How much water?

[Canachris]

My plants are at the start of week 5 flowering. I've gone from watering every 6 days when they started flowering to 5 then 4 and now every 3 days. one is in a 8 gal container an the other is in a 10 gal. I did add a lil bit of extra perlite back when set up the containers and I may have missed a watering a week ago. also they are a lot of plant in them containers. If they're drinking it that fast can I do harm watering every 3 days ? or am I better off letting them go a few more. As always any advice opinions tips is welcome and appreciated... oh I forgot they each get 1 gallon every watering

 

[Sparkey224]

They look great Chris,

I'm in promix and I dry them out and then completely saturate them with runoff.
What kind of soil do you have?

Think it's great for them drying out (depending medium "
Trich development is a lot better imo..

Cheers bud

 

[Roy Growin]

Looking good Chris - carry on as you are I'd say
All the time they are drinking a gal a day I'd just keep up with them
I tend to taper off the water as they mature, like almost droughting them toward the very end

 

[Canachris]

The big round container has new outta the bag Coast of Maine Stonington blend, I added some extra perlite to the bottom third of the container to help with drainage. the square container has twice used C O M soil I also added some extra perlite to that too, could the extra perlite cause the water to evaporate faster? or I should I be giving
them more than a gallon each

 

[Roy Growin]

Why not water until a little run off and leave the run off in the tray, then see if they soak it up, sip style
Not familiar with your soil, but it works in coco - if they don't suck it up they are getting plenty of water, if they do, carry on

 

[Sparkey224]

The big round container has new outta the bag Coast of Maine Stonington blend, I added some extra perlite to the bottom third of the container to help with drainage. the square container has twice used C O M soil I also added some extra perlite to that too, could the extra perlite cause the water to evaporate faster? or I should I be giving
them more than a gallon each

I've ran Stonington blend before.. completely organic and wouldn't recommend water until run off because of leaching out all the nutrients.

But a little wouldn't hurt like Roy mentioned because you are getting down to the bottom of the container.
@Keffka runs that soil too.

 

[bluter]

Why not water until a little run off and leave the run off in the tray, then see if they soak it up, sip style
Not familiar with your soil, but it works in coco - if they don't suck it up they are getting plenty of water, if they do, carry on

that's a recipe for root rot.

 

[Roy Growin]

that's a recipe for root rot.

Slight misunderstanding perhaps, bluter
OP has perlite in the bottom, if the plant doesn't soak it up then you know it's too much water
I'm not suggesting just standing the roots in 4" of water permanently and watching it die lol

 

[bluter]

Slight misunderstanding perhaps, bluter
OP has perlite in the bottom, if the plant doesn't soak it up then you know it's too much water
I'm not suggesting just standing the roots in 4" of water permanently and watching it die lol

i know folk who bottom water as a gnat control, but they are careful to keep the top half dry and let it wick. they also make sure the plant is not in standing water. it needs to pull it up in a couple hours, no longer. a constant top to bottom wet in soil is what i would try to avoid.

i have not brought the method up that often as it would probably be a touch controversial.

 

[Sparkey224]

Yeah, root rot will happen if they don't dry out..wants funny about organic soil, folks always think they need to have moisture in the soil. Well I'm not a believer in that, dry soil and completely saturated soil is the ticket imo

 

[Keffka]

Once you’re in flower and past stretch you want to make sure your container is almost constantly wet. If you check out @Emilya Green guide on how to properly water a plant in the container she expands on this. Basically you want to run a wet/dry cycle all the way until stretch finishes. At this point the plant is no longer building roots which is what one of the big purposes a wet dry cycle serves, root building.

Once those roots are built and the plant is focused on flowering you want to make sure the roots have all the water they can take. Personally I’ve found when in flower the plant can want water as much as three times a day if in fabric pot. My last grow was in a 3 gallon smart pot I had to water three times a day. It was a 5 foot plant that produced almost 6 ounces though so it was a bit big for its pot size.

The sheer amount of vegetative and flower growth the plant puts on in the final weeks of flower is incredible. Approximately 90% of a plants weight is in water and with the amount of weight it puts on in flower, it needs a hefty amount.

Also, yes like @GainesvilleGreen said.. you don’t really want runoff.. it’s okay if it happens but this isn’t coco or salts where you’re looking for 20% runoff.. Learn how much it can take and what it looks/sounds/feels like right at the limit of watering it

 

[Sparkey224]

Once you’re in flower and past stretch you want to make sure your container is almost constantly wet. If you check out @Emilya Green guide on how to properly water a plant in the container she expands on this. Basically you want to run a wet/dry cycle all the way until stretch finishes. At this point the plant is no longer building roots which is what one of the big purposes a wet dry cycle serves, root building.

