Watering question.

I water my 10 inch 6 1/2 week old plant every three days. I usually use about 6 ounces, and I put it right around the area that I transplanted. Last time I watered, I noticed I spread out the water a bit, covering more of the perimeter of the soil, and it seemed like the plant popped a lot. So two questions.

1. How many ounces of water should a 10 inch plant be getting? (in a five gallon bucket)

2. Should i evenly distribute the water across the entire top of the exposed soil?



Thanks, any answers are appreciated.

Feel the weight of the container daily for awhile. You will soon see when the plant is drier (lighter) or wetter (heavier). The plant uses water at variable rates oso watering at regular intervals is not a good practice. Soil that is left too damp can help lead to root problems with fungi and simple rot.

When you do water water your medium well and evenly especially as the plant grows and the root net diameter widens. Then feel its weight. By watering thoroughly (until water begins to seep from the drain holes) and not watering until the plant shows signs of needing it or your container is very light will force the roots to go lower continually to seek water and nutrients.. Roots are what make the plant, not vice versa.

Anything from aeration by breaking the top of your medium up to inserting probes or screw drivers down through your roots to help deliver good O2 bearing room air to them will make your plant healthier, resist disease better, develop much stronger roots and thus a strong stem system. You are not going to get killer buds off pussy plants.

Good advice. Get them baby's well watered and let em dry out before you do it again. a good rule of thumb is water very slow and get about a 10% run off. for a long time I've used a spray bottle to water my starts and a pump sprayer for bigger plant's. You never want standing water on top of your soil.

I water every 72 hours. Never show any signs of over watering or under watering. But I did notice that when I do water, around 6 ounces of water, I do not cover the entire surface. I am also dealing with 30% perlite. I am due to water tomorrow, do you think I am save to give it 10 ounces?

bumpp. Could anybody answer my last question? Appreciated

man your overthinking the watering time, water when dry, simple. Everytime it gets dry, water til the water comes out the bottom drainage holes, few days later check it by sticking your finger couple inches beneath soil, if it sticks to your finger, dont water wait another couple days, if soil doesnt stick to your finger, then water til water comes out the drainage holes, give it another few days.

you dont need to measure exactly like 10 ounces n shit neither, only when mixing nutes, your water to nute ratio, put your thinking into that.

xGrimace said:

man your overthinking the watering time, water when dry, simple. Everytime it gets dry, water til the water comes out the bottom drainage holes, few days later check it by sticking your finger couple inches beneath soil, if it sticks to your finger, dont water wait another couple days, if soil doesnt stick to your finger, then water til water comes out the drainage holes, give it another few days.

you dont need to measure exactly like 10 ounces n shit neither, only when mixing nutes, your water to nute ratio, put your thinking into that.

Click to expand...

This is the correct way to water, listen to Grimace and Harley.
It often takes me over a half gallon to get water to the bottom of my 5 gallon buckets, sometimes less, sometimes more and they never dry out on schedule.

I agree with all above...
I water a "Ring" around my upstart clones, after I transplant...
The roots will search for the water...
If you water just dry soil and let it spread, you need to probe or turn over your soil at Hotrod says...
the soil should never be left to 'crust' over...

Lift test, man. Lift test. Learn and know the weight of the container dry vs. saturated.

Even my one gallon plants get more water that that at one time. I usually have at least a half inch in the catch tray after I water. The plant will suck it back up in a very short time. I've tried all kinds of methods of watering. Meters, schedules, etc.. Listen to Harley !! Water by weight.

water heavy infrequently.. dump a gllon of water on that pot, flood the top of the soil so it evenly soaks in and then leave it alone for a while... watering frequency changes as the roots fill the soil and in diffrnt stages of plant life. a lant that has been freshly transplanted may go 5-7 days before needing water again(especially if its in a pot too big for it) that same plant a month later may need water every 3 days

I use a gallon on a 5 gallon pot, your in a 10" probably an 3-4 gallon pot so maybe a little less but just dump some water on it.... overwatering is related to frequency of watering not amount of water used.... flood the bitch

The tendency if you worry about watering too much is that you will over water. And if you worry about over watering you tend to focus on not letting the pot fill with water and drain. Salts can build up in soil, so when a plant needs water it is best when they need water, to give them an excess of water, drain out the bottom, and dissolve and strip those salts.

Some strains develop quickly, fill out the pot with roots, dry out quickly. They need to be watered frequently. Others planted in same medium at same time lag behind and need water less frequently. So water defies a formula. It's hard to get your finger very far into the pot, so its weight is a better indicator. But on Amazon or at your local grow store, you can get a little tester with a long probe for less than ten bucks. No batteries, just keep it clean. It will give you a much more accurate picture and help you learn. www.amazon.com/Indoor-Outdoor-Moisture-Sensor-monitor/dp/B002B80FU4/ref=sr_1_26?ie=UTF8&qid=1363015225&sr=8-26&keywords=soil+tester+moisture

Maybe I should say more about using a soil moisture tester. Insert it to different places and levels in the pot. Let the pot go until you just get into the "dry" section on the meter. Then give the pot enough water so that 25 to 30 % of the water drains out the bottom. The soil will only hold so much moisture so don't worry about giving it too much. Dpn't worry about poking the soil too much, worst thing, you will aerate it... and that is a good thing.

moisture meters are a waste of money. you don't need to buy something to tell you what dry is. lift the pot then flood the bitch wait 10 min then lift the pot... when it gets light again water it.... sooooo simple whay do people make it soooooo hard. don't waste your money