Soil staying too wet?

[Budsmkr08]

Hello everyone. I'm on my first grow and am almost sure that I chose the wrong soil, or at least didn't mix in the right additives for proper drainage. I'm concerned that I'm not watering often enough because the soil is still damp after 7 days since my last watering. My plant is 6 weeks old and 1 week into the 12/12 photo period. She doesn't show any wilting or other adverse effects of over or under watering, so I'm just not sure what to do about the improper drainage. I've drilled extra holes in the sides and bottom of my pot in hopes to get more air circulation through the soil, but it doesn't seem to be helping. Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks.

 

[*BUDS]

Dont water it until its clearly drinking and growing again.

 

[Budsmkr08]

Thanks for the reply buds. So, should I just wait until the top of the soil has dried before watering again? I haven't noticed any slowing of growth, so I'm not sure what you meant by waiting until it starts again.

 

[Steven85]

It shouldnt really take a week to get dry soil, are the temps correct? if it is taking that long then something is not right somewere u less the water is not draining and they are sat in water? i use air pots so the get enough oxygen and water until i get around 20% run off then i dont water again until the soil is dry to around 1inch down in the soil, this takes no longer than 2 days in 22litre pots, and i feed around 4 litres each feed

 

[Roobarb]

7 days does seem quite long but always water only when needed. Top 1-2cm dry. What are your temps like?

 

[New Age United]

Ya that's too long to go without fresh water, after 7 days you're definitely not getting proper drainage, my suggestion would be to go to air pots or root pouches, I use root pouches with 2/3 promix 1/3 sheep manure no perlite added, which is a fairly dense soil and I water up to 4.5 liters every other day. The soil dries out 2" down.

 

[Budsmkr08]

Hey guys, my Temps in daytime are between 70-78°F, and at night get down to 62-65°. I have a fan blowing on it during the day and off at night.

 

[New Age United]

7 days does seem quite long but always water only when needed. Top 1-2cm dry. What are your temps like?

No imo it's honestly too long, I grew some blueberry awhile back and I only watered them once a week bc I'm lazy and wanted to see if I could get away with watering just once a week, they grew slow and I ended up with a bunch of undeveloped buds with no potency. I water every two days and they grow like bamboo.

 

[Steven85]

I run fans 24/7 in my grow but cant see that being that issue, your temps also seem almost perfect to be honest so you definatly must have a drainage problem of some kind? what soil you using ?

 

[Budsmkr08]

Since I started growing I've done a lot of reading (reading that i shouldve done before growing) and agree that I should've used air pots and/or mixed my soil with something to allow for drainage. The soil I'm using is verimicorp organics vermifire.

 

[Steven85]

Yes, that isnt so much bad soil imo but its quite a sticky soil? when you water does it take a while to soak in from the top, see i use coco soil and its so airy as soon as i put 4 litres of water in its coming out the bottom within 5 to 10 seconds

 

[Budsmkr08]

Yes, it does seem kind of sticky. The first ingredient on the list is coco coir though. It takes maybe 45 seconds to a minute to run out the bottom of the pot. I've only watered this way the last 2 times, at first I was just kind of sprinkling water around the plant and not totally soaking the soil. The first time I soaked the soil, I waited 7 days and it has been 7 days since I soaked the soil for a second time.

 

[Steven85]

Well id just carry on as you are watering once a week for about 2 more weeks and see if they start drinking more, because if your run off comes out in 45 seconds you can not have a drainage problem in my opinion

 

[AimAim]

Great looking plant. Looks like (hard to tell) I might have wanted more perlite for drainage.

As you grow more leaves the plant uses more water. Keep a bit of a fan on them and try to keep humidity down. These will all help your containers dry out quicker.

 

[WillyBeamish]

My first grow did this, dollar store soil and little perlite. Near the end when I watered it the water would pool on top of the soil and take forever to filter down. It also took forever to dry out. That was just an experiment to see if I could grow.

I use promix now and don't have any issues at all.​

 

[Budsmkr08]

Hey thanks for all the advice fellas, I'll keep it all in mind. Another question, if I may, on humidity. I've been trying to keep it around 60-70%, is that good?

 

[Roobarb]

I think your lights off is a bit low. Can I ask a question?
Are you growing in a shed/garage? Looks like a concrete
floor in the pics. If so alot of cold can be passed to the pots directly
keeping the rootball cold.
Some building insulation on the floor will do the trick
And yes 60-70%RH is fine

 

[Budsmkr08]

I have a small shed set up in my garage, so the pot doesn't sit on the concrete. I just take it out of the shed to take pictures because the led light isn't good for pictures. It's only out for a minute or two a day. But thanks for the advice, and the answer to my humidity question.