whats the rule on watering

Have read so many different things and am confused i have watered my female when the soil on to gets crusty but really was wondering how much water?????? Im in 12 12 and have small buds all over just dont wanna drown or starve her i am running a 400 watt hps and switched from flouros will this dry my plant out faster?

this is a quote from simpsonsapson420.......if you are growing in soil invest in a moisture meter... they are cheap and very useful.. this takes the guess work out of whether or not to water... just stick the probe in the soil and it tells you... MJ grows best in a wet to dry environment... that is they dont like being drowned.. water the soil until it is wet all the way through, and dont water again until it is dry.. to help reduce the risk of dry pockets in the dirt you can break up the top 1" of dirt.. this will help the water to penetrate the soil more evenly...

heres the rest of it good info there
http://https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/212352-all-new-growers-questions-tons.html

i grow in soil and i usually water every three to 5 days depending on soil moisture

Give the plant a good solid watering so that it gets a little run off, then wait a couple days and let it dry out the point where the soil would be mostly dry and the only moisture left would be contained in the lower half of the pot. now you can water again. Lifting the pot and feeling the weight is a good way to gauge how much water your soil has. Your top soil layer can be dry but that doesn't mean the soil needs watering, always lift your pot to check and when it feels real light then its time to water. If you wait too long to water the plant she will get droopy and then you'll know that you let her get too thirsty. Its good to let your soil dry out a bit because gases can escape and the roots can get oxygen, if your soil is always damp you wont get as good of results.

There is no set rules for when and how much to water. Myself, I water when I don't feel any moisture roughly two to three inches into the soil, at that point I water (slowly) until the water has saturated the pot, and starts to come out the bottom.

Well here she is in 12-12 only for two weeks and buds are forming the hps lamp is doin the trick it seems like

Do you think the light could be closer ??its 18 inches from top of plant

If I were you I would remove the reflective material on top of your soil and lower your light, covering your soil like that makes it take a lot longer to dry out and it doesn't allow the soil to breath as well. Lower your light as much as possible without heat stressing your plant, when your leaves start fold and take the shape of canoes your plant is getting heat stress, if this happens then you should raise your light. Hold your hand under the light at the top of the canopy, if it feels too hot for you then its surely to hot for your plants, how much heat you can get away with depends on the strain and pheno.

thank you man thats what i needed to know thank you for the heads up on the soil as well appreciate your help

no problem

the best advice ive got on watering is by lifting ur pot.and if its light u need to water.see how heavy it gets when u water and then just go from there. this method works great for me.but remember its always better to under water than to over water.if ur not sure about the weight just weight til the leaves droop.but after a couple watering ull get it.

thank you just started a grow journal and am really excited this is my 3rd. attempt and i have screwed up on all of them but am learning my gal seems to be doin well thank you for your help much appreciated ! have a grateful day