Watering Strategies

[boobs]

so lately I've been watering every two days, the amount I water is determined by taking moisture readings with a probe-meter thingamajig. This seems to be a good balance.

here is some data from my notes in august:

8/3 morning
applied fungal-dominant tea ~3gal ea.
water in with 5% pot size.
foilar fog tea

8/5 evening
water 12.5%

8/9 morning
water 5%

8/10 evening
water 8%

8/13 evening
water 15%

8/16 morning
water 8%

8/18 morning
water 5%

8/20 morning
water 15%

8/22 morning
apply tea ~3gal ea
water 8%

I'm wondering how this compares to everyone else out there.

she looks alright imo so I couldn't be screwing up too bad right?

I've read that once they start packing on the buds transpiration rates go down etc. I'd love it if anyone with experience and understanding would explain how the watering paradigm changes coming out of the stretch and through flower.

 

[opiumo]

Nettle ponds can be useful, can be seen in Hazeo's outdoorsthread i think.

 

[mr.shiva]

I would say we haven't hit max transpiration yet. Interesting stats boobs. I bought one of those water meters ... I was way off on my 30gal a plant, about a 1/3 of that in north american organics veggie mix

 

[headband 707]

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[headband 707]

hello again, I thought I'd try to stir something up here...

here's some different points of view I found from around the net:

"...Letting your soil or any other media dry out is the leading cause of toxic salt build up. Beyond that it ruins the CEC of your media and throws the pH within the media way off. There is no such thing as overwatering. That word is a misnomer. There is only under-oxygenation. If overwatering were a real factor then DWC wouldn't work so well.

In fact if you think your plants are droopy from too much water then water some more. Watering drags fresh air into the media along with all the dissolved oxygen already in the water from your air stones in the res. Remember, you're not "adding" water to the media as much as you are exchanging water..."

and here is a conflicting point of view:

"Watering every day .. damn.. not right...

Root Rot happens from overwatering - that's a fact. Bud Rot also happens from overwatering. The cells in your buds cant evaporate that much water so they burst at some point of time, the water spills out and serves as a perfect culture medium for Botryotinia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia this little bugger here. The same principle applies to root rot, just that its a different fungus there... actually a variety of fungi....

Cannabis never likes a swampy/soggy environment. Watering everyday will do that for your medium. Don't do it just because some dude on the internet told you to - hell don't even believe me is my advice. Do your own research, its worth the effort. "

So, what do you guys think?

..Okay overwatering . NO,NO,NO WAY amigo lol.. can't be done no way no how... As a person who has seen this many times trust me on this one OR do it yourself and see lol...
Then there is the part about build up of salts lol Yeah that happens when you add too many ferts you need to take the first layer of soil off atleast an inch then flush if you haven't overwatered lol..
Then there is the next part about cannabis growing in a marsh well I have heard this was true and I would assume again this just might depend on your climate LOL LOL... As there are ppl in other countries that grow in marshes lol LOTS OF BUD TOO lol.. They make it work and change the environment to work for them.
Best way to have a plant any plant is for it to want water ,not for it to be drowning in it headband 707

 

[boobs]

I have no idea what any of you are saying... LOL

 

[Lebniis]

Any Advice?

I am looking to build two 4'x12' beds and want to use a drip line/watering line of some sort, but I have no experience with drip irrigation. About 15-20 feet vertical is the hose outlet that this season we are running a normal garden hose down the hill (about 50') and "hand" watering. I'd like to establish a system where we could turn on the faucet and have a drip line lining the beds and watering efficiently. I'd like to know what to look for when I am shopping around. The beds are perpendicular to where the water line would be coming down the hill.

 

[ijim]

I lift and feel the weight of my pots when I transplant. I use that weight as a barometer of when I need to water. As the root system builds your plants will hydrate faster. So you look for leaves that are just starting to sag. Or feel the pots. And then give some plants a bit more than others. Plants need oxygen as much as water. Plants will show you the way. If you pay attention.

 

[headband 707]

Any Advice?

