How do you know when to water???

[jchesmore722]

How long do you wait to water your plants???

I know you are supposed to wait till the soil is almost completely dry again before watering cause it makes the roots grow searching for water. However im not sure how to tell when its completely dry without sticking my finger down into the bottom of the soil. I don’t want to mangle my roots…

Ive Heard you are supposed to wait till the leaves look slightly droopy … is this correct?

 

[Ms.Grat3ful]

Over watering

Over watering is one of the biggest mistakes new growers make, reason for this is, because they feel the need to give there plant everything and will overdue a lot of things and one of them is over watering. By over watering your plant you soak the roots so much, they can’t get enough oxygen and slowly die. The plant shows signs of over watering by: Wilting, droopy look, yellow and or dead leaves falling off, which includes leaves that don’t look dead falling off. One of the best ways to tell how NOT to over water is by, picking up the pot when it is dry and then picking up the pot after you water. (This is a reason why it’s smart to use light pots.) When you water, you want to water just enough to where you see a bit of water coming out of the bottom, not gushing or pouring out. Just enough to see a little bit, then you know the plant has enough water. To prevent over watering you can either: add more perlite to your soil, add hydrogen peroxide to your water for extra oxygen, all the while killing bacteria if any in the soil. After watering, wait a few days to water. Mj plants like a good watering and then a couple days to dry out in between watering. So it’s very easy to over water. Besides the weight of the pot, another way to test if your plant needs water is to stick your index finger a couple inches into the soil. If the soil at the tip of your finger feels almost dry, then it's time to water again. The top of the soil should be allowed to dry out between waterings if it's still moist the plant does NOT need watered. You can also use a moisture meter which will tell you the level of moisture down in the soil. You can buy them at most garden supplies or hydro shops.
Here is a picture of what over watering looks like:

(Picture Provided by ShopVac)

Under Watering

Under watering can show the exact same symptoms as over watering can, they show the droopiness along with the top soil being hard. To avoid this make sure every other other watering you give your plants a good watering, like use a bit more water then you normally do, because sometimes your plants will need a good quenching once in a while. So doing this will help the bottom roots and root hairs get enough water to produce newer growth. For new growers they tend to do both over watering and under watering.
More over watering then anything else, they tend to be to "generous", and then you have ones that are to afraid to water them to much and then they get the under watering symptom. Under watering seems to droop more than over watering does, the fan leaves will droop closer to the stalk and won't be as yellow as over watering looks like, under watering looks like this picture below, only way to stop under watering is to water when the pot feels lite. Make sure few drips of water come out at the bottom of the holes, that way you know the plant has enough water.

The is a great thread to read and has a lot of useful information Here

Good Luck and Welcome to ICmag

 

[jchesmore722]

thanks for the quick response. and clarification..

ive done a ridiculous amount of reading on other forums but still looking around this one. lots of good information.

im determined to have my grow box built by new years so that gives me plenty of time to get things up and running.

i know pretty much exactly what im going to do, its just a matter of putting things from paper into reality now.

nice quote in ur sig btw, so true, im attempting to do the first as much as possible.

 

[MHHSP]

pot/container weight is a good indicator... feel a watered pot and a dry pot and you will have a better sense for where yours are at

peace

 

[VenturaHwy]

How long do you wait to water your plants???

I know you are supposed to wait till the soil is almost completely dry again before watering cause it makes the roots grow searching for water. However im not sure how to tell when its completely dry without sticking my finger down into the bottom of the soil. I don’t want to mangle my roots…

Ive Heard you are supposed to wait till the leaves look slightly droopy … is this correct?

Stick your finger into the soil a couple of inches, pull some out and squeeze it, if you can't get any water out then neither can the plant....... Do not let it dry out till they wilt..... if you do then your pot is too small

 

[B.C.]

Very good post Ms G.!

Very good post Ms G.!

If ya cut yer soil with enough perlite, somethin like 30%, and make a ton of holes ( 1/4 inch or so ) in the bottoms of yer pots it makes it about impossible to overwater, when ya do water. It will be like a sponge, only holding what the soil will take, letting the rest run out. There's somthin ta learned from everyones post here about how often you should water tho. Hope this helps, good luck and welcome to IC Mag! If ya need any help jus hollar! Take care... BC

 

[Average Joe]

Watering until water comes out the drain holes may not be entirely adequate. Once the soils dries out it takes a few minutes for the it to absorb the water. I can pour water on my dry soil and it will run down the insides of the pot or down through the middle and out the holes, but the soil is still dry.

When I water, I will first wait until the leaves start to wilt like the pics above, then I will give each plant a cup or so of water at first and then wait a few minutes for it to absorb. Then I will give them more until water its coming out the holes. Basically you need to learn your soil and your pots as far as how much water they need. I know that if I give each of my pots 2 quarts of water, they are adequately watered.

 

[KINGKONG]

Only way to really tell is by what the weight is after you water and before.

There is a BIG difference.

and if you are growing in 5gallons you cant stick your finger in far enough to make a crap. Go by the weight

 

[NorthernHigh]

^^^^^^ thats what i do even my 2 liter pots are significantly heavier after watering so i know they are full of water !!!

 

[Quazi]

Stick your finger into the soil a couple of inches, pull some out and squeeze it, if you can't get any water out then neither can the plant....... Do not let it dry out till they wilt..... if you do then your pot is too small

No.

Do not teach yourself this method.

It is highly inaccurate, not reliable and disturbs the soil anyway.

I am speaking from experience. I decided (like many do) to not heed the advice of the "lift the pot" method. I found that I was always guessing whether I was feeling moisture. Just how much was I feeling? What a pain in the butt. Also, it's very possible for the surface of the soil to dry an inch or two down when there is still plenty of water remaining near the base of the pot.

Learn the "lift the pot" method. You'll never, ever check your soil with your finger again.

-Q

 

[facelift]

Weight is a good method. Once you have grown weed a few times, you should know how much water each plant needs everyday taking out the estimate through weight. If you know how much water your plants need everyday, you should still give them more water to be on safe side. For example if my plants use 20 ounces of water per day, I would give 30 ounces to be confident that they have enough water for 24 hours.