Under or Over watering?
- Thread starter isoprop
- Start date
isoprop
Active member
This morning i visited my room and the bitches seems to be asking for water. I lifted the pots and they seems very very light and their leaves were wilted...so am I switching from and overwatering to and underwatering, what's the point? I mean i supposed an overwatering and i let the soil dry well, but now they seems in need for water, should I water them? The younger leaves are turning to a pale yellow so i suspect a Nitrogen deficency...So...to water or not to water yet? This is not my first or second grow, and i was never so LOST like this time...
G
Guest
Iso, is your present grow setup the same as always? Have you been successful before with what you are using now? Are you seeing runoff quickly after you begin watering and how much runoff vs amount poured in. It sounds to me like your water is not is not being absorbed into the medium very well. I am using 10lt pots with a soil grow and have 2 plants at 55 days flowering. I'm adding 1 liter of water every 3-4 days and they are doing well. My rh never goes above 25% in the grow room.
If you got too high ec levels in your soil, and if you then let them dry too much, you will see your leaf tips turning yellow or brown.
isoprop
Active member
Hi Keif and thanks for answering
here we go:- Yes my setup is the same as always except for the adjust-a-wing reflector and the LST technique.
- This is the 6th consecutive run with very good results in terms of quality and medium results in term of quantity.
- I gave them 1lt of water (tap water corrected at PH 6.5) for each plant every 3 or 4 days, and there were a very little percentage of runoff, lets say 5 max 10%. I water them very slowly trying not to create holes in the soil and trying to spread the water all over the pot and the runoff do not show very quickly, but I am giving them just 1lt of water for each of them, so i suppose its not too much water, or am I wrong?
Thanks hook!
I gave them 1/3 of the recommended dosage and i am using biocanna ferts line. At that dosage its hard to burn plants at 5th week veg stage, but I could be wrong 
On soil, 5 to 10% run off is actually very much.
If you do that twice a week plus feed inbetween... there is no way the plants could have time to drink it all up and achieve optimal moist levels again.
That's btw exactly what I was seeing on the pics.
Rather have no run off at all, and better aim fine tuning your watering for optimal moist levels.
I donno the EC of your tapwater & where it's made up from, but if it's rather high (wich I expect), contiminated with chloride, or contains impurity's other than what's normal, again your plants will have trouble working it all away.
Not that I 've got stocks in 'blumats' or something, lol, but this tool would have most certainly cleared you this all up.
Better collect rain water.
Lamps are too close too.
With a distance of 20 cm only, the radiation heat creates low, local humidity wich will cause the stomata in your leafes to close, boiling them basicly to death.
When stomata are closed, plants will not evaporate and thus not drink.
If you keep high room humidity around under those circumstances to try to compensate for having your lamps to low, your next problem will be powdery mildew and in a later stage botrytis. (bud rot)
400 wt should be 40 cm. Period. Ya just can't mess with radiation. Not even with fans straight on the bulb cuzz ya can't blow radiation away.
Radiation heat, in combination with the low humidity it will be causing at close range to the lamp is a type of heat that should be avoided at all cost.
If you do that twice a week plus feed inbetween... there is no way the plants could have time to drink it all up and achieve optimal moist levels again.
That's btw exactly what I was seeing on the pics.
Rather have no run off at all, and better aim fine tuning your watering for optimal moist levels.
I donno the EC of your tapwater & where it's made up from, but if it's rather high (wich I expect), contiminated with chloride, or contains impurity's other than what's normal, again your plants will have trouble working it all away.
Not that I 've got stocks in 'blumats' or something, lol, but this tool would have most certainly cleared you this all up.
Better collect rain water.
Lamps are too close too.
With a distance of 20 cm only, the radiation heat creates low, local humidity wich will cause the stomata in your leafes to close, boiling them basicly to death.
When stomata are closed, plants will not evaporate and thus not drink.
If you keep high room humidity around under those circumstances to try to compensate for having your lamps to low, your next problem will be powdery mildew and in a later stage botrytis. (bud rot)
400 wt should be 40 cm. Period. Ya just can't mess with radiation. Not even with fans straight on the bulb cuzz ya can't blow radiation away.
Radiation heat, in combination with the low humidity it will be causing at close range to the lamp is a type of heat that should be avoided at all cost.
isoprop
Active member
Thanks Hook you were very explanatory! I raised the HPS to 40cm, like you suggested. In the last week i watered them just on monday and saturday with no feeding inbetween. The last time i gave them water the runoff showed immediately after pouring the water into their pots...yes the EC of my water is extremely high, but i don't like rain water cause i live in a big town and the water could be polluted, I will buy a stock of osmotic water and I will mix it with PH corrected tap water, it's ok? I attach some pictures to let you see how they look. Please let me know what do you think about them and what should I do to help them. Thanks a lot!
