7 gal Compost, Gaia G, EWC grow (with issues)

[Stuntzii]

Hello everyone,

First post on the site, also this is my first grow with photoperiod plants indoors. Previously, I have gone through three autoflower grows with varying degrees of success. The last grow with autos went really well so I figured I would get into something new and more versatile with photos.

I wasn't sure which sub-forum to put this in, the plants are not ready for the infirmary yet (and hope I can steer them clear). This is an all organic grow so far and it was going really well until about week 5 (from seed). I may have tried to do too much hard training plus the re-potting too soon after. I am holding back trying to amend the situation by adding nutrients (the symptoms could be stress rather than a lacking nutrient, but I am not sure) .

Strain: ChickMagnet and fivestar from MassMedical (Maybe not the best choice for a beginning grow as fivestar is picky and Chickm streches like crazy apparently)

Soil is PromixHp amended with onsite made compost (garden waste, lawn clippings, leaves ect) Then Gaia green and EWC.

Light: LED full spectrum, ppfd reading is about 400-600. Schedule: 18/6 (still in Veg now at week 6 from seed)

Bit of background info:

Started in solo cups, transferred to 1.5 gal in week 2 ( for the 1.5 gal I used 10% compost/ewc and a 2/3 recommended dose of GaiaG 444). Every thing was going decent, except the fivestar looked a little stressed at times with curled tips (strain doesnt like N or being rootbound according to breeder).

Water: well water with ph of 7.8 (have full report of when the well was tested for our drinking water) I used a mix of 1/3 rainwater to well water as the ph of rainwater was about 5.5 ish and mixing the two seemed to put it in the 6.5 range ish (using ph color drops so its not super accurate)

Here they are in around week 3-4, Looking good from what I see.



So now during week 4 I topped the main stem (they had around 5 nodes I think). A week later I tried supercropping, which I had never done, I think it went ok from what I read its supposed to do. I did snap the top almost completely off a fivestar, it is hanging on by a haft a stem strand (it is still struggling). The other fivestar I cut the top off because I was going to toss that plant anyways (or give away) and wanted to see what it would do.



3 days later I repotted from 1.5 gal to 7 gal. The reason for this, which I know is rushed is because I was told chickmagnet streches like crazy x4 times. So I wanted to get it in the 7 gal, let it recover a bit and then flower. Maybe this could have been planned better.

Here is where I am at now and this is where I am seeing a couple problems and am not sure what I should do. I should say the mix I used for the 7 gal is basically 10%compost/ewc, the gaia green @ almost 3tbs per gallon of soil (but all purpose 444 and bloom 284 mixed 50/50) w/ promix.

Here they are repotted and still looking good



So now some stuff that is making me wonder if things are heading sideways



So you can see some purple stripping appearing on the stems (could be nothing). Some mottled and droopy leaves, growth has slowed and the new shoots are looking thinner and weaker.

Ok so maybe a bit long winded for a first post I dunno. But please feel free to give any insight or tips. Looking forward to browsing the forum more, and learning. THanks!

 

[Creeperpark]

Hello everyone,

First post on the site, also this is my first grow with photoperiod plants indoors. Previously, I have gone through three autoflower grows with varying degrees of success. The last grow with autos went really well so I figured I would get into something new and more versatile with photos.

I wasn't sure which sub-forum to put this in, the plants are not ready for the infirmary yet (and hope I can steer them clear). This is an all organic grow so far and it was going really well until about week 5 (from seed). I may have tried to do too much hard training plus the re-potting too soon after. I am holding back trying to amend the situation by adding nutrients (the symptoms could be stress rather than a lacking nutrient, but I am not sure) .

Strain: ChickMagnet and fivestar from MassMedical (Maybe not the best choice for a beginning grow as fivestar is picky and Chickm streches like crazy apparently)

Soil is PromixHp amended with onsite made compost (garden waste, lawn clippings, leaves ect) Then Gaia green and EWC.

Light: LED full spectrum, ppfd reading is about 400-600. Schedule: 18/6 (still in Veg now at week 6 from seed)

Bit of background info:

Started in solo cups, transferred to 1.5 gal in week 2 ( for the 1.5 gal I used 10% compost/ewc and a 2/3 recommended dose of GaiaG 444). Every thing was going decent, except the fivestar looked a little stressed at times with curled tips (strain doesnt like N or being rootbound according to breeder).

