A question about watering Peat Moss mediums

[BelgianBudtender]

Doing my first grow with Canna Terra Professional, I hear a lot about overwatering and Im scared to do so.
I just gave my 2 day old seedlings about 20 ml of water, 5 minutes later, the top of the soil appears absolutely bone dry.

Before planting my seeds, I sprayed about 2 liters of water on my 11 liter fabric plant pot, and a day later it already looked dry?

How should I water my plants? Im think about picking up my pots before I give them a full watering a few days from now, and guage whether or not to water by weight from them on, water them once they weigh about as much as before watering.

is that an alright strategy? Is it normal for peat moss in fabric pots to appear dry,

 

[RastaLove91]

What’s up dude. I’m growing in promix bx for the first time, also peat moss based and yes I’ve experienced the same thing.
I do wait til my fabric pots get noticably light before I full water. But not too light as I believe it’s easy to underwater with this medium and you don’t want to let it get bone dry because essentially it’s like a hydro grow. Top gets dry pretty quickly. I spray daily anyway.

I also use a wooden bbq skewer and gently dip it close to the bottom of the pot and pull it out, this way I can kinda get an idea of the moisture level further down. You’ll get a feel for it as you go. Hope this helps.

 

[BBQtoast]

My seedlings start in solo cups, water every three days when the top layer starts to dry. My peat moss is hard to overwater and letting it dry too much is just as bad.

Sometimes the top still seems wet and I will pick up the pot to check the weight against a just watered one. If it feels light I water anyway.

In a big pot water is drawn away by dry soil, I would soak the area and roots down of the seedling pretty well and wait for it to need a water again. This means making a wet patch a few inches across and down to the base almost.

 

[calvin.m16]

Peat Moss is like a sponge. It holds lots of water and for a long time. I personally water Peat Moss using the wet/dry technique but I've since switched to Coco blends so I'm never running anything that is primarily Peat anymore. It doesn't fit in with my every other day feeding on my 10 gallon plants.

 

[BelgianBudtender]

Thanks, I started my Autoflowers in their final pots, guess im just a bit anxious about overwatering, she seems springy and perky enough..

heres a picture from day 4

 

[RastaLove91]

Looking good man, you’ll get the feel for it.

 

[PadawanWarrior]

Don't let peat get too dry or it will start to become hydrophobic. Watering slowly can help it from becoming hydrophobic too.

 

[RastaLove91]

Don't let peat get too dry or it will start to become hydrophobic. Watering slowly can help it from becoming hydrophobic too.

Good to know, I’ve been watering mine super slowly. Punched a few holes in the cap of a gallon bottle that I use to water them. Takes me like a solid 10 mins to go thru the whole gallon.

 

[PadawanWarrior]

Good to know, I’ve been watering mine super slowly. Punched a few holes in the cap of a gallon bottle that I use to water them. Takes me like a solid 10 mins to go thru the whole gallon.

That works. I use a submersible pump and hose in a bucket or tub to water mine. But that works too. Watering slowly is the trick.

 

[RastaLove91]

That works. I use a submersible pump and hose in a bucket or tub to water mine. But that works too. Watering slowly is the trick.

How many gpm?

 

[PadawanWarrior]

How many gpm?

160 for the small one for a 5 gal bucket. The slightly bigger one for the tub.

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