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One of the common mistakes to avoid is OVER-WATERING

f-e

Well-known member
Mentor
Veteran
The term 'dry' is a little misleading. The moisture level our substrate comes out the bag at, is dry. Coco and soil comes as dry as you ever want it to be. With few exceptions, like it was stored in the rain. If we let our substrate go as dry as your clothes from the drier, then dissolved solids become hard deposits. Deposits which may never dissolve again. Parked up on the substrate effecting it's cec. This 'fixation' isn't desirable.

If your a bit of a science geek, rather than green fingered, then the weighing approach may suit you. Pot up your plant. Weigh it. That is when you water next. Though the weight value will increase as the plants size does, you get a lot of insight regarding their daily intake from weighing. So you know what water is needed for 24 hours.

As an example, a 5" pot might weigh 300g holding dry coco. First day in that pot size, I would water them up to 400g. Second day, the information is coming in. Anything over 350g still, doesn't want water. Anything under 350, is telling you what it needs. So day 3, they all sit at 300g come watering time. A 5" pot of coco will produce runoff around 550g. So once a plant actually needs 150g of water a day (taking to 450) then it can be moved to the 'water till runoff' group. No more weighing. You won't drown it.

If you do drown one, just water more using hydrogen peroxide. Remember it's the lack of oxygen that's really the problem, not the quantity of water.


Most scales don't mind you tipping water over them. But cheap one's are still best, and ones that use AA batteries, because nobody has spare button cells
 
G

GatorGumbo

Regularly get them before they droop, for sure, but I let them droop every now and then to let their pots dry out completely and get a feeling for what their watering needs are.

I don't watch for dryness. I measure amount watered, room temps, and room humidity to establish a routine for them. Like a feeding schedule, but for just waterings. This tells me where the best three or four-hour window to water them is. I like to do it before lights out or in the morning, overnight humidity levels rise slightly, temps drop, and they are at less risk of drooping if I forget.

The two biggest problem causes in a grow room are heat and moisture, I keep both to a minimum as much as possible. Giving the roots an occasional ride on the struggle bus is actually good for them, but not at every watering period.
 

big315smooth

mama tried
Veteran
once saw a grow with that green mold on soil from over watering dude looked at me and goes "they dont look happy i think they need water"
 

Sunshineinabag

Active member
Idk man, after a few indoor gardens it's really hard to not notice thirsty plants but maybe I'm a whackado..........I used to pour water near the main stalk.....Fk that noise! I now plant in 20quart burlap and set them in water resivoir that hold the container and at the moment early spring with tempo just getting up to 50f by midday I'm needing half gallon every four days at the current growth state ........pics of course.....this works well for me! Trial and error is my best teacher EVAH!
 

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madalasatori

Well-known member
Veteran
Best tip I can give is to use peroxide in your res: makes it much harder to ‘overwater’ and keeps the res spotless. Plants seem healthier too
 

big315smooth

mama tried
Veteran
Idk man, after a few indoor gardens it's really hard to not notice thirsty plants but maybe I'm a whackado..........I used to pour water near the main stalk.....Fk that noise! I now plant in 20quart burlap and set them in water resivoir that hold the container and at the moment early spring with tempo just getting up to 50f by midday I'm needing half gallon every four days at the current growth state ........pics of course.....this works well for me! Trial and error is my best teacher EVAH!

like the burlap get extra oxygen to them roots
 
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