How Much Should I Water Seedlings in a 16L Pot?

I have 2 seedlings (both germinated obviously), one in a 16L pot and one in an 11L. I'm not sure how much I should water them as nobody seems to plant their seeds in pots this size, but i don't see any reason why not to. Is this a good idea? Should I hydrate the whole medium (soil)? Many sources say to do this but I don't know if it's good in a pot this size.

Also, the seedlings are under a 600W hps with an adjust-a-wing in a 1m2, 2m tall grow tent (silver). I tried to find out if this amount of light could be harmful, but found a lot of conflicting info. Does anyone have a solid answer to this? I have kept the light about 3ft-4ft off the plants.

Any advise would be great!

i have a lot of perlite in my soil... i add water slowly until it comes out of the bottom of the pot. you have to be careful not to drown the roots. then i let the soil dry out, 3-4 days approx. until the next water. its harder to keep control of the soil moisture when the plant is small & the pot is big. hopefully the plant will grow into it quickly.
keep the light as close to the top of the plant without burning the leaves. you can tell it is too hot if they curl up

Thanks for the info! just did what you said and hopefully all will go smoothly. Not too much perlite in my soil, which is plagron royalty mix btw, so I didn't quite have the water come out the bottom of the pot but still over 1.5L went in so should be enough right?

Thanks again.

The reason most people don't use pots that size for seedlings is twofold.

One, mj does not like to be over potted. A 0.5 liter pot would be large, 11-16L is ridiculous.

Second, the medium should be completely saturated then allowed to dry out. This prevents dry spots and air pockets.

With a 0.5L pot or party cup and a seedling this would take ~3-5 days. What do you think the time frame's going to be with those pots?

Do as you like, but I would put those in something more suited for their size. Or, keep them where they are and learn from experience why no one puts seeds in pots that size.

Wet

Well that makes sense, thank you for finally explaining to me why that's the better way to do it. The seeds i've planted were free so i'll leave them in as an experiment, as i've got 6 more coming, and i'll let you know what happens.

Its simple, and the question is common, i get normally good growth and yield from my plant,
I check just with my finger, the soil should be always wet it i dip my figure to an inch deep.
Also the ph level of the soil i am maintain g to 7.0Ph by using mineral water...

Well it turns out you certainly can put seedlings in a 16L pot and it turns out just fine, my girls are happy and growing quick. I'm not saying that it is the best thing to do, it certainly makes knowing how much and when to water a little harder, but like I said it works. I watered till water came out of the bottom and just waited till it was relatively dry 1/2" down. Then i watered 200ml. I waited 3 days between waterings. If you think about it it makes sense, because the only thing the plant cares about is what's going on in the soil close to it. If it takes ages for the whole pot to dry out, it doesn't matter because the soil around the seedling is still going to become adequately dry in a few days. With the new seeds going in I am gona try 0.6L pots and see if there's any difference. It seems I never learned the harsh lesson I was meant to...

Wet don't be so quick to dismiss alternatives, but thanks for helping in a non-demeaning/patronizing manner. Yay, blessed not are we all with such great knowledge of cultivative methods.

I wasn't dismissing alternatives, nor did I say it wouldn't work.

I was saying what I had found out from experience over 30 years ago. "I'm not saying it's the best thing to do, it certainly makes knowing how much and when to water a bit harder,".

I would bet, than when you do the 0.6L pots, things will be a lot simpler and easy to manage. That will be the lesson.

Wet

Ay Ay, well iv put two seeds in the 0.6L pots and it was a bit quicker to water them. Not the biggest lesson to learn, is it? But seriously i do get your point i was just feeling a little facetious. Clearly, and for a number of reasons, it does make sense to start them in small pots. However i do wonder if the plants benefit from the reduced stress when you don't have to repot, but fuck it... the difference would be minimal. I also have peat pots and 0.3L pots, do you think using either of those would be better than the 0.6L? I have a feeling the peat pots are a bad idea, but just wondering.

