Looking to water a bit differently

[stokesy]

I'm now at week 5 from seed, and ready to transplant from 7" pots. Started off with 3" - soil, 6 plants, tent, 600w hps, vented, had a few problems with heat etc..

Now, I'm ready to shift them into 4 gallon pots. And I'm not keen on watering them from the top. Watering them from below, ie, sucking it up, seems a bit awkward, given that the pots will be in big saucers.

So - and I've seen this before in normal indoor gardening - my plan is to sink a plastic pipe, around 1.5" diameter, into the new bigger pots, and water via the pipes. This means that the water gets down to the roots pronto (the water will be the same temp as the root temp approx), rather than the water going in from the surface, and the roots altering to suck in the water from the top.
As far as I can determine - roots prefer to seek water from below. This would seem logical, if you want a nice strong root formation.

Only problem I can see is this:

The roots around the bottom of the pipe will be subject to the light from the lamp. Not good. Right? Good. So, my plan is to block the light by means of either a cover, or perhaps black sponges stuffed in the top of the pipes.

Do you think I'm being over-careful here? If it works for normal plants, no reason why it shouldn't be ok for weeds.....

Anyone cleverer than me (and most of you are - this is my first grow) have any comments, good or otherwise?

I intend to plant the tubes alongside base of the shape of the existing small pots.

Thanks a lot!

 

[Droopy Dog]

Re: Looking to water a bit differently...

You are overthinking this WAY too much. Forget the pipe idea, it's not a good one. Or, you could do it and find out from experience.

Just water from the top till good run off ~30%. Totally saturate the medium. Wait 4-6 days till the pot is much lighter to water again. Repeat

DD

 

[stokesy]

Re: Looking to water a bit differently...

DD, I hear what you say. But - where does the 30% figure in the run off? Do you mean when the run off is 30% of the input?

Tks

 

[eBUD]

Re: Looking to water a bit differently...

I water till container capacity is met meaning water until water runs out the drain holes, the medium should be completely saturated as stated above. The plants will suck up water from below but a quick "Flood" of water from a tube can not only shock/stress plants but also bring pests an easy acess door to your plants life support. I`de stick with top watering for now. Its less maintenance and foolproof. Happy Growing!

 

[stokesy]

Re: Looking to water a bit differently...

Ok. Top watering, it shall be..!

Thanks!

 

[simondetroit]

Yes , Water from the top. Good Luck!

 

[DonBisso1]

Re: Looking to water a bit differently...

I water till container capacity is met meaning water until water runs out the drain holes, the medium should be completely saturated as stated above. The plants will suck up water from below but a quick "Flood" of water from a tube can not only shock/stress plants but also bring pests an easy acess door to your plants life support. I`de stick with top watering for now. Its less maintenance and foolproof. Happy Growing!

am using 5 gal cloth grow bags does that mean 5 gal of water my run off starts at about half way down the bag watering from top been using 1 gal of water

 

[Emilya Green]

am using 5 gal cloth grow bags does that mean 5 gal of water my run off starts at about half way down the bag watering from top been using 1 gal of water

A gallon or so is about right for a 5gal container to start seeing runoff. This thread that you responded to is over 10 years old, so the original poster is probably long gone. Definitely water from the top. This age old method is the perfect way to water the entire container, using gravity to help move the water through the soil all the way to the bottom. As the water fall to the bottom, the suction created draws oxygen down to the roots, exactly as is needed. Watering from the bottom will not do this, and oftentimes will cause the lower roots to get in trouble from overwatering, since you can only guess as to how much water the plant will eventually suck up and you have no choice but to sit the plant in the water for a while to see. Top watering is much more effective and accurate. I also invite you to read my how to water article.. the link is below: