The watering technique is detailed in the first few pages of "In the lab" which is the journal where the kit instructions are....which is linked to in my signature below.
For a first-timer, I recommend picking up the pot every day to gauge weight, then letting it dry out till you see some slight wilting. Take note of the weight.
Ideally, you want to water 5 minutes before you see wilting. Practically, water them the same day they would normally wilt.
I submerge mine till the rim of the pot is just above water level and then I pour maybe 8oz of water down the top while they're submerged. When all the bubbles stop, you've fully saturated the container. Tilt it this way and that, letting as much water drain out as possible and you've just completed a proper watering cycle!
Again, it's all there in "In the lab."
You'll get what I mean the first time you try it - the whole rootball tries to float right out of the pot.
). Half of that first water will run through/past the soil and out the bottom and back into the rest of the feed. I'll give it a minute to soak in from top and bottom and run another cupful over the top. By now, it will sit in the pail without trying to float, so I'll leave it to soak for a few minutes. One more cupful over the top usually is enough to be sure it's well-soaked, then pull it out and tip it from side to side until the dripping stops. After a few of these, you learn how heavy a well-soaked pot should be. At the end of this process the pots should be completely saturated.
Oops.
to lift it slowly out of being submerged as to not compact the soil much with gravity pulling the mass of water out. Then I tip from side to side at different angles to lower the PWT(thank you Doc!)
That's a damned good idea for anyone - heck, you could just saturate a blank potful of soil to find out how heavy it should be.