Water: well water with ph of 7.8 (have full report of when the well was tested for our drinking water) I used a mix of 1/3 rainwater to well water as the ph of rainwater was about 5.5 ish and mixing the two seemed to put it in the 6.5 range ish (using ph color drops so its not super accurate)

Here they are in around week 3-4, Looking good from what I see.

View attachment 18969602 View attachment 18969603

So now during week 4 I topped the main stem (they had around 5 nodes I think). A week later I tried supercropping, which I had never done, I think it went ok from what I read its supposed to do. I did snap the top almost completely off a fivestar, it is hanging on by a haft a stem strand (it is still struggling). The other fivestar I cut the top off because I was going to toss that plant anyways (or give away) and wanted to see what it would do.

View attachment 18969604

3 days later I repotted from 1.5 gal to 7 gal. The reason for this, which I know is rushed is because I was told chickmagnet streches like crazy x4 times. So I wanted to get it in the 7 gal, let it recover a bit and then flower. Maybe this could have been planned better.

Here is where I am at now and this is where I am seeing a couple problems and am not sure what I should do. I should say the mix I used for the 7 gal is basically 10%compost/ewc, the gaia green @ almost 3tbs per gallon of soil (but all purpose 444 and bloom 284 mixed 50/50) w/ promix.

Here they are repotted and still looking good

View attachment 18969614 View attachment 18969615

So now some stuff that is making me wonder if things are heading sideways

View attachment 18969616 View attachment 18969617 View attachment 18969618 View attachment 18969619 View attachment 18969620

So you can see some purple stripping appearing on the stems (could be nothing). Some mottled and droopy leaves, growth has slowed and the new shoots are looking thinner and weaker.

Ok so maybe a bit long winded for a first post I dunno. But please feel free to give any insight or tips. Looking forward to browsing the forum more, and learning. THanks!

Welcome friend. I always use a pH and EC meter to keep an eye on the water intake and runoff from the beginning to the end. The reason is if you watch the water going in and the water coming out you will know what is happening.

Even using an organic mix with a high ppm or EC can be monitored and watched. A high organic EC is mostly unused salts that will be converted to usable nutrients in time. Watching the liquids in the mix is important.

 

[Stuntzii]

Welcome friend. I always use a pH and EC meter to keep an eye on the water intake and runoff from the beginning to the end. The reason is if you watch the water going in and the water coming out you will know what is happening.

Even using an organic mix with a high ppm or EC can be monitored and watched. A high organic EC is mostly unused salts that will be converted to usable nutrients in time. Watching the liquids in the mix is important.

Thank you! PH meter and EC meter is on my list to pick up for sure. I have read conflicting things about ec in organic soil. So far I have not been watering to run off. My question would be that if the ec is high, would the answer be to flush the soil even though it is mainly compost and dry organic amends in there? My understanding is that even if there are an abundance of organic nutrients in the soil the plant takes what it needs as the amendments break down by microbes, inorganic salts are available all at once and may need to be flushed if in excess. (Again this is just my understanding of reading stuff, and alot of contradicting stuff too lol)

Or is checking the EC (with this set up) be mainly for checking when plants need feeding ? (I was thinking of top dressing compost + gaia as feeding)

The ec of the well water on the report is 179 us/cm which I think is converted to .179 ms/cm which would be what most ec meters would read it as.

 

[Slebban]

Heya,

I've just done about the same procedure with topping and transplanting. But with a different organic soil mix and another type of container.
My plants also show the striping and purple stems after three days, and some specimens have slowed down growth, yet some plants don't seem to be affected.
Feeling a bit curious about the cause, but hope it's just a lil bit of transplant shock.

How many days since the transplant?

Copy paste from google;

Transplant shock can turn your plant into a drama queen, with wilting leaves and stunted growth. Maintain optimal temperature and humidity, and consider root boosters to help your plant bounce back. With a little TLC, recovery should take about a week.

Spotted around for similar troubles with drooping after transplant and in some threads growers suggest to raise lights or lower intensity during bounceback.

Post transplant drrop and clawing help.

Hi all I'm looking for some guidance from you fine ladies and gents on the farm. These ladies, I transplanted 3 days ago and they started clawing the following morning and havnt recovered, is this transplant shock? They are still a little bit heavy from the initial wet down of the soil, is...

www.thcfarmer.com

All the best,
S

 

[Stuntzii]

Heya,

I've just done about the same procedure with topping and transplanting. But with a different organic soil mix and another type of container.
My plants also show the striping and purple stems after three days, and some specimens have slowed down growth, yet some plants don't seem to be affected.
Feeling a bit curious about the cause, but hope it's just a lil bit of transplant shock.

