SEEDLING question

I have a seedling but it's in a 5 gallon pot, and when do I water in? do I water it lightly when the soil is dry? because I don't want to transplant it stress's the plant in my opinion, someone told me not to water it, but what's your guys opinion on when to know when to water it? thanks guys!

I do all my seedlings in a very small pot and transplant when the roots are developed. The 'shock' is minimal and the worst thing I have ever seen is the growth slows or even stops for a few days. Yes seedlings need to stay moist. I usually put about a shot glass of room temp water on my babies each day or so. If you don't want to dig them out and put them in a smaller medium (which is honestly my suggestion) just make sure you do not over saturate all that soil. Any water that is not within reach of the tiny and delicate root system is wasted and will promote root rot and attract the dreaded fungus gnats.

since this is your first grow I would have strongly suggested starting it off in a smaller pot. Most first time growers tend to over water their plants. In a 5gal pot it's very easy to over water a small plant. Since the roots aren't in most of it, the water will just sit towards the bottom of cause your soil to turn to sludge, which in turn can cause root rot.

Usually you don't want to water directly on the stem of the plant, but since it's a seedling in such a big area, I would only water directly under the plant. You can tell when a plant needs water because the leafs will start to get droopy. Another way to tell when to water (the best way in my opinion) is to wait until you see the plants start to droop (so you know it's really dried out) and pick up the pot and feel how much it weighs, Now water it until you have a little run off and pick the pot up and feel it's weight. Now you now how heavy it feels when it's thirsty and when it's watered. I would stick with waiting for it to droop this time, next time start off in smaller pots until you get the hang of watering.