The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant

[Emilya Green]

Ok, wow. I will search for your post.

Hard up-pots make sense. But do you finish in a plastic pot? Or a soft pot? Thank you.

I use cloth smart pots for the final container, but lately to streamline the process and eliminate waste, I use reusable standard plastic containers for all the stages that need to be uppotted from.

 

[Emilya Green]

Hi @Emilya, I have a question for you. I have flowers on the third day of flowering. And I wonder how it is with watering now? Now I don't let the plants dry completely and keep them moist? I mean well? Thanks for the reply.

Hi Kanno! For the first two weeks of bloom you are in the period called "stretch" where the plants are still rapidly growing. The plant can double in size during this first 2 weeks, and the roots are still growing. All of the watering advice of forcing them to dry out between waterings, still apply.

Whatever the wet/dry interval has settled into at the end of stretch, for the rest of bloom I start forcing water on the plant by taking one day off of the period that I know the plants can drain the container. If the veg/stretch wet/dry period is 3 days, then for the rest of bloom I water every 2 days... with one exception. It still is important to periodically get oxygen down to the lowest roots, so every 4th watering in bloom, I wait that extra day for the plant to drain all the water.

Veg is where you build up the roots by limiting the water, and Bloom is where you use those roots to get the maximum water and nutes into the plant.

 

[Kanno26]

Hi Kanno! For the first two weeks of bloom you are in the period called "stretch" where the plants are still rapidly growing. The plant can double in size during this first 2 weeks, and the roots are still growing. All of the watering advice of forcing them to dry out between waterings, still apply.

Whatever the wet/dry interval has settled into at the end of stretch, for the rest of bloom I start forcing water on the plant by taking one day off of the period that I know the plants can drain the container. If the veg/stretch wet/dry period is 3 days, then for the rest of bloom I water every 2 days... with one exception. It still is important to periodically get oxygen down to the lowest roots, so every 4th watering in bloom, I wait that extra day for the plant to drain all the water.

Veg is where you build up the roots by limiting the water, and Bloom is where you use those roots to get the maximum water and nutes into the plant.

Thank you @Emilya, it helped me a lot for your advice. Thanks again and good luck

 

[jokerlola]

Emilya,

Do you have an article that explains how to water from seed to seedling in a Solo cup? I'm pretty sure I saw it but I can't seem to find it on here. Could you give a link where it is?

 

[Emilya Green]

Emilya,

Do you have an article that explains how to water from seed to seedling in a Solo cup? I'm pretty sure I saw it but I can't seem to find it on here. Could you give a link where it is?

I don't, but I should. I have made a clumsy effort to describe it in the watering thread, but I have found many people misunderstand what I tried to explain. Let me try it again here.

You have just planted the seedling and are waiting for it to come up. Water is critical to make this happen, but not too much water. Before I planted the seed, I water the cup of soil filled to about an inch from the top, to the point of runoff. I make a little divot in the wet soil and place my seed in there. Then I cover the seed with dry new soil (usually Happy Frog) about another half inch. I have a little sprayer and twice a day, morning and night, I spray 10 good squirts right where I think the seed is. The very first time, with totally dry soil on top, I give it 20 squirts.

Morning and night, 10 squirts until they come up and then for another day, just 10 squirts right where they are. Then look down from above at your new seedling. Imagine a circle that the plant can fit inside. Triple the size of that circle, and give 20 squirts all around inside that circle, twice a day. The next day, re-evaluate the size of the new circle and give 20 more squirts. The soil is getting pretty wet by now, but you still are a ways from runoff.

By the third day or so, the imagined circle around the plant will be very close to the edges of the cup by the time you go 3x larger with it. If you have reached this milestone or reasonably close to it, it is time for your first proper watering of the cup. Water it to runoff.

Now, make the plant work for the next drink. It will typically take 5 days before the cup is getting pretty light. There is still some water weight in there, but its minimal. I usually water early this first time, and water on the 5th or 6th day, again to runoff.

The next cycle will go much faster. The plant will start shaving whole days off of this watering cycle, every time you successfully go through another cycle. Keep making the plant work for the water, and soon she will develop such strong roots that she will be able to drain the cup in 48 hours or less. You can uppot to the next container any time after that, and continue using this water cycle to force the plant to grow roots in the containers. I find that the plants are growing so rapidly at this point, that usually my first topping will happen while still in the solo cup.

 

[jokerlola]

I don't, but I should. I have made a clumsy effort to describe it in the watering thread, but I have found many people misunderstand what I tried to explain. Let me try it again here.

You have just planted the seedling and are waiting for it to come up. Water is critical to make this happen, but not too much water. Before I planted the seed, I water the cup of soil filled to about an inch from the top, to the point of runoff. I make a little divot in the wet soil and place my seed in there. Then I cover the seed with dry new soil (usually Happy Frog) about another half inch. I have a little sprayer and twice a day, morning and night, I spray 10 good squirts right where I think the seed is. The very first time, with totally dry soil on top, I give it 20 squirts.

Morning and night, 10 squirts until they come up and then for another day, just 10 squirts right where they are. Then look down from above at your new seedling. Imagine a circle that the plant can fit inside. Triple the size of that circle, and give 20 squirts all around inside that circle, twice a day. The next day, re-evaluate the size of the new circle and give 20 more squirts. The soil is getting pretty wet by now, but you still are a ways from runoff.

By the third day or so, the imagined circle around the plant will be very close to the edges of the cup by the time you go 3x larger with it. If you have reached this milestone or reasonably close to it, it is time for your first proper watering of the cup. Water it to runoff.