View attachment 18969800 View attachment 18969801

How many days since the transplant?

Copy paste from google;

Transplant shock can turn your plant into a drama queen, with wilting leaves and stunted growth. Maintain optimal temperature and humidity, and consider root boosters to help your plant bounce back. With a little TLC, recovery should take about a week.

Spotted around for similar troubles with drooping after transplant and in some threads growers suggest to raise lights or lower intensity during bounceback.

Post transplant drrop and clawing help.

Hi all I'm looking for some guidance from you fine ladies and gents on the farm. These ladies, I transplanted 3 days ago and they started clawing the following morning and havnt recovered, is this transplant shock? They are still a little bit heavy from the initial wet down of the soil, is...

www.thcfarmer.com

All the best,
S

Seems like similar issues for sure. The purple streaking did not show up until the topping and then has got a bit worse since transplant. I am keeping an eye on the situation, and like your situation some plants have been more affected than others.

I turned the lights down for now as well.

I am curious when I go to really water these for the first time (for repotting I pre-moistened the soil and gave a light watering after transplant). I'd image the plant is still colonizing the media with roots and the plant is stressed from the shock. Should I soak the whole pot or just give a lighter watering just past where the rootball and new media starts. THanks!

 

[Creeperpark]

Thank you! PH meter and EC meter is on my list to pick up for sure. I have read conflicting things about ec in organic soil. So far I have not been watering to run off. My question would be that if the ec is high, would the answer be to flush the soil even though it is mainly compost and dry organic amends in there? My understanding is that even if there are an abundance of organic nutrients in the soil the plant takes what it needs as the amendments break down by microbes, inorganic salts are available all at once and may need to be flushed if in excess. (Again this is just my understanding of reading stuff, and alot of contradicting stuff too lol)

Or is checking the EC (with this set up) be mainly for checking when plants need feeding ? (I was thinking of top dressing compost + gaia as feeding)

The ec of the well water on the report is 179 us/cm which I think is converted to .179 ms/cm which would be what most ec meters would read it as.

Everytime you add water you will release or activate some nutrients. Without a meter it's hard to know if your EC is going up or down with every watering. Organic mixes can give very high EC or ppm but most of the nutrients may not be available or they are available and in excess. That's why I use meters with every mix of organic or soil-less just to know what I have from the first to the finish.

 

[Stuntzii]

So you are saying with organic amended soil, if you test EC right from the get go, you can watch the EC go from high to lower and then estimate when to feed again? (in my case top dress dry amendments ).

I have been doing research but of course there is lots of info out here. Any sources you can point to that go into using EC readings with organic soil in more detail?

 

[Stuntzii]

Things have evened out a bit since transplant and the plants are looking better. Except the one in back which has looked off since day one.



A question about using bottle nutrients with organic grows. I bought a grow tent off someone and they gave me all their nutrients to go along with it. Some of the stuff is organic based (Liquid Weight for example is extract of molasses ) and others I believe are straight up inorganic salts.

The cal/mag solution and the liquid weight I may hold onto. The Nature'sCandy product description says: It feeds soil microbial life including fungi beneficial bacteria. The company lists itself as a hybid organic/synthetic brand, whatever that means lol. (middle pic is cal/mag ingredients and last on the right is the natures candy bottle).

I probably won't use any this grow and try and keep it to the dry amendments and compost but just wondering people's opinions on this.

 

[Slebban]

Hello,

happy to see your plants bounce back. The last one will hopefully grow into its soil strength by time.
How did you end up watering?
I’m not entirely sure about Remos cal mag if you want to grow in living soil. There's something in it called EDTA which might mess with the microbes. But it's probably a good product for other mediums, and soil as a quick remedy in crisis.
Might be me who's a bit over concerned too hehe.

All the best
S

 

[Stuntzii]

Thanks man, that last one has been strange since birth. Doesn't like being watered, doesn't like being dry, it's hard to please ! Growing from seed has been really cool to see the difference in phenotypes. I took clones from all of the chickmagnet strains. There is one in particular that is super squat and branchy, which is weird for the sativa dominant background of the strain.

Watering I mainly focused on the original rootball from the 1.5 gal pot and then go a little lighter on the rest of the 7 gal medium. The new media still had some moisture whereas the original rootball was bone dry. Im thinking giving more of soak once the roots fill the pot more.