Once those roots are built and the plant is focused on flowering you want to make sure the roots have all the water they can take. Personally I’ve found when in flower the plant can want water as much as three times a day if in fabric pot. My last grow was in a 3 gallon smart pot I had to water three times a day. It was a 5 foot plant that produced almost 6 ounces though so it was a bit big for its pot size.

The sheer amount of vegetative and flower growth the plant puts on in the final weeks of flower is incredible. Approximately 90% of a plants weight is in water and with the amount of weight it puts on in flower, it needs a hefty amount.

Well said other then the water 3 times a day K. Depends on how much water really. Personally, I like completely dry ( not the extent of wilting the plant) but dry and completely soak her..
..not disagreeing with you K, but really think that's for week 5 to 6 in flower..after that we are going after trich development over yield imo

 

[Keffka]

Well said other then the water 3 times a day K. Depends on how much water really. Personally, I like completely dry ( not the extent of wilting the plant) but dry and completely soak her..
..not disagreeing with you K, but really think that's for week 5 to 6 in flower..after that we are going after trich development over yield imo

Yep it’s all so situational that’s why you almost never see hard numbers like “water 500 ml every 3 days”. You could have 2 clones that require different amounts of water because one is closer to the exhaust vent. There’s so many variables and I know it’s frustrating for newer growers to not get any hard numbers but that’s just how it is.

The best piece of advice I can give is to keep trying until you know your medium. Don’t switch up thinking some other way will be easier or more successful. Figure your medium out then branch out to other methods. That way you’ll at least know what a healthy growing plant should look like and how it should react.

 

[Emilya Green]

My general rule is that since I know what the wet/dry cycle length was at the end of stretch, usually around 3 days, I simply shave a day off of that and start pushing water in bloom one day early. A plant that could go 3 days, goes 2 before the top off. Every 4th cycle, I let it go the full dry out time to re-invigorate the roots, intending to flush the lower and middle roots with oxygen as it gets sucked in to replace the water. Then, it is back to work for the plants. Build the roots in veg, but in bloom, USE those roots to get as much water and nutrient into the plant as possible.

 

[Canachris]

neither container are touching the drip trays. The round has 3/4" aluminum angle bars under it keeping it 3/4" off the bottom, the square container has 1" legs that keep it above the drip tray. Because it organic soil I've been trying to keep it that way. I water very slowly 1 gallon spread out over the day. The first third is the slowest, over a half hour I slowly startin the middle and slowly work my way out to the edge. because I grow in plastic containers the soil and the edge of the container separate and if I just pour water in all willy-nilly it would just go rite thru. out of the gallon I give throughout the day I only get a 1/4cup from each drip tray. Ok I've been giving the square container one some FF beastie bloom but I still water her the same way

 

[arteekay]

I do damp with fresh clones or sprouts, then drought and flood through veg, and dump as much in as she'll take in flower. But as the fine folks here have said, it's most important to treat each and every kid as the unique life it is, it's not going to be exactly like any of her sisters. We shoot for close.

All that said, those pics speak for themselves.

 

[SmokingWings]

I added some extra perlite to the bottom third of the container to help with drainage. the square container has twice used C O M soil I also added some extra perlite to that too, could the extra perlite cause the water to evaporate faster? or I should I be giving
them more than a gallon each

The watering situation looks like it is under control at this time.

Something to think about in regards to the Perlite. While it was put into the bottom of the container to help with drainage it also is acting as a layer of water. Perlite has lots of small bubbles but many of those bubbles have holes in them. The Perlite can soak up water which will fill the bubbles. There is now a layer of water and Perlite at the bottom of the container.

I have done the following little experiment several times using the typical sized Perlite that most of us use when mixing into our soil blends.

Measure 1 gallon of Perlite into a bucket, a 2 or 3 gallon bucket will do. Then measure and pour 2 cups of water and stir the Perlite. Add another 2 cups and stir. Then add 2 more cups and stir it up again. Take a large slotted spoon or similar and scoop out all the Perlite and look at how much water is left behind in the bottom of the bucket. Probably only a couple of tablespoons and the rest soaked or seeped into the bubbles in the Perlite.

Once the Perlite has soaked up water then any extra water will run through and fill the saucer.

because I grow in plastic containers the soil and the edge of the container separate and if I just pour water in all willy-nilly it would just go rite thru.

This could be a sign that the soil has become "hydrophobic" in between watering sessions. Clay, dust and organic particles tend to shed water off until they have had a chance to slowly absorb some of it.

