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Gee64
Well-Known Member
Watering... Everyone has their ways lol.
I like about a 5-6, but each strain is different too. These South Africans I've been growing definitely like it on the drier side. The bigger they get, the drier they like it. They are happiest at a 5, whereas most seem happiest at almost a 6.
Check your seed vendor and see if the description mentions moisture or air.
Quite often they will say something like "enjoys a bit damper soil" or "excels in a bit drier soil". Those are indicators for how much oxygen they like. Drier equals more oxygen. They may also state something like "requires or enjoys a bit extra oxygen" which translates into a drier soil.
Drier is the low end of the green zone, moister is a the high end of the green zone.
Also your RH comes into play as that has a big control on transpiration. If RH is 60% or above then it takes longer to dry the pot down so you don't want to get it too wet or the roots will be deprived of oxygen, but if you're RH is lower than 54 she will start to transpire a lot, so you want to water her a bit fuller. Somewhere in between is a young plant's sweet zone. Probably 58%.
I leave my RH at 60% for the 1st 5 days or so after uppotting, then drop it to 58% once she starts to get established. Usually around day 5.
When I uppot a solo cup into a big pot I try to achieve 2 things.
One is to get the roots to grow into the new soil, and the other is to not harm the baby in the process, so I water close to the stalk lightly, to make sure she doesn't dehydrate, and I also water the dripline and beyond to get the roots to chase outwards. 2 seperate events.
The area of the solo rootball will dry down faster than the rest of the pot until myco moves into the uppot soil. Once that occurs the myco will take over a larger portion of the water regulation and she takes right off.
If the outer soil is too wet myco won't propogate in it, so you need to let it dry down, but not get actually dry. A 5-6.
Watering slowly and methodically around the extreme outer edge of the pot, very slowly letting it soak in without running to the center of the pot helps too.
I find that less than a 5 starts to become too dry. A big plant can handle it but not a seedling.
So, water the small rootball to keep the plant hydrated, and water farther out to get the roots to chase. That may require a small amount of water right at the stalk into the solo cup rootball daily, but only watering the outer pot every 5 or 6 days. As she grows you can water the rootball heavier and it will absorb outwards farther until watering becomes normal. Just don't let the outer area get too dry for too long.
You want the solo roitball to maintain good moisture and the outer area to cycle from wet to dry.
A trick I sometimes use if roots are being difficult, which usually shows as slow foliage growth, is to use my mister bottle and spray the outer pot walls to allow the moisture to absorb in. It's not a good way to water, but it works well to hold the sweet spot longer as they dry down from wet and into the goldilocks zone. It can usually get you an extra day or 2 before a gull watering, which really gets roots moving.
Another thing to watch for is yellowing on the leaves. If it starts to creep in then the immediate rootzone in the solo rootball area is either too dry or way too wet.
So really you are watering 2 seperate areas. The old rootball from the dripline inwards is for the plant's immediate needs, and the outer uppot soil needs to be kept from a 7 or 8 freshly after watering, so an hour afterwards, and allowed to dry down to about a 4-5.
This is where spraying the outside of the pot can prolong the sweet spot. Around the line at the low end of the green zone.
If you get that system rolling but drier and wetter zones start to appear all over the pot, it's time for a root dunk. Try not to need a root dunk before she has roots poking out the lower end of the pots.
If you do need a root dunk then very slowly lower her pot into a tub of water, letting her fully soak it in as she lowers into the tub. Don't just push her under.
Let her sink on her own.
You will have to hold her as she slowly sinks. Once she is fully wet to the surface, lift her out and drip her out.
Also, the reason all my pots sit on upside down milk crates is to allow air in at the bottoms too. This greatly aids the wet/dry cycling. That pot bottom is a significant amount of surface area as well as the wettest part. It needs the air.
Also keep an eye on the moisture levels at the bottom of the pot. Quite often the bottom 2 or 3 inches stays too wet. Then roots won't penetrate it. If it's still wet on the bottom then water the solo rootball, spray the sides if needed, but don't fully water the pot until the bottom dries down too.
You may need to lightly water the surface to keep the pot evenly moist as it dries down.
lol that doesn't really answer your question, but if she's too wet it takes a week to dry down, and if she's too dry it only takes a minute to moisten her up. Try to keep her perfect, but over watering is worse than under watering.
Watch her color and if yellowing occurs she's either too dry or really wet. If all her leaves right down to the coty's are nice and green, your fine. If they start to show stress then make a change.
If you're dilligent, in a couple weeks she will be thru it and regular waterings start.
If you feed her anything liquid, only feed her rootball area or the feed will build up in the areas without roots and become too strong, and roots won't want to penetrate.
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. He is a very open minded chap and so are you, so I cannot see you clashing evah! 
Red Mimosa
Now I have to grab a water sensor and start testing.
. She had her first dolo water and fish water last week before the Brix reading.
I dreamed up the Juicer 5000. I tried it tonight and it squeezed out the juice of a leaf quite well. And sure as hell was easier than using pump pliers. There was absolutely no cursing and I didn't have to eat spinach for lunch. 