I am looking to build two 4'x12' beds and want to use a drip line/watering line of some sort, but I have no experience with drip irrigation. About 15-20 feet vertical is the hose outlet that this season we are running a normal garden hose down the hill (about 50') and "hand" watering. I'd like to establish a system where we could turn on the faucet and have a drip line lining the beds and watering efficiently. I'd like to know what to look for when I am shopping around. The beds are perpendicular to where the water line would be coming down the hill.

There are so many picture to help you along and show you how this all works. The real trick is to make it as easy on you as you can get it. The preperation is one of the hardest parts. Do a search and look at other ppl's grows and see what will work for you. headband 707

 

[headband 707]

I lift and feel the weight of my pots when I transplant. I use that weight as a barometer of when I need to water. As the root system builds your plants will hydrate faster. So you look for leaves that are just starting to sag. Or feel the pots. And then give some plants a bit more than others. Plants need oxygen as much as water. Plants will show you the way. If you pay attention.

Okay well perhaps a better gauge would be just to stick your finger in your pot and see how wet your soil is...I never go wrong with this trick,,,,and I never overwater my plants so I don't run into those problems.Plants don't liked to be moved.. headband 707

 

[mapinguari]

Thanks for this thread. Watering is such an art / science. I think in the end we have to be willing to experiment and take our lumps in order to learn.

 

[SeaMaiden]

Boobs, I don't use any kind of soil moisture monitoring except my eyes. I watch for growth and turgor. Everything is in beds and it's all on drip emitters, .5gph, woven through the beds. The goal for me is keeping as much of the bed evenly moist as possible, without wasting water.

Any Advice?

I am looking to build two 4'x12' beds and want to use a drip line/watering line of some sort, but I have no experience with drip irrigation. About 15-20 feet vertical is the hose outlet that this season we are running a normal garden hose down the hill (about 50') and "hand" watering. I'd like to establish a system where we could turn on the faucet and have a drip line lining the beds and watering efficiently. I'd like to know what to look for when I am shopping around. The beds are perpendicular to where the water line would be coming down the hill.

I believe we've switched to the Orbit controllers, but my husband did 'hard pipe' the irrigation with PVC. Since it's all controlled via the Orbit, you don't turn the water on and off by hand, you install control valves that are managed electronically by the main programmer/controller thingy.

IMO, it's really the ONLY way to go. I manage my gardens' watering using a chart that I devised myself. Let's see if I can attach it. Newp! No xls or other similar document files are uploadable. That's kind of a pain in the ass, how would I then show how I manage the irrigation...? Screen shot? Not good enough, nor is converting the file into a jpg.

 

[boobs]

edit

 

[SeaMaiden]

I like deeper for raised beds, but others disagree with that sentiment. Part of the reason for me is that it raises the plants up a bit and that's easier on my back.

I suggest using lag bolts to put together the beds. You don't have to anchor the beds, we didn't anchor the beds in my back gardens and they're doing fine. We thought we might want to be able to move them in the future, probably not going to happen anytime soon.

Hold on. Pix are always helpful.

Beds during construction.

I prefer to have 1x's installed instead of PVC, so I can wrap with Hortonova easily. However, I haven't tried my hand at light-depping. But if I want to with these beds, I can quite easily. They're all on timed drip irrigation, too.

I don't know if you can see the 4x4 posts we use, but the lag bolts go through those.

 

[boobs]

coool! nice to see some pictures from you SeaMaiden.

 

[toughmudderdave]

However, I haven't tried my hand at light-depping...

I'm formulating some ideas darlin' about how to do this automatically. I think I can make it happen.

 

[SeaMaiden]

coool! nice to see some pictures from you SeaMaiden.

You're welcome. I just don't like to post up too much about what I've got growing on since I know factually that we have county supervisors monitoring what I post up here. Public eye and all, ya know? Price of participation! I have an album that I've set to public for now, if you want to see more pix of that particular area and what I've got growin' on. This year is not going like previous years, but I'll hit my groove next season.

I'm formulating some ideas darlin' about how to do this automatically. I think I can make it happen.

Oh, I KNOW you can make it happen, dear, just like you always do.