Dry natural soil will resist soaking up the water for awhile. But, a damp soil can soak up a fair amount water before the excess starts to flow through the drainage holes in the bottom of the containers.

 

[Roy Growin]

The watering situation looks like it is under control at this time.

Something to think about in regards to the Perlite. While it was put into the bottom of the container to help with drainage it also is acting as a layer of water. Perlite has lots of small bubbles but many of those bubbles have holes in them. The Perlite can soak up water which will fill the bubbles. There is now a layer of water and Perlite at the bottom of the container.

I have done the following little experiment several times using the typical sized Perlite that most of us use when mixing into our soil blends.

Measure 1 gallon of Perlite into a bucket, a 2 or 3 gallon bucket will do. Then measure and pour 2 cups of water and stir the Perlite. Add another 2 cups and stir. Then add 2 more cups and stir it up again. Take a large slotted spoon or similar and scoop out all the Perlite and look at how much water is left behind in the bottom of the bucket. Probably only a couple of tablespoons and the rest soaked or seeped into the bubbles in the Perlite.

Once the Perlite has soaked up water then any extra water will run through and fill the saucer.


This could be a sign that the soil has become "hydrophobic" in between watering sessions. Clay, dust and organic particles tend to shed water off until they have had a chance to slowly absorb some of it.

Dry natural soil will resist soaking up the water for awhile. But, a damp soil can soak up a fair amount water before the excess starts to flow through the drainage holes in the bottom of the containers.

Interesting, maybe there are different grades of perlite but the perlite I use [UK] can be soaked all day and not a single bubble appears, suggesting the water doesn't displace the air it holds due to surface tension
Perlite has a huge surface area for its size - could that account for the water loss in your test? Not absorbed, rather a huge surface area covered in a film of water? Pure speculation of course

 

[SmokingWings]

the perlite I use [UK] can be soaked all day and not a single bubble appears, suggesting the water doesn't displace the air it holds due to surface tension

There are different grades and sizes of Perlite and they are sometimes considered to be two different things. The one I use is pretty much the same size as most people use when mixing with soil. The size is probably about that of a pencil eraser at the large end and half that at the small end. What I am using is probably about 1/8th of an inch or 3 mm in size.

It is not bubbles that will rise to the top of the water. The bubbles I am talking about are inside the individual pieces of the Perlite. The particles of Perlite are not solid. There are bubbles inside the particles of Perlite that formed during the process of super-heating the raw material (called Perlite). Any water that was trapped in the Perlite eons ago as the magma or lava cooled off then explosively expanded during the process and created the bubbles.

Perlite has a huge surface area for its size - could that account for the water loss in your test? Not absorbed, rather a huge surface area covered in a film of water? Pure speculation of course

I had considered that. Adding 6 cups of water to the one gallon of Perlite is more than enough to coat the surface area. I am figuring that about 2 cups will be more than enough to coat the surfaces and that is why I was adding the additional cups.

It is worth the experiment. Look for the excess water in the bottom of the bucket and it is a whole lot less than what was poured in. Consider the weight change and the weight will still be there even after it seems that the water would have evaporated off the surfaces of the particles.

It is an interesting experiment to try and the Perlite can still be used.

And all this reminded me that I have to get another 4 cubic foot bag of the stuff.

 

[Roy Growin]

There are different grades and sizes of Perlite and they are sometimes considered to be two different things. The one I use is pretty much the same size as most people use when mixing with soil. The size is probably about that of a pencil eraser at the large end and half that at the small end. What I am using is probably about 1/8th of an inch or 3 mm in size.

It is not bubbles that will rise to the top of the water. The bubbles I am talking about are inside the individual pieces of the Perlite. The particles of Perlite are not solid. There are bubbles inside the particles of Perlite that formed during the process of super-heating the raw material (called Perlite). Any water that was trapped in the Perlite eons ago as the magma or lava cooled off then explosively expanded during the process and created the bubbles.


I had considered that. Adding 6 cups of water to the one gallon of Perlite is more than enough to coat the surface area. I am figuring that about 2 cups will be more than enough to coat the surfaces and that is why I was adding the additional cups.

It is worth the experiment. Look for the excess water in the bottom of the bucket and it is a whole lot less than what was poured in. Consider the weight change and the weight will still be there even after it seems that the water would have evaporated off the surfaces of the particles.

It is an interesting experiment to try and the Perlite can still be used.

And all this reminded me that I have to get another 4 cubic foot bag of the stuff.

That might well be the difference, mine is graded 10mm