When to water and when to not water?

dabumps

Well-Known Member
If someone or lots of people could give me advice as to when I should water and what the plants look like and IDK if I just have super human strength but I can't seem to tell when they are light and when they are heavy....
 

Trendkill

Member
ever test cupcake to see if its done with a toothpick? take a shish kabob skewer. push it into the soil if it comes out moist your soil is.....if it comes out bone dry your soil is....
 

SpicySativa

Well-Known Member
FYI, I use a moisture meter on my house plants, and found it doesn't work worth a shit in well aerated, loose, MJ friendly soil. It would say dry even right after watering. I just go by the pot lifting technique. I think you'll really be able to tell when they are light. They weigh like half as much as after watering.

It was a SUPER CHEAP one (maybe $5), but seems to work fine for my houseplants. They are in various pottery, so the lift test is tricky.

There's always the super low-tech method of shoving a finger down there and feeling for moisture. I do that occasionally when I'm not quite sure.
 

hydrosoil78

Active Member
indoors under a high intensity light, they might need water everyday. I went for a day without watering- but with just a 400 watt hps, and the ballast dimmed to 50%. Personally I would not leave mine for two days without checking on them.
 

SpicySativa

Well-Known Member
Gotta let them REALLY dry out good. Is it in super soil yet? If not, I'd let that thing dry out until it just barely starts to
droop, then water it. Don't let it droop every time, but if it's waterlogged, it needs to dry fully before you water again to prevent pests and root diseases.
 

kushking42

Well-Known Member
u have to water the existing rootball with a new transplant. the pot can still be heavy and your plant can be thirsty. i gradually water in a larger diameter around transplant until i get to 10% of soil volume. 1 gallon h20 for 10 gal pot.
 

dabumps

Well-Known Member
Word. That's what I'm gonna do. I think the one girl is sick. She droops a tad looks real healthy as far as color goes but she seems to want to flop over. I'm worried she has the fungus. She gets kinda narrow at the top of the root portion but I have no idea how big it should be or when it is supposed to narrow down... FRUSTRATION!!!!
 

kushking42

Well-Known Member
heres an example of a dry rootball in a heavy pot. so, if you have a huge container your transplanting into, you dont want to over saturate the whole medium. but you do need to make sure the plant is getting the water it needs. these were 1 gallon starts place in a 20. @ the time i thought they were in shock, when in fact they were merely thirsty:

022.jpg023.jpg028.jpg029.jpg
 

dabumps

Well-Known Member
Is there any cure? That's what I think it is too. It pisses me off. This is #2 that will have fallen victim to it. How do I prevent? What causes it and again can I save it?
 

kushking42

Well-Known Member
fusarium is a soil borne pathogen along with pythium and several others im not sure i can differentiate between @ this point. but im sure its easy once you familarize yourself with these different diseases. over watering and super humid conditions can activate it even when its dormant. an open wound subjected to these same conditions, also transplanting too low with the stalk buried by moist soil can do it. that strawberry cough was going ok til one night in the hoop house the dehu shut off. causing 100% humidity for a prolonged period, the next day the main stalk was all mushy. now 1 night of high humidity didnt cause this but it was the tipping point. had i been paying closer attention i would have noticed the stalk softening, the leaves yellowing prematurely and the plant not really drinking. i got these start from my neighbor who had them outside in 1 gal pots with native soil! so there was essentially no draining in this clay rich soil. through winter, in a tent, outside these starts remained til i rescued them. wasa recipe for disaster i dont know if it was soil borne or if the conditions caused it or a combo. there did seem to be a wound that could have been the catalyst as well.

if you think you have a soil borne pathogen check this out: http://www.agbio-inc.com/mycostop.html it works
 

hyroot

Well-Known Member
Water when the dirt is dry. Don't water when its wet. I just grab a handful of soil and squeeze it. If it feels more dry than moisture , I then water. If it clumps up a little and feels moist or wet, I wait. I use about 3/4 of a red party cup of water or nute solution or tea per gallon of soil.

I agree about the moisture probes. The only thing they are good for is throwing them at the wall.
 

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
People make the mistake of not putting baffle materials at the bottom of their planters to prevent dirt clodding and blocking the drain holes. As well tree bark mulch in the bottom 1/3 or so works great. Doesn't use nutrients and stores it within a structure that is easy for your plant's roots. Screw moisture meters. Hold water until she droops some and stays drooped no matter whether light or dark.
 

dabumps

Well-Known Member
Ok so I transplanted again and kinda roughed her up a bit. I'm certain she will experience a good amount of shock. I got a pretty good look @ the taproot and it looks nothing like what you've shown me. She doesn't droop that much and I think it might just be shock from the first transplant. He taproot is fairly thick. White all the way down. The issue is (I think) that her root started like no shit .5 cm below the soil and she didn't have very many "anchor" roots to keep her in place + loose dry soil + fan (I THINK) = floppines. Her stems are hard. Her leaves some droop some are pirky, both bounce back real well when I pull down on them. I'm cheering for and I have hope (mainly because I didn't see anything but healthy white roots. I need everyone to send really really really good vibes her way so that she can snap out of the shock and start shooting her way to the sky again! I have faith in here. But I aint scared to kill that hoe neither. Act like a bitch get treated like a bitch!
 

dabumps

Well-Known Member
Thanks everyone for the vibes! I knew you would do it! I need you to do it for my little lady now... She's sad.
 
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