Yeah am holding off on the bottled stuff until I know more about it. I am not opposed to a hybrid approach as long as the stuff isn't harsh on the environment or the soil life. But I am going to see how this growing system plays out on its own.

Flipped to flower 12/12 schedule today. Just past the 6 week mark from seed. Maybe could have waited a bit but these strains are suppose to stretch x3-4 times so we'll see

 

[Stuntzii]

Been a few days of 12/12 schedule. Bumped up the ppfd slowly from 400 µmol to around 600. Honestly I have read quite a bit about lighting, temp, vpd ect and its a bit overwhelming. This chart I found seems to be the most concise; with the most relevant info in one place (not vouching for it's accuracy as I am a newbie).

Topped dressed with some compost, a bit of EWC and some crushed up bunny turds lol. Plants seem to be responding well. Only thing I am apprehensive about is deficiencies during mid-flower and timing the dry amendments as a top dressing. I have seen many a grow diaries look awesome during veg and then go sideways come flower time.

Thinking top dress around week 4-5 of actual flower with gaia bloom and 444 with bit of EWC. Thats the plan so far. Some updated pics, just starting to stretch out a bit.

 

[Slebban]

Hey Stuntzii,

Thanks for the nice pictures. All those tops are gonna be sparkling in a couple of weeks =).
Looks healthy!
Would be cool to actually be able to calculate exact needs of nutrients to plant mass. Read somewhere that the dry matter contains approximately 35-45% carbon which is taken from the air. Rest i guess if from the nutrients in the medium.

Promixhp say they have about 8-35% perlite in the mix, which means it could be up to around 2 gallons of filling in your 7 gallon pot. And the manufacturer says that the nutrient content will last about 7-10 days.

Gaia recommends top dress 1 tbsp per gallon of medium once a month.

Just like with transplanting it could take about a week to see results from topdressing, unless the dressing is water soluble. Ewc could be pretty quick but the gaia seems to be slow
release.

Mass Medical states that Five Star flowers for 8 weeks and Chick Magnet approx 9 weeks.
(Also note on the Five Star: “She shows an extreme sensitivity to overwatering or too much Nitrogen and will claw leaves in these cases, even moreso than Star Pupil. It's an easy fix, simply allow the medium to get very dry in between waterings, and water thoroughly each time you do.”)

So you have about 4 weeks of nutes from the Gaia and about 1 week from the promixhp.
And a bit of extra nutes with the topdress. Dont have any experience with the rabbit but it seems to be pretty strong.
“Rabbit manure has four times more nutrients than cow or horse manure and is twice as rich as chicken manure.”
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/bunny_honey_using_rabbit_manure_as_a_fertilizer

Anyhow, if adding amendments week 4-5 with a week to get full effect, your medium could have nutes past the Five Stars estimated flowering time.

From my experience, adding too strong organic nitrogen also containing a natural growth stimulator(nettle tea) at week 5-6 to combat yellowing leaves led to outshoots in bud structure and nanners instead .

My suggestion is to add a little each week the first weeks of flower or a topdress maybe around the end of week 2, to week 3, and then slowly let them yellow out.
It's like us humans, we look cutest in veg, and then we naturally flower out while getting some character .
And looking at pics of the strains, even on Mass Medicals page, the Chick Magnet seems lil bit hungry before flowering out.


Although there's a lot of tops .

All the best,
S

 

[Stuntzii]

Hi Slebban, thanks for the well-thought out post! Some good insight there and I think I will go for the earlier top dress at around week 3 of flower.

So far have been on the more conservative side with the Gaia and calculated the 3 tbsp gaia per gallon of soil by omitting the % of perlite in the promix (I actually added larger size perlite as well).

It is also hard to judge exactly the ratios of nutrients as I have never ran these strains before and I do believe it is true that fivestar is sensitive to N. I used less gaia on five star but same compost and EWC ratio and even still it has had clawed leaf tips.

I think the rabbit manure has been helpful as a light top dress and soil additive. From what I have read it its a “cold” manure and doesnt need to be composted like horse, cow ect. Supposedly less uric acid and ammonia so it can be used direct. But still it is high in N overall so Ill back off in later flower.

I guess it’s all about timing with the dry amendments getting to know the delayed availability of the nutrients to match up the strains needs.

 

[PadawanWarrior]

Hey Stuntzii,

Thanks for the nice pictures. All those tops are gonna be sparkling in a couple of weeks =).
Looks healthy!
Would be cool to actually be able to calculate exact needs of nutrients to plant mass. Read somewhere that the dry matter contains approximately 35-45% carbon which is taken from the air. Rest i guess if from the nutrients in the medium.

