help! soil drying out too quickly

[pimp juice]

So i've got 8 2-week-old (about 2" tall each) plants growing in solo cups (16oz cups) right now filled with FFOF soil about 2/3 of the way up. I water them every other day as I've read to do online but when I check the soil at the beginning of the second day it is already quite dry (no moisture on top 2" as far as i can tell). The plants start to fall over on the second day and by the time I water them the next day, they are so fragile that I need to hold them up when watering them, and push the soil up against the base of their stem to keep them up. A few hours after being watered, they look a lot more rigid and healthy. The room stays at 25%-40% humidity and 85 F with the lights on (I know, a little toasty) and drops to about 70 at night, and I water them until I see the water coming out the bottom. I am beginning to think that I should start watering daily until I move to a larger container, but don't want to be overwatering! What do ya'll think??

 

[webb107]

i water daily all the time, have had no problems what so ever

 

[Eviljay]

Do you saturate them till they runoff when you water them? I water the shit out of my plants, till theyre running off, usually 1/2 the volume of the container, then I dont water them till theyre dry. Most of the time 4-7 days depending on how long the plant has been in the container(as the plant/roots get bigger in said container, it starts to dry out quicker than when you have a small plant or recent transplant in a big container). That's just me though. I've always heard water big and infrequent...

 

[pimp juice]

Do you saturate them till they runoff when you water them? I water the shit out of my plants, till theyre running off, usually 1/2 the volume of the container, then I dont water them till theyre dry. Most of the time 4-7 days depending on how long the plant has been in the container(as the plant/roots get bigger in said container, it starts to dry out quicker than when you have a small plant or recent transplant in a big container). That's just me though. I've always heard water big and infrequent...

I do water them until I see runoff. I have heard the same thing about watering big yet infrequently, which is why I am hesitant to water more frequently, but by the second day, the soil seems completely dry. When I do the finger moisture test on the next day, my finger comes out dry...

 

[Tahmi.Guhnn]

So i've got 8 2-week-old (about 2" tall each) plants growing in solo cups (16oz cups) right now filled with FFOF soil about 2/3 of the way up. I water them every other day as I've read to do online but when I check the soil at the beginning of the second day it is already quite dry (no moisture on top 2" as far as i can tell). The plants start to fall over on the second day and by the time I water them the next day, they are so fragile that I need to hold them up when watering them, and push the soil up against the base of their stem to keep them up. A few hours after being watered, they look a lot more rigid and healthy. The room stays at 25%-40% humidity and 85 F with the lights on (I know, a little toasty) and drops to about 70 at night, and I water them until I see the water coming out the bottom. I am beginning to think that I should start watering daily until I move to a larger container, but don't want to be overwatering! What do ya'll think??

the easiest way to know when to water is by the wieght of the cup. next time you water let it drain for 5 or 10 minutes and pick the cup up. this is what it feels like when its been saturated with water. when the cup feels a "SIGNIFICANTLY" lighter i would water. the top 2 inches of soil should dry out first and most of the time is going to be dry. dont confuse this with the very bottom of the cup being dry. if you dont have a water meter, which u can get at lowes for 10 - 20 bucks, i would suggest getting acustumed to the weight of the cups and how they feel both dry and watered. remember over watering is more of a problem than under watering.