Is my soil hydrophob?

[DrOgkush]

It is hard work. But it’s worth it and the roots say so. No dry pockets. And with good run off. Never ever have salt build up.
watering for me depending on how many plants require it. Can take up to 3 hours.
But I firmly do the, spray, smoke, spray, smoke……. Continue.

But I usually look fwd to watering. Because after watering. Plants always seem so happy.

 

[changarian]

It is hard work. But it’s worth it and the roots say so. No dry pockets. And with good run off. Never ever have salt build up.
watering for me depending on how many plants require it. Can take up to 3 hours.
But I firmly do the, spray, smoke, spray, smoke……. Continue.

But I usually look fwd to watering. Because after watering. Plants always seem so happy.

I have already put a chair and a radio inside the room and I don't have connected the filter yet so I can smoke inside the tent. It already took me an hour to water but I will take more time.
It is kind of fun to connect even more with the plants. The more time I spent there the more changes I see, the more I understand which will also help me in my hydro setup.



I put my finger down the medium and it seems moist enough, can't feel down the bottom tho. I won't water today and will try to bottom feed/wet tomorrow.

 

[DrOgkush]

I have already put a chair and a radio inside the room and I don't have connected the filter yet so I can smoke inside the tent. It already took me an hour to water but I will take more time.
It is kind of fun to connect even more with the plants. The more time I spent there the more changes I see, the more I understand which will also help me in my hydro setup.



I put my finger down the medium and it seems moist enough, can't feel down the bottom tho. I won't water today and will try to bottom feed/wet tomorrow.

Weight test will always be your best friend. That finger stick only works in 1gal pots and smaller. I allow a droop. Not solid advise because my media is Promix. But I rather drought than overwater and fuck shit up tragically. Moisture meters are over rated in case you were in the hunt. Water from the inside and work your way out slowly. I spray the inside lightly getting the inner rootball to sponge up the water coming down. Then once I see it’s fully absorbed. I do it again. Work my out. I hope my advice helps. And I’m not just babbling lol.

 

[changarian]

Weight test will always be your best friend. That finger stick only works in 1gal pots and smaller. I allow a droop. Not solid advise because my media is Promix. But I rather drought than overwater and fuck shit up tragically. Moisture meters are over rated in case you were in the hunt. Water from the inside and work your way out slowly. I spray the inside lightly getting the inner rootball to sponge up the water coming down. Then once I see it’s fully absorbed. I do it again. Work my out. I hope my advice helps. And I’m not just babbling lol.

It's good advice to me. I can picture it and will change my watering routine. Reading all this I think I may have just watered the wrong way.

Thanks!

 

[calvin.m16]

It's good advice to me. I can picture it and will change my watering routine. Reading all this I think I may have just watered the wrong way.

Thanks!

It's all technique and Trial & Error. All plants are going to drink differently usually as well so you gotta figure out what each plant needs. This is why hand watering is the best way to water.

 

[OldMedUser]

I will consider this if I ever try soil again. It's a totally different and interesting challenge. I was like "never change a running system" and was always happy with my oldschool recirculation, top feed/clay pebble setup. But I had no more clones available and I can't handle seeds in my setup. After I've found some old cheese in the fridge I put it in soil.

Your plan sounds solid to me. Just do it. I want to get out of my comfort zone and start experimenting with different setups. I want to grow "real" hydro in the future and have some fun building the systems.
This is another thread tho.

Thanks for your help!

I need to keep experimenting to keep up the interest after a few decades of growing my own. Could not keep plants alive in real dirt so came up with DWC in '01 and have done about 50 grows in Rubbermaid tubs. Dead simple with RO water and AN pH Perfect nutes. Never have to check the pH with those so just top up and check the ppm every 3 days. Add small amounts of nutes in the same ratio to stay at the target ppm and you can do a whole grow without ever changing nutes. I've had up to 16 plants in one tub but that's a bit much.

Now I'm getting into the organic side. For the last couple years been using different manures and other additions using ProMix HP for the base. Recently started using Ghia Green nutes and messing that up. Easy to burn with that it seems and I thought I was going easy.

Go to PDFdrive.com and do a search for cannabis and download lots of free books.

 

[changarian]

I need to keep experimenting to keep up the interest after a few decades of growing my own. Could not keep plants alive in real dirt so came up with DWC in '01 and have done about 50 grows in Rubbermaid tubs. Dead simple with RO water and AN pH Perfect nutes. Never have to check the pH with those so just top up and check the ppm every 3 days. Add small amounts of nutes in the same ratio to stay at the target ppm and you can do a whole grow without ever changing nutes. I've had up to 16 plants in one tub but that's a bit much.

Now I'm getting into the organic side. For the last couple years been using different manures and other additions using ProMix HP for the base. Recently started using Ghia Green nutes and messing that up. Easy to burn with that it seems and I thought I was going easy.

Go to PDFdrive.com and do a search for cannabis and download lots of free books.

Organic growing looks real hard to me. A lot of science and things to know, like making nutes and letting them react/work/live. This could be a future project of mine. Ive been growing for years without having to think much. Only res change and checking solution just like you. I was always happy with the results but it got boring.
After this "experimental" run on soil I'm thinking about building a fallponic system. It looks fun to make. HPA looks also fun to build but a bit too techy maybe.
I want to get rid of any medium other than water. The clay pebbles are reliable but horrible to clean and to adjust the ph. And for throwing them away I have to pay a lot of money. Cleaning is no option.

Getting out of the comfort zone can be fun!

 

[Wastei]

This is a non problem and has more to do with watering practices and technique. Water a little bit on the top layer and let it soak in. You're in a hurry when you don't have to be on such a small scale. Water in two or three steps if you have to, even better water at proper intervals. Improve on your methods when issues arise.

Like other suggested the clay pebbles do nothing positive expect giving you smaller root mass.

 

[changarian]

This is a non problem and has more to do with watering practices and technique. Water a little bit on the top layer and let it soak in. You're in a hurry when you don't have to be on such a small scale. Water in two or three steps if you have to, even better water at proper intervals. Improve on your methods when issues arise.

Like other suggested the clay pebbles do nothing positive expect giving you smaller root mass.

I started in intervals this morning. Turned the nozzle to "rain" and wet the top layers. Inside first. I let it soak a bit and will continue later.
Also I put a test pot into a big bucket for bottom feeding, just to see what happens to the weight.
I didn't dare to make the wetting agent yet. I will try natural/physical methods first to make the soil more hydrophilic