Attachments
Quote Isoprop: The last time i gave them water the runoff showed immediately after pouring the water into their pots...Unquote.
OTH > Means the soil is either bone dry, (wich I don't expect but what does your finger tell ya?) or it is still soaking wet.(wich I do expect but did you make those finger holes already from under?
Quote Isoprop: I will buy a stock of osmotic water and I will mix it with PH corrected tap water, it's ok? Unquote.
OTH > Better no tap water at all. For watering > use the RO water as it is.
For feeding > Make feed solution with pure RO water, then raise PH with cal/mag tablet crumbles.
OTH > Means the soil is either bone dry, (wich I don't expect but what does your finger tell ya?) or it is still soaking wet.(wich I do expect but did you make those finger holes already from under?
Quote Isoprop: I will buy a stock of osmotic water and I will mix it with PH corrected tap water, it's ok? Unquote.
OTH > Better no tap water at all. For watering > use the RO water as it is.
For feeding > Make feed solution with pure RO water, then raise PH with cal/mag tablet crumbles.
T
trem0lo
Still looks overwatered to me. When they are actually asking for water the entire leaf droops like it is lifeless. Your leaves are curling and have the classic signs of a suffocating root system.
The pots can feel light but the root system can still be suffocating. The temptation to give them water at this point, to do something, is great. I battled this problem until finally getting blumats. They work great.
The pots can feel light but the root system can still be suffocating. The temptation to give them water at this point, to do something, is great. I battled this problem until finally getting blumats. They work great.
isoprop
Active member
Hi and thanks for the answer...what do you suggest? Buying a blumat system? I mean did you solved by just buying a blumat system or did you something else to help them?
isoprop
Active member
I visited my girls this morning before going to work and things are getting worse and i am stuck, i tried everything, not giving them water for about 6 days, giving them a little amount of water, raising the HPS to 40cm like suggested with no results...what i am supposed to do to save them? If the girls were yours and you were in this situation, what would you do? Thanks any1
S
SeaMaiden
I would change how I'm watering them. I would pull some or all and inspect the soil and roots, looking for anything that's off and making note of the condition of media and roots. If you do this, you'll know pretty quickly whether it's staying too moist or not. If it's dry at this time, then I would put the pots into a tray or sauce and bottom water, just clean water. I would keep it filled for a day with about a half an inch of water, refilling if they drink up a lot. If they don't drink and it's dry, you've got a bigger problem.
See, most folks insist you have to water from the top. My experience says that if you do that, very often you don't get all the media saturated. So, everything that's potted goes into some sort of tray or liner that allows me to both catch run-off, but more importantly allows me to bottom-water. Bottom-watering means you're using the entire media's capillary action, and it's a better method for ensuring all media has been watered thoroughly and properly. Usually, IME, when watering from the top, the water tends to run down the sides or down cracks that can form in the media. Perlite is the only media I've used that doesn't do this, but it can still compact if you're not careful.
See, most folks insist you have to water from the top. My experience says that if you do that, very often you don't get all the media saturated. So, everything that's potted goes into some sort of tray or liner that allows me to both catch run-off, but more importantly allows me to bottom-water. Bottom-watering means you're using the entire media's capillary action, and it's a better method for ensuring all media has been watered thoroughly and properly. Usually, IME, when watering from the top, the water tends to run down the sides or down cracks that can form in the media. Perlite is the only media I've used that doesn't do this, but it can still compact if you're not careful.
iso....Im just goin by the notes given...by looks I see a few issues...
1 watering way to often..or its not being utilized by the plant...so from that it leads me to..
pH is to High...when this happens the root-bio's stops function...
the droop is suffocation not N overdose....the nutes are not being taken it or they would be a lil darker over all as Kushes are usually happy with a lil deep green to them..
just read your using tap water?....this will def stall and cause many pH issues and mineral buildups if hard water...can cause many probs just cause ppl drink Alkaline water...Canna pref a Acidic bios...
I havn't read all back but my suggestion is...pull them from medium...or trans to a lighter mix to add allot more air...point fans and have air avail direct to root zone till they start to dry out..
This will Neutralize the activity or lack of in root bios and let them breathe till its re-activated..
as they Dry and I mean so dry you may even start to worry...dont....let them dry...till they almost droop on the Lowest most leaves only...
Pot plants are Top down...if theirs a prob with the newest Top growth theres a direct prob that needs attention now...
Also test your nutes...make a small amount of your nute mix and let it sit for a few hrs with a lil air bubbling in it....test the pH after just made..and later after its brewed for a lil bit....yo might learn it reacts diff then you expected...but if not you can least take that out of the equation..
Does the pH of the mix rise or Fall at all?....
I have a feeling your cation is to low and pH in the mix is to high and caused no poss bios for activity + if its tap water in use its all getting clogged up...let me know if this feels valid and we can go into it further...
