Watering heavily v's little and often.

[dobo]

I give my plants a really good watering/feeding, so the soil is saturated. I don't feed them then until the soil has dried out lots which is usually about a week.

This got me thinking as to what would benefit the plants more, a good soaking or just giving them a little bit every 3-4 days. This means more oxygen is getting to the roots, which in theory should promote quicker growth? Has anyone done any experiments to see what grows quicker? Once my current plants have been harvested i'll compare watering heavily v's llittle + often and see what does best.

 

[MrBomDiggitty]

better to water less more often

 

[Hundred Gram Oz]

IMO that's not a good way to water, water them little but often. Having a dry medium stimulates the roots to grow out searching for water which means...bigger root ball and a bigger root ball can sustain bigger plants/larger yields
HGO

 

[blackburngrower]

^^^^^^^^^ like he says

 

[whisperingeye]

I personally will water often to keep things fairly wet, then let them dry out a little, not to the point where the pots are real light. I have been wondering the same thing so I am always learning.

 

[cosmiccowboy]

i give em all they can handle,let em dry out and do it again..constant watering can cause a lot of problems..the weight of the pots tell me everything i need to know.

 

[muddywaters]

i grow in 3 gallon square buckets with pro-mix as the medium. i feed them 3 liters of water, only when their real dry. i have no run off and it just about fully saturates the medium.

in veg i feed like 1-2 times a week, and in bloom they drink it up fast so maybe 2-3 times a week.

 

[THC_Decapitator]

I like to water until run off and water once or twice rather then more frequent in my case .

 

[dobo]

Seems like it's a personal preference as to how we water our plants. I'll turn this into an experiment next cycle, I'll grab two even sized clones and water one at normal rate and the other one "little but often" Hopefully i'll be able to see a clear winner as to which works best for my plants.

 

[blackburngrower]

if you water little and often ive noticed the plants get lazy and dont drink as much as when u let them dry proper then water em they suck it all up

 

[Cookie Duster]

My experience with watering plants after working in nurseries, green houses and landscaping that you water evenly. Which is enough water to wet the root ball without leaving standing water. If you let a plant dry out too much then you have to compensate. Plants do need to dry out in between waterings. Also watering less frequently promotes better root growth.

 

[dobo]

^^ true, in this case then it's important people use sprinkler nozzles on their watering cans, to slowly water the plants so that the water doesn't just gush out the bottom...slower the better I guess?

 

[muddywaters]

i water slow also, i give the plants a liter then start over till they all get the proper amount.

 

[mitsu1]

Watch the fans,they'll tell you when it's time....mitsu

 

[dobo]

Watch the fans,they'll tell you when it's time....mitsu

Thats normally how I do it too mate. Usually works out around the week mark during veg. As soon as they start drooping its time for a feed.

 

[Masterlow]

I reckon watering a medium amount is good.. letting the soil dry out too much, or waiting untill the plant starts showing signs of dehydration is no good, but keeping the soil constantly moist is no good either, i found that letting the soil dry out just untill it can first be considered on the 'dry' side then water a moderate amount gets the best of both worlds.. getting more frequent root to top growth transitions seems to work best for my climate..
40' S.

 

[planted1]

If it needs to be watered, then water it fully. wait until your container is light and you can lift it with ease. then water fully again. ideally you can time this watering schedule around flushing and finishing your plant for a prime result.

 

[OPT]

I'm a believer in the "roots need to look for the water" theory. I do think it has something to do with the climate the specific plant was derived from though. MJ plants that are in the tropics might be able to handle more frequent waterings then a plant that is grown in lets say, outdoors in Canada.

With that being said, I'm not gonna structure my watering times/style for the specific plant. I will water like I normally do. Wait for the pot to feel a certain lightness, slowly saturate them to break the service tension, then once the surface tension is gone and the medium starts to let the water soak in, then water them fully and evenly until there is some run off.

Depending on the type of strain your growing, and your heat and humidity issues, some plants might need less or more.

I think that when you look at specific breeders, or just MJ enthusiasts like us, they all have a certain way they do it, dialed in to meet there specific needs. They have grown out several varietys multiple times, so they know how much/how little a plant might or might not need.

I think this is what makes the casual grower misunderstand his genetics. If you grow from seed everytime, your never going to have the same plant. It's just a trial and error thing.

Hopefully I will start some cloning soon, so I too can find the wonders of "tweaking" grows to be as efficient as possible.

OPT

 

[sito007]

if you water little and often ive noticed the plants get lazy and dont drink as much as when u let them dry proper then water em they suck it all up

have notice when u let them dry out like ever three days between watering and use a spray to mist the top soil only and beginning stem before the nudes starts.they do get stronger and speeds up things . done clones cycles with the same plant and figured out when to put in the right amount of nutes and how often to flush it now i see white hairs as soon as the first week of flowering . imo

 

[moondog1ne]

I'm new to growing, so this may sound like a noobie question. Do you guys feed your plants every watering? or do you feed them every other watering?