problem: too much drainage, day 35 of flower

[sensirocker]

Hello eveyone,

I have this ECSD going right now and its in a 5 gallon plastic bag on day 35 of flower.... for some reason, whenever i water it, about 50% of the water goes RIGHT to the bottom and drains right out.... im talking tons of water, a abnormal amount.... but the problem is that i have to water her all the time because she gets REALLY droopy after 2 or 3 days.... so im not sure what to do....
im using fox farm happy frog and i didnt even put any more pertlite in there for increased draining... i put some hydro balls on the bottom and a bit on the top but thats pretty much it...

Any ideas????

-sR

 

[CaptJamesTKirk]

add about 8 or 10 drops of Dawn (Don't use anti microbial soap - just plane soap) dish soap per gallon of water. Fix ya right up.

 

[Truth]

you sure you aren't over watering?

 

[sensirocker]

Dawn soap?????? lol are you serious capt james? please explain....

truth - yea, even after just 2 red cups (16oz.) of water it already starts to drain excessively and i know they need the water because after i water their leaves perk right back up.

 

[dr. ugs]

im no guru by no means but i know from my experiences that when i pour the water quick it kind of runs down the side of the bags and out the holes without saturated the soil. I helped fix this by putting some old hydroton rocks on the top layer of the soil, this helps break the water up and saturates the soil much better IMO. hope this helps, as i said im no guru.

 

[Guest]

Can you transplant to a medium with less drainage,I never used happy frog but if you added nothing it sounds like it could use some vermiculite lol.Transplanting is always your best bet if you're having problems with your medium.You'll probably have to water every day and feed a small amount each time to get the plant any nutritional value,thats the trick.I've messed around and grown and flowered healthy plants in 100% perlite,of course its hit and miss with the ferts but once you get it right its very doable.Same goes with 50% perlite and 50% vermiculite,thats a lot easier to grow in but again getting the nutrition correct each time isnt easy.I guess what I'm trying to say is it sounds like you have to water every single day the same way it was when I grew in perlite,if you could possibly get the nutritional requirements downpat you could end with a nice healthy plant,this isnt easy however and takes a lot of hit and miss,you dont want to fuck with that now.I'd try and transplant to a medium where you normally find yourself having to water evbery 4 or 5 days or so

 

[sensirocker]

dr ugs, i am using hydro balls on the top of my pot....

ballastman... yea, i may have to transplant, however i am interested in hearing about captjames' soap idea before i do a risky transplant, day 35 in flower, ugh.

 

[CaptJamesTKirk]

I tell ya how to fix it for free

I charge to tell why it is so.



Soap is a sufficant - your soil isn't allowing the water to soak in - the soap breaks that bond and allows water to soak in and improve contact by relieving surface tension


There's a reason I'm up here

use it regurarly but not constantly - any soap that isn't anti bacterial or anti microbial will do - Dawn donates to wildlife rescue

 

[sensirocker]

ok, thanks captjames... one other question, can i use the soap when im mixing in my nutes? or can i only use the soap when im watering with water only? could the soap react negatively with the nutes im using? pbp, karma, carbo load, and beastie bloomz?

 

[CaptJamesTKirk]

with or without nutes is fine


word is - it can help with nute absorbtion also - which makes sense if the water isn't running by.




or it could be a Boron deficincy

 

[sensirocker]

touche im going to look up boron deficiency on my own!

 

[CaptJamesTKirk]

Actually,,,,

boraxo,,,,,,
it was proven to increase hermis

Many of the relevent threads are no longer available.


ohhh never mind it was intended as a joke.

what you want to look up is Surfactant

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfactant

 

[Cannapits]

with or without nutes is fine


word is - it can help with nute absorbtion also - which makes sense if the water isn't running by.




or it could be a Boron deficincy

dont start that shit...lol....remember it takes more water for a dry pot...got to let it soak in.peace

 

[CaptJamesTKirk]

ummmm that link says borax can be lethal.

imagine that.

I'm betting his problem is like the water sitting on top of the soil - but with FF and pearlite it can run thru - but the water still isn't penetrating so after you drain the excess off - it's still not heavy like it should be.

Don't forget, Dawn is the preferred detergent for oil fouled wildlife -



There's a difference between me and sproutco

I grow cannabis

really, really good cannabis.

 

[glock23]

Simple solution. Water nice and slowly. This gives the soil enough time to absorb the water.

 

[Truth]

you simply don't water every 2-3 days, unless you water very lite. if your soil is already moistened, or over moistened, it can cause excess drainage because there is no more room for water to absorb. take a soaking wet sponge for example, you pour water on it, it will cause water to pool up under and around it..but do pour on a dry/slightly moist sponge, and you will have less of a pool, depending on how much water you pour of course. if you don't already, wait until the soil is starting to get dry on top but still slightly moist a few inches down in the soil, depending on your pot size.

 

[sensirocker]

truth, after 2 - 3 days my plant gets droopy, the soil on the top is dry, and when i stick my wet/dry probe down deep into the pot, it reads "Dry".... it needs water...
Yes, you can water every 2 - 3 days when the pot has become too small for the plant, or if there is too much drainage in the soil. This plant is huuge and in a 5 gal bag which is prolly only 4/5 full. i have another plant, og kush, thats in a 1 gal bucket and its comletely outgrowing the pot... i started it when it was a clone but it grew too fast and now i need to water it every 2 days for sure.

clock an capt are right, i need to add some soap and water slower so the soil will absord more water....

ill see how this works!

-sR

 

[CaptJamesTKirk]

Simple solution. Water nice and slowly. This gives the soil enough time to absorb the water.

Didn't read the link did you?

Surfactants are wetting agents that lower the surface tension of a liquid, allowing easier spreading, and lower the interfacial tension


you simply give advice and have no clue

 

[Mackawber]

My soil container has no bottom. I attached a screen to the bottom and put gravel at the bottom, then I added the soil. When I water I water slowly. Not very much comes out the bottom!

 

[glock23]

Didn't read the link did you?

Surfactants are wetting agents that lower the surface tension of a liquid, allowing easier spreading, and lower the interfacial tension


you simply give advice and have no clue

I already know about the surfactant properties of detergents. They aren't really needed if you water slowly. I only use surfactants rarely (when misting with neem oil or folair feeding). Watering slowly makes a world of difference. This comes from 12 years of growing experience. How long have you been growing?