My watering technique

[Guest]

I've had quite awhile now to see how plants respond to watering/feeding in soil container grows so I thought I'd share with you all what I've learned.From the start I have to say 100% saturation of the media is you aim each and every time you water/feed,runoff is a consequence not a goal.Of course this requires having your plants in the proper sized containers for their stage of development,you dont want a seedling in a 3 gal or even 1 gal for that matter.Its important to learn the saturated and dehydrated weights of all the containers you choose to use,its the only way to be sure of 100% saturation each and every time.At this point I should add perlite is your best friend,vermiculite is almost always unnecessary.Without adequete perlite for drainage the plants would literally drown when 100% saturated.I've found it best to fill your containers almost to the top leaving maybe 1/4-1/2 inch to pour water,this keeps a grower honest you want saturation not pour through.Personally I've flowered in both 2 and 3 gallon containers anf find it best to do the 2 gallon in groups of 6 and the 3 gallon in groups of four.The idea behind this is to split the gallon of liquid evenly among each plant.You never want to water one plant at a time even if you only have two lol!Seriously the idea behind this again is to assure total saturation,evenly distributing each gallon among the group of plants is the best way to achieve this.Also when I'm about halfway to saturation,I'll turn the plants 180 degrees,flatten any little "ridge"that watering may have caused,and continue with the other half of the total water.I normally will use 3-4 gallon for 6 flowering plants in 2 gal pots and 4-5 gal for 4 plants in 3 gal pots.Always use the black plastic nursery trays to catch runoff and you want to double them up or you will get water on the floor after awhile lol

 

[Guest]

BY bad I didnt really mean unpleasant,though its not tooty fruity thats for sure.Its just overpoweringly strong smelling.

 

[Dick Stallion]

I'm going to go ahead and break this up so people can actually read it.....Because I think its pretty good info. However, you may want to get your space bar and enter button checked out.........




I've had quite awhile now to see how plants respond to watering/feeding in soil container grows so I thought I'd share with you all what I've learned.

From the start I have to say 100% saturation of the media is you aim each and every time you water/feed,runoff is a consequence not a goal. Of course this requires having your plants in the proper sized containers for their stage of development,you dont want a seedling in a 3 gal or even 1 gal for that matter.Its important to learn the saturated and dehydrated weights of all the containers you choose to use,its the only way to be sure of 100% saturation each and every time.

At this point I should add perlite is your best friend,vermiculite is almost always unnecessary. Without adequete perlite for drainage the plants would literally drown when 100% saturated. I've found it best to fill your containers almost to the top leaving maybe 1/4-1/2 inch to pour water,this keeps a grower honest you want saturation not pour through.

Personally I've flowered in both 2 and 3 gallon containers anf find it best to do the 2 gallon in groups of 6 and the 3 gallon in groups of four.The idea behind this is to split the gallon of liquid evenly among each plant.You never want to water one plant at a time even if you only have two lol! Seriously the idea behind this again is to assure total saturation,evenly distributing each gallon among the group of plants is the best way to achieve this. Also when I'm about halfway to saturation,I'll turn the plants 180 degrees,flatten any little "ridge"that watering may have caused, and continue with the other half of the total water.

I normally will use 3-4 gallon for 6 flowering plants in 2 gal pots and 4-5 gal for 4 plants in 3 gal pots.Always use the black plastic nursery trays to catch runoff and you want to double them up or you will get water on the floor after awhile.

 

[Guest]

How'd you do dat?

 

[TrustNoOne]

sleight of keyboard. hehe

 

[Guest]

I dont even know how to wave watch,wave!See..Fuckin puters

 

[froth]

To avoid getting "ridges" in the soil when you water your plants try watering them with either one of those watering jugs that you can find at a gardening store that have a "shower-head" like end where the water pours out from.

Or just do what I did and poke a bunch of small holes in the cap of an old gallon milk jug thats been washed out thoroughly.

This way the water flows out of the jug through the small holes and it sort of mimics how rain would fall on the soil if it were outdoors.

This method will allow you to get much more even coverage over the soil rather than just pouring water on the soil and hoping that its drains through to the bottom in an even matter.

 

[Guest]

That is an excellent tip

 

[cobain420]

Good info.

I had some trouble watering when I first got started, it's one of those things that you have to do quite a few times before you feel 100% comfortable your doing it correctly.

Simple as this:

Let your bigger plants dry out, right about to the point where the soil starts to pull away from the sides of the pot.

When you see this, water until it actually comes out the bottom. It'll take A LOT of water to get to go right out the bottom, but just give the plants a nice even flow and eventually it'll start draining from the bottom.

Watering is simple as this.

Good info soilman!

 

[our kid]

some great tips there

 

[Guest]

Kewl Thread

Kewl Thread

Great info here, i would like to add for me i usually lift the whole plant up after a good watering/feeding and dont water/feed again until container is nearly 80% lighter in weight....works for me.