Promixhp say they have about 8-35% perlite in the mix, which means it could be up to around 2 gallons of filling in your 7 gallon pot. And the manufacturer says that the nutrient content will last about 7-10 days.

Gaia recommends top dress 1 tbsp per gallon of medium once a month.

Just like with transplanting it could take about a week to see results from topdressing, unless the dressing is water soluble. Ewc could be pretty quick but the gaia seems to be slow
release.

Mass Medical states that Five Star flowers for 8 weeks and Chick Magnet approx 9 weeks.
(Also note on the Five Star: “She shows an extreme sensitivity to overwatering or too much Nitrogen and will claw leaves in these cases, even moreso than Star Pupil. It's an easy fix, simply allow the medium to get very dry in between waterings, and water thoroughly each time you do.”)

So you have about 4 weeks of nutes from the Gaia and about 1 week from the promixhp.
And a bit of extra nutes with the topdress. Dont have any experience with the rabbit but it seems to be pretty strong.
“Rabbit manure has four times more nutrients than cow or horse manure and is twice as rich as chicken manure.”
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/bunny_honey_using_rabbit_manure_as_a_fertilizer

Anyhow, if adding amendments week 4-5 with a week to get full effect, your medium could have nutes past the Five Stars estimated flowering time.

From my experience, adding too strong organic nitrogen also containing a natural growth stimulator(nettle tea) at week 5-6 to combat yellowing leaves led to outshoots in bud structure and nanners instead .

My suggestion is to add a little each week the first weeks of flower or a topdress maybe around the end of week 2, to week 3, and then slowly let them yellow out.
It's like us humans, we look cutest in veg, and then we naturally flower out while getting some character .
And looking at pics of the strains, even on Mass Medicals page, the Chick Magnet seems lil bit hungry before flowering out.
View attachment 18973970 View attachment 18973971 View attachment 18973972

Although there's a lot of tops .

All the best,
S

The second and third pic looks like P deficiency. The first looks like a combination but you can see the K deficiency on the leaf edges.

 

[PadawanWarrior]

Hi Slebban, thanks for the well-thought out post! Some good insight there and I think I will go for the earlier top dress at around week 3 of flower.

So far have been on the more conservative side with the Gaia and calculated the 3 tbsp gaia per gallon of soil by omitting the % of perlite in the promix (I actually added larger size perlite as well).

It is also hard to judge exactly the ratios of nutrients as I have never ran these strains before and I do believe it is true that fivestar is sensitive to N. I used less gaia on five star but same compost and EWC ratio and even still it has had clawed leaf tips.

I think the rabbit manure has been helpful as a light top dress and soil additive. From what I have read it its a “cold” manure and doesnt need to be composted like horse, cow ect. Supposedly less uric acid and ammonia so it can be used direct. But still it is high in N overall so Ill back off in later flower.

I guess it’s all about timing with the dry amendments getting to know the delayed availability of the nutrients to match up the strains needs.

The plant in the back looks overfertilized. In earlier pics it also looked way underwatered. When you water you should focus more on the outer part instead of the center. That encourages the roots to spread and is less likely to give you root rot. In organic soil it's better to keep the soil moist. For that overfertilized one I would water it more; to flush out some of the nutes, and keeping it wetter will make the nutrients less concentrated. But I wouldn't expect it to get better very soon.

The others are looking pretty nice. When top dressing you could also give it less more often. It's harder to overdo it that way. Also if you're going to top dress at week 5 go straight to the bloom. Too much N in flower is no good. I would do 1 TBLS per gallon at most or even 1/2 and do it more often. It's too easy to give too much and then regret it later.

 

[Ca++]

Water management seems the core problem.
This often doesn't refer to what you water, but instead, the salts. Salt attracts water. If the soil is more salty than the plant, then the plant wilts, unable to get water. We see this when people repot sometimes. As we grow we are gradually increasing EC. This is gradually increasing the EC within the plant also. We ramp them up together. If a small pot has got very salty, and the new soil isn't, the plant can kinda drown. It can go either way, depending in which way we effect the salt balance.

Seeing fabric pots on wire racks, makes me think some saucers might of been useful. Just to keep the bottom moist. I'm not seeing calcium signs, but still suspect more water movement was needed.

 

[Hasch]

It's an easy fix, simply allow the medium to get very dry in between waterings, and water thoroughly each time you do.”)