....keep rollin
FOE20
1 watering way to often..or its not being utilized by the plant...so from that it leads me to..
pH is to High...when this happens the root-bio's stops function...
the droop is suffocation not N overdose....the nutes are not being taken it or they would be a lil darker over all as Kushes are usually happy with a lil deep green to them..
just read your using tap water?....this will def stall and cause many pH issues and mineral buildups if hard water...can cause many probs just cause ppl drink Alkaline water...Canna pref a Acidic bios...
I havn't read all back but my suggestion is...pull them from medium...or trans to a lighter mix to add allot more air...point fans and have air avail direct to root zone till they start to dry out..
This will Neutralize the activity or lack of in root bios and let them breathe till its re-activated..
as they Dry and I mean so dry you may even start to worry...dont....let them dry...till they almost droop on the Lowest most leaves only...
Pot plants are Top down...if theirs a prob with the newest Top growth theres a direct prob that needs attention now...
Also test your nutes...make a small amount of your nute mix and let it sit for a few hrs with a lil air bubbling in it....test the pH after just made..and later after its brewed for a lil bit....yo might learn it reacts diff then you expected...but if not you can least take that out of the equation..
Does the pH of the mix rise or Fall at all?....
I have a feeling your cation is to low and pH in the mix is to high and caused no poss bios for activity + if its tap water in use its all getting clogged up...let me know if this feels valid and we can go into it further...
....keep rollin
FOE20
Last edited:
isoprop
Active member
Hi SeaMaiden are you telling me to take out the soil & the plants from the pot and inspect them? I never did this sort of thing and i think that iam not experienced enough to do this cause i am afraid to hurt/kill them...from what i see the top inch of the soil is bone dry but i should drill a hole in the pot to check the bottom. I will put them, with the pot, on a tray with half an inch of clear water, but should i take them off the HPS or should I leave them under it?
isoprop
Active member
Thanks FOE for the huge amount of info you shared. Like said i think i didnt give them too much water, they have been 6 days without water then i gave them a very little amount of water (last saturday) with no feeding inbetween. I water them with tap water and the PH is corrected to 6.5 but like you said i suppose it's too much for the Canna line, right? I supposed a N deficency looking at the colour of the younger branches that seems pale green turning to yellow, not by looking at the drooping leaves
You suggest to switch to RO water as soon as possible? Should I use RO water in the humidifier too? Like said in the previous post, I think I am not able to extract plants & soil from the pot without damaging/killing them, so this is not an option for me. Is there another way to do this without unpotting the plants? I will do the fert mix PH test to check if it raises or fall and i will tell you as soon as i will run it."I have a feeling your cation is to low and pH in the mix is to high"
Sorry what do you mean for cation? Pics update attached
Attachments
If you unpot one and it smells like rotten eggs or sulfur you are overwatering your plants. Looks like over watering to me.
isoprop
Active member
nice advice i will check, thanks a lot!
T
trem0lo
Hi and thanks for the answer...what do you suggest? Buying a blumat system? I mean did you solved by just buying a blumat system or did you something else to help them?
Yeah pretty much. They are a bit of a pain to set up but once you do, growth explodes because the medium stays perfectly saturated.
It is my experience that cannabis prefers drier conditions so it is very easy to overwater, especially when they're babies.
there can be a lot of difference in tap water ~depending on your city
it does sound like there may be too much precipitate in the water supply and you would do well to switch; rainwater; mountain stream water; or even distilled Then; you know its just 'water'
are you having to use quite a bit of your PH down?
everyone who chimed in saying 'over-watering' is correct BTW
once these plants have been in an over-watered state; it is not typical to see a quick turn-around ~this because roots begin to rot and the plant itself has to make a recovery before you will see indicators that your efforts are helping
the best thing you can do is strive for the correct moisture level {as the roots will need some moisture to recover} in addition to that; you will want to alleviate any extras getting in your soil
i would not feed until you see signs of recovery and probably then @ 1/4 strength then 1/2 until you begin to see signs the plant needs more N {having rcovered}
it does sound like there may be too much precipitate in the water supply and you would do well to switch; rainwater; mountain stream water; or even distilled Then; you know its just 'water'
are you having to use quite a bit of your PH down?
everyone who chimed in saying 'over-watering' is correct BTW
once these plants have been in an over-watered state; it is not typical to see a quick turn-around ~this because roots begin to rot and the plant itself has to make a recovery before you will see indicators that your efforts are helping
the best thing you can do is strive for the correct moisture level {as the roots will need some moisture to recover} in addition to that; you will want to alleviate any extras getting in your soil
i would not feed until you see signs of recovery and probably then @ 1/4 strength then 1/2 until you begin to see signs the plant needs more N {having rcovered}