The Cannabist

I just don't care for the peat pots, but have quite a few. LOL They work fine, but fall apart too quick, if you are delayed in your transplanting. This is mainly from veggie seeds outside.

0.3L vs 0.6L? I don't see much of a difference there, except, perhaps another week or so before up canning with the larger one. Whichever fits your schedule better.

AFA stress from transplanting, I really don't see it and the plants seem to like it. With mj, I've only been working with clones for the last 2+ years, but go, rooted clone>party cup>1 gallon>3 or 5 gallon, depending.

With veggie seeds, I've had way better results with seeds in a small container (~0.3L)>~2-4L> into the ground or 5gal container, over planting the seeds directly into the ground or large container. Just an observation. That fresh mix when you up can seems to really jazz them.

BTW, I use the same amended mix for everything and recycle it. Never have bought a bagged soil/mix.

Hee, I like Hunter's 29.

Wet

I thought that might be the case with the peat pots, wasn't really planning on using them. What do you think the time difference would be between the 0.6 and 0.3L pots? the seeds i've ordered should be ready to go in pots in about a week, so hopefully the difference between the two would be about the same... would be very convenient.

interesting about the mj liking the new soil, will keep that in mind.

Nice one on making/recycling your own soil, maybe i'll get round to doing the same.

Cheers for all the good info!

The Dr. had good taste indeed.

Wetdog said:

The reason most people don't use pots that size for seedlings is twofold.

One, mj does not like to be over potted. A 0.5 liter pot would be large, 11-16L is ridiculous.

Second, the medium should be completely saturated then allowed to dry out. This prevents dry spots and air pockets.

With a 0.5L pot or party cup and a seedling this would take ~3-5 days. What do you think the time frame's going to be with those pots?

Do as you like, but I would put those in something more suited for their size. Or, keep them where they are and learn from experience why no one puts seeds in pots that size.

Wet

Click to expand...

this isn't an explanation, by no means. neither the first nor the second clause are "reasons". While it may be true (yes a lot of people say it) that plants root faster (and nothing else from what I've gathered) in smaller pots, probably due to being dry and hungry more often and thus expanding roots in search, all you're saying is that that's just the way it is. and no, "mj doesn't like" is not a reason. nor does then second clause mean anything in this context (but of course it's true).

Do you mean the time difference before needing to be up canned in the 0.3 and the 0.6?

I would GUESS that the .6L would give you a couple more weeks to play with, just from having twice the volume, but neither is all that large.

I think I see. You want to up can the seeds in the .6L pots and the seeds yet to arrive and put in .3L pots at or near the same time? That should work.

Wet

Yeah that's what i meant, glad to hear it'll work. Can't wait to get them in the soil, i'll be starting a journal once there all in the dirt. It's my first grow and i'm growing 9 different strains. should prove interesting LOL. Any help at all would be much appreciated.

TheCannabist

TheCannabist said:

Yeah that's what i meant, glad to hear it'll work. Can't wait to get them in the soil, i'll be starting a journal once there all in the dirt. It's my first grow and i'm growing 9 different strains. should prove interesting LOL. Any help at all would be much appreciated.

TheCannabist

Click to expand...

9 different strains??????? LOL THIS may be your harsh lesson, not the 16L pot.

I hesitate on even doing 2 diff strains at the same time, so many diff requirements, especially if you are mixing sativa and indica.

At the very least, I would suggest keeping everything either sativa or indica, if you haven't popped all the seeds yet. Even then, you're going to be in for a ride.

Wet

Luckily the pick-n-mix seeds order was never received, so after careful consideration we decided to buy 5 Blue Cheese seeds. This now brings us to 5 different strains, probably easier to manage than 9! We're starting a journal, feel free to post your thoughts

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/427288-1st-grow-blue-cheese-amnesia.html

The Cannabist

wait....what? marijuana doesn't like to be over potted?

erm....don't let the outdoor growers hear about that....some of them plant in acre sized 'pots'

*leaves, very confused*