Hey ya

thanks for sharing your grow.

Afaiu it's very beneficial for an organic soil to keep the moisture level within a narrow frame.

Letting it dry out might help with some other issues, but the microbes and especially the fungi (Mykorrhiza etc) will be severely hampered by that.

And those are (in my eyes) essential for a grow in organic soil...

 

[Stuntzii]

Water management seems the core problem.
This often doesn't refer to what you water, but instead, the salts. Salt attracts water. If the soil is more salty than the plant, then the plant wilts, unable to get water. We see this when people repot sometimes. As we grow we are gradually increasing EC. This is gradually increasing the EC within the plant also. We ramp them up together. If a small pot has got very salty, and the new soil isn't, the plant can kinda drown. It can go either way, depending in which way we effect the salt balance.

Seeing fabric pots on wire racks, makes me think some saucers might of been useful. Just to keep the bottom moist. I'm not seeing calcium signs, but still suspect more water movement was needed.

I have probably been under watering because in my first auto flower grows I had overwatering issues. With these plants I have been averaging watering every 3 to 4 days with around 5 - 10% water to media (they are in 7 gal). I pick up the pots and make sure they are noticeably lighter.

I had a feeling this wasn’t enough because when I felt the fabric pot it felt dry and hollow near the bottom. Do you think increase the water frequency or just bigger soaks ? Maybe submerging the pot haft-way in water to soak in through the sides for a few mins?

If I kept a saucer under the pot and periodically kept the bottom moist through water retention in the saucer, could this lead to aerobic conditions on the bottom? Or impair oxygen intake through the roots? Thanks!

 

[Ca++]

IIRC a 7G pot should weigh 14kg filled. You may have to fill one with pro-mix to see. The bathroom scales are the obvious choice. That would be your absolute minimum weight.
I don't ever over water, as I don't have pots big enough to hold more than a couple of days water. You will probably need to give one a liter (1kg) above this dry weight, and then weigh again in 24h. Then you know daily consumption, and can give 3 days worth, at a push.
If you already know a liter isn't going to last, then go higher. As much as 3 days worth, as they do need a bit of a wet I reckon.

I recently did some seeds, using re-hydrated old compost. Some with water, some also with wetting agent. The ones with the agent weigh 165g after watering, and the one's without weight 135g. This is after a week of daily weight maintenance. You may need to think about a wetting agent, as part of your recovery.

Weighing plants may seem foreign, but it's telling you how much water is in them. No nonsense with maths or probes. It's 100% the info needed. Set them to grams, and read it as ml. Or set them to Kg, and read the numbers as Liters. I'm just using 10Kg kitchens for smaller pots, so working in grams/ml. You will likely be weighing on bathrooms, in Liters/Kg
These that understand this, are rarely far away from their scales, when things are critical. I know I'm on about 20ml per day, but still check I'm on target every couple of days. You soon learn your dry weights, wet weights and daily consumption. I'm really not green fingered, I'm following the science.

 

[PadawanWarrior]

IIRC a 7G pot should weigh 14kg filled. You may have to fill one with pro-mix to see. The bathroom scales are the obvious choice. That would be your absolute minimum weight.
I don't ever over water, as I don't have pots big enough to hold more than a couple of days water. You will probably need to give one a liter (1kg) above this dry weight, and then weigh again in 24h. Then you know daily consumption, and can give 3 days worth, at a push.
If you already know a liter isn't going to last, then go higher. As much as 3 days worth, as they do need a bit of a wet I reckon.

I recently did some seeds, using re-hydrated old compost. Some with water, some also with wetting agent. The ones with the agent weigh 165g after watering, and the one's without weight 135g. This is after a week of daily weight maintenance. You may need to think about a wetting agent, as part of your recovery.

Weighing plants may seem foreign, but it's telling you how much water is in them. No nonsense with maths or probes. It's 100% the info needed. Set them to grams, and read it as ml. Or set them to Kg, and read the numbers as Liters. I'm just using 10Kg kitchens for smaller pots, so working in grams/ml. You will likely be weighing on bathrooms, in Liters/Kg
These that understand this, are rarely far away from their scales, when things are critical. I know I'm on about 20ml per day, but still check I'm on target every couple of days. You soon learn your dry weights, wet weights and daily consumption. I'm really not green fingered, I'm following the science.

Lifting my 15 gal pots would get old fast. They probably weight at least 80 lbs. Lava rock is heavy. So is pumice compared to perlite.