How much water should I pour into my 5 gallon grow pots?

[bobj]

I have a habit of underwatering my plants. I would rather underwater than overwater.

That said, how much water am I looking to add (roughly) each time I water? I'm using a 500ml measuring cup and a 5 gallon pail to scoop water from. I do not want to overwater, thank you.

 

[Emilya Green]

I have a habit of underwatering my plants. I would rather underwater than overwater.

That said, how much water am I looking to add (roughly) each time I water? I'm using a 500ml measuring cup and a 5 gallon pail to scoop water from. I do not want to overwater, thank you.

It is impossible to overwater a plant in one watering, the soil is designed to only hold so much, and then any more falls out of the saturated soil as runoff. That is your goal when watering, to water to runoff and then stop when you see the first little bit of runoff. In a 5gal container, that will take roughly 1-1.3 gallons.

The ONLY way to overwater this plant is by watering too often. If you do not let your soil dry out to the last inch or two of your container between waterings, you are overwatering. Please look at the link in my signature called The Proper Way to Water a Potted Plant . Learn there, all about the wet/dry cycle, and how to use it to tell when to water and even when to uppot.

 

[bobj]

It is impossible to overwater a plant in one watering, the soil is designed to only hold so much, and then any more falls out of the saturated soil as runoff. That is your goal when watering, to water to runoff and then stop when you see the first little bit of runoff. In a 5gal container, that will take roughly 1-1.3 gallons.

The ONLY way to overwater this plant is by watering too often. If you do not let your soil dry out to the last inch or two of your container between waterings, you are overwatering. Please look at the link in my signature called The Proper Way to Water a Potted Plant . Learn there, all about the wet/dry cycle, and how to use it to tell when to water and even when to uppot.

I was actually reading that when I posted this. Thank you for sharing that.

What I'm most concerned with is how comfortable I've gotten watering a little 4.00 round pot. 5 gallons is a pretty big step forward. My soil won't get waterlogged and/or develop 'root rot' will it? It does not have a lot of perlite in it (I should've added some).

 

[Emilya Green]

it may take a week or more to drain your containers the first time. Be patient and make them do it. Every 3 or 4 days, give a little drink around the outside edges and a wee bit down the middle, but not very much. Wait for them to drain that big container. When the container starts to go dry the plant responds by growing new roots so it can search for the water, and each time you force the plant to do this, the roots get stronger. If it takes 7 days to use all the water the first time, the next time it may only take 5. Force her through another wet/dry cycle and she will suddenly be able to drain the container in 4 days... next time 3... and if you are lucky, she will need water every other day.

 

[bobj]

it may take a week or more to drain your containers the first time. Be patient and make them do it. Every 3 or 4 days, give a little drink around the outside edges and a wee bit down the middle, but not very much. Wait for them to drain that big container. When the container starts to go dry the plant responds by growing new roots so it can search for the water, and each time you force the plant to do this, the roots get stronger. If it takes 7 days to use all the water the first time, the next time it may only take 5. Force her through another wet/dry cycle and she will suddenly be able to drain the container in 4 days... next time 3... and if you are lucky, she will need water every other day.

Hey can you take a look at these pictures of my ladies please? They look like they're drooping, I'm assuming they're thirsty. Just happened within the last couple of hours, I admire them quite often. I'm fine with letting them go a bit longer without water, but is it dangerous? I'd like to push them a bit to develop the roots, but I feel like I'm playing with fire here lol (last picture is a close up of my dirt)

 

[Emilya Green]

Is it dangerous? lol You expect your plant to just fall over dead? Don't you think you might get a little bit of a warning first, like maybe a dramatic droop or even a bending of the trunk?

Instead of showing me the 3 way meter, show me instead that you know how to use it and show how many inches from the bottom the wet line is. Lift up your containers... are they still heavy? I don't see a wilt. I see an overly anxious gardener who can't wait to pour water on his plants. Let me show you leaves that are getting dry and actually wilting... this is nothing like your plants. My plants needed water.

Note 2 things here... the wilt starts from the bottom and moves up. The tops of my plants are still reaching for the light. The bottom leaves are all hanging low and lifeless looking. 20 minutes after watering, all of my leaves lifted up toward the light.

I notice that none of your leaves are reaching for the light. Why is that? Damaged roots can't build up the water pressure in the trunk to accomplish this task. Damaged roots from watering too often. Be patient... let the plant build up the roots. Watch for the droop to start low and in 12 hours or so, start moving up the trunk. When the tip top wilts and bends over, then you know for sure it is time to water and it is getting dangerous. Anything short of that is not... it is actually more beneficial than dangerous, truth be told. That is probably why I did it, right here in this picture, just a day ago. I am aggressively building roots.

