Flood and Drain Watering Schedule Problems

What up all.

I have got another question.

I have grown several crops with good success from the first. I pay close attention to my plants all the time.

I recently started using flood and drain, due to how inexpensive the set up it. I am currently vegging right now, they are between 10-12 inches tall, nice and bushy.

I started watering them 6 times per 24 hours evenly spaced. Pretty much everytime I would go to sleep, during this grow, I wake up to them drooping and starving of water. Over time I have been increasing the duration and the quantity of the waterings. In the begining I would fill the table about 1/2 to 3/4 inch. Now I am filling it up about 1 1/2 inches trying to fully soak the rockwool cubes so they dont starve before the next watering.

Now the plants are getting bigger I have my timer set to water them every 1 hour and 45 minutes. Even with this increase in watering schedule, this morning I woke up to them drooping AGAIN.

Even with two 1000's my temp and humidity are low - 77 degrees 41% hum.

How full, in comparison with the plants base, should I be filling the table???

I am thinking about installing the water "in" tube at the high side of the table and leaving the pump on 24/7 with about a half inch of water at all times. My fear is root rot or other problems i may encounter by having some water on the table 24/7.

I am considering this idea because I have an areoponics table that I run 24/7 and the plants have never shown a prob.

Any advice or knowledge about this would be greatly appreciated, + rep.

Are the cubes completely dry ??? Because If you are using only Rockwool cubes you are watering TOO MUCH. Try flooding only a couple times... flooding tray till cubes they are 3/4 submerged .

seanec327 said:

Are the cubes completely dry ??? Because If you are using only Rockwool cubes you are watering TOO MUCH. Try flooding only a couple times... flooding tray till cubes they are 3/4 submerged .

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The cubes are 2x2, and they wont release a drip after about 1 1/2 hours after watering.

Some of the smaller plants will drip a little. But the big ones have soaked up so much water that there is none left in the cubes.

I was thinking that maybe I have outgrown the cubes since they are 2x2, there are alot of roots on some of the plants. One of the guys I reference for info said he used to use this method for a while and would veg the plants until they were like 18 inches tall, then transplant into 6x6 cubes and top feed (drip tube) and go 12/12.

Mine are about 10-12 inches tall. So I would think they are fine?!?!

I would judge them more by the count/size of its nodes and whether or not any of those nodes are alternating, which I heard is a sign of maturity.

I have a couple that are 9" tall and have several alternating nodes, going to put on 12/12 tomorrow.

Professor Puff.n.Tuff said:

I was thinking that maybe I have outgrown the cubes since they are 2x2, there are alot of roots on some of the plants. One of the guys I reference for info said he used to use this method for a while and would veg the plants until they were like 18 inches tall, then transplant into 6x6 cubes and top feed (drip tube) and go 12/12.

Mine are about 10-12 inches tall. So I would think they are fine?!?!

Click to expand...