little sand is added as a more open structure is preferable.

Add some sand if you want but know the recomended amounts per your type of soil and plant stage. Most soils have sand already added just you dont notice it very easily. Peace

 

[jcdws602]

Just leave the plant alone!!.....Op you said it was healthy.....this is how it always starts....so bored you start looking for ways to improve your plant but really your getting in the way of it growing......let it grow in peace.......

 

[Grow mo]

You didn't add perlite to the soil or didn't add anywhere near enough...Most potting soil mixes come with a little perlite, but no where near enough for marijuana growing...try and dig out the plant without damaging the root structure and mix a good amount of perlite into the soil. Good way to tell if you have enough is to take a ball of soil+perlite into your hand and when you squeeze it it will hold shape when you open your hand, but if you touch it it will fall apart in your hand.

Do it ASAP before the root structure gets too big. If you did this in a small plant repot into a larger pot with the soil+perlite mixture mentioned above

ha ha "dig out the plant without damaging the root structure"... ha ha very bad idea

 

[Xcon]

ha ha "dig out the plant without damaging the root structure"... ha ha very bad idea

It's a very recent transplant.

 

[chickengutz]

Make sure you have a fan on the plant to promote transpiration. The bottoms of the leaves are covered with stomata. These are the apertures through which the plant breathes. During the light phase, the stomata open and experate oxygen. The plant draws up moisture via the roots.A room that is too high in humidity, and poor air circulation will also slow the moisture exhaustion,(the well), of your medium.

 

[Kingrow1]

Cultivate top soil layer, very good idea for helping drainage. Peace