 

[bobj]

Is it dangerous? lol You expect your plant to just fall over dead? Don't you think you might get a little bit of a warning first, like maybe a dramatic droop or even a bending of the trunk?

Instead of showing me the 3 way meter, show me instead that you know how to use it and show how many inches from the bottom the wet line is. Lift up your containers... are they still heavy? I don't see a wilt. I see an overly anxious gardener who can't wait to pour water on his plants. Let me show you leaves that are getting dry and actually wilting... this is nothing like your plants. My plants needed water.

Note 2 things here... the wilt starts from the bottom and moves up. The tops of my plants are still reaching for the light. The bottom leaves are all hanging low and lifeless looking. 20 minutes after watering, all of my leaves lifted up toward the light.

I notice that none of your leaves are reaching for the light. Why is that? Damaged roots can't build up the water pressure in the trunk to accomplish this task. Damaged roots from watering too often. Be patient... let the plant build up the roots. Watch for the droop to start low and in 12 hours or so, start moving up the trunk. When the tip top wilts and bends over, then you know for sure it is time to water and it is getting dangerous. Anything short of that is not... it is actually more beneficial than dangerous, truth be told. That is probably why I did it, right here in this picture, just a day ago. I am aggressively building roots.

..I actually don't know how to use the three way mater, nor do I know how many inches from the bottom the wet line is. I did lift one container, it sort of felt heavy? Heavy enough that I thought to myself, this HAS to have some water still left in it.

I did water my plants when they were in the 4.00 round pots quite extensively. Almost as soon as they started to droop, I gave them heavy watering. Perhaps that was why when I up potted, I did not see any roots whatsoever.

I will follow your lead and refrain from watering these girls, they will get strong. Thank you for replying!

 

[Emilya Green]

stick the 3 way meter into the soil, and while watching it, slowly push it deeper and deeper, until the meter slams to the right side and indicates WET. You have just hit the top surface of the water table, the lake that gravity forms in the bottom of your container. When you water to runoff, that water table rises all the way to the top, but as the plant uses up that water, it steadily falls toward the bottom. The very bottom never really dries out, but when you see the water table fall down into the last 2 inches or so, it is safe to water.

 

[bobj]

stick the 3 way meter into the soil, and while watching it, slowly push it deeper and deeper, until the meter slams to the right side and indicates WET. You have just hit the top surface of the water table, the lake that gravity forms in the bottom of your container. When you water to runoff, that water table rises all the way to the top, but as the plant uses up that water, it steadily falls toward the bottom. The very bottom never really dries out, but when you see the water table fall down into the last 2 inches or so, it is safe to water.

This plant does not seem to be doing too good, in comparison to the other plants. One of the plants looks like it's having the time of it's life, it's just vibin. But this one, this one seemed a bit.. immature? It was growing at a much slower pace than the others.

The other plants are showing signs of wilting, although I feel like they're still a far ways off from needing any water. But this one? I'm fine with letting it go longer without water, but do you think there could be something wrong with this plant? It's not growing at the same pace as the other three.

 

[Emilya Green]

It has more damaged roots than the others. Give it some water, but realize that the actual roots of this stressed plant probably dont go very deep. Don't even try to give it a lot of water right now, it will just fall to the bottom and sit there. Give it about a cup of water, night and day for a week, spread it around a bit... lets see what happens.

 

[cbdhemp808]

Howdy @bobj,

What kind of soil are you growing in?

The other plants are showing signs of wilting, although I feel like they're still a far ways off from needing any water. But this one? I'm fine with letting it go longer without water, but do you think there could be something wrong with this plant? It's not growing at the same pace as the other three.

Looks like you need to water all those plants asap... think quarts, not cups.

In my paradigm, those plants would still be in 1 gal pots for a while. Then they'd go into 15 gal smart pots, or the 5-or-6 gal that I use for short-term clone moms.

Once in the larger pot, I would then go through a period of wet/dry cycles, watering a stem-centered circle at increasing diameters, until you are watering the whole pot. In your case right now, the circle would start at around this diameter (photo), and I'd give the plant probably 1/2 gal. Note that I use coco coir in my soil mixture, so the water seeps directly in right where you pour it. You have to pour a large amount at once for any pooling to occur. When you are watering, keep in mind that your are activating the soil microbiome – water isn't just for the plant, it's for the living soil, too.

happy growing!

 

[valeriu Popov]

Hi @bobj, what are the humidity and temperature of yours grow tent?? , you need to keep thouse number right..., let me know...

 

[The70’s]

Im in week 5 of flower and my (3) 5gal pots take collectively 4gal every 3days. I water when i lift em and they feel dry, its been flawless…

Its living soil, worm castings and extra perlite