Now, make the plant work for the next drink. It will typically take 5 days before the cup is getting pretty light. There is still some water weight in there, but its minimal. I usually water early this first time, and water on the 5th or 6th day, again to runoff.

The next cycle will go much faster. The plant will start shaving whole days off of this watering cycle, every time you successfully go through another cycle. Keep making the plant work for the water, and soon she will develop such strong roots that she will be able to drain the cup in 48 hours or less. You can uppot to the next container any time after that, and continue using this water cycle to force the plant to grow roots in the containers. I find that the plants are growing so rapidly at this point, that usually my first topping will happen while still in the solo cup.

Emilya, thanks so much for the quick reply. I have some seedlings in Solo cups that currently have between 2 to 4 sets of leaves or nodes and are between 3 to 4 inches tall with leaves expanding just past the edges of the cups. Some are photo period and a couple are Autos. I should be watering to saturation/run off with these by now and starting the wet/dry cycle, correct? And I should probably start feeding them as well?

 

[Emilya Green]

Emilya, thanks so much for the quick reply. I have some seedlings in Solo cups that currently have between 2 to 4 sets of leaves or nodes and are between 3 to 4 inches tall with leaves expanding just past the edges of the cups. Some are photo period and a couple are Autos. I should be watering to saturation/run off with these by now and starting the wet/dry cycle, correct? And I should probably start feeding them as well?

yes, you could have started the wet/dry cycle some time ago following the 3x the diameter rule. And yes, I start fertilizing (note I didn't say feed) as soon as I start properly watering. Big plants don't just happen.

 

[jokerlola]

yes, you could have started the wet/dry cycle some time ago following the 3x the diameter rule. And yes, I start fertilizing (note I didn't say feed) as soon as I start properly watering. Big plants don't just happen.

OK. Thanks. I've been too timid with watering because I'm scared of damp off but they should be able to start handling a full watering now and with fertilizer.

And it will be time to up-pot when they start draining the Solo cups in 24 hours, correct? Is that the same time frame for Autos as well?

 

[Emilya Green]

OK. Thanks. I've been too timid with watering because I'm scared of damp off but they should be able to start handling a full watering now and with fertilizer.

And it will be time to up-pot when they start draining the Solo cups in 24 hours, correct? Is that the same time frame for Autos as well?

24-48 hours... Many times because the roots can hit a point of diminishing returns, the roots only do the 24 hour thing one time. If you snooze, you miss it. So now, I say 48 hour or less, especially with fast moving autos... any time after that is safe to uppot and you should have a pretty good rootball started.

 

[jokerlola]

24-48 hours... Many times because the roots can hit a point of diminishing returns, the roots only do the 24 hour thing one time. If you snooze, you miss it. So now, I say 48 hour or less, especially with fast moving autos... any time after that is safe to uppot and you should have a pretty good rootball started.

Ok. Thank you so much Emilya! I've been religiously following your watering advice since 2018 but I was only growing from clones. Last year I tried seeds for the first time but kept losing them to damp off. I did manage to take a couple to survive but they were more luck than skill. This year I was successful in not losing any to damp off but have been timid in watering and watering only from the bottom. I was going through your posts and saw that you are not a fan of bottom watering. Is that right?

 

[Emilya Green]

No, I am not at all a fan of bottom watering. That method works for some plants, but not a weed with an upper and lower root system. Dampening off is usually from watering too often and not letting the top dry out properly. Once you figure out how to quickly get into the cycling mode in the first 3-4 days, that will never be a problem for you again.

 

[jokerlola]

No, I am not at all a fan of bottom watering. That method works for some plants, but not a weed with an upper and lower root system. Dampening off is usually from watering too often and not letting the top dry out properly. Once you figure out how to quickly get into the cycling mode in the first 3-4 days, that will never be a problem for you again.

Thank you so much. I started growing as a fluke when I was given some cuttings in 2018 and found your article and posts on watering and they made successful right out of the gate where without them, I would have probably killed all my clones. Thank you for your guidance.

 

[Emilya Green]

Thank you so much. I started growing as a fluke when I was given some cuttings in 2018 and found your article and posts on watering and they made successful right out of the gate where without them, I would have probably killed all my clones. Thank you for your guidance.

You are very welcome... I am overjoyed every time I hear that I have helped someone. Good luck in this grow!

 

[jokerlola]

Emilya, I have another question I forgot to ask. In the tutorial you just posted you say you saturate the soil in the cup and then add a half inch of dry soil over the seed and then spray that with water. I thought I read in one of your older posts that you start seeds in completely dry soil and spray to have the roots follow the water down. Can you start seeds in completely dry soil and then start spraying or did I read that wrong?

 

[BackeD]

I disagree with any method that involves watering from the top (until nutrients are introduced, and salts need to be leached). For most new growers, this leads to complications that can be avoided... very easily.

You OGs got it dialed in, but the new folks are trying to follow y'all's examples without the experience.

Getting started, there is a simple method to follow, and it goes like this...

A solo cup is ~16 oz. 25% of 16 is 4.

Place your cup in a tray when the cup is light, and fill the tray with 4 oz of water. Come back later and the tray will be dry. It's not dry yet? Come back later. Repeat until transplant.

Once you uppot, continue this 25%/container volume until you reach the final container and you need to start adding nutrients. Then...

Keep doing it until you need to water until run off to leach the excessive salts, then... yep, you guessed it... 25% in the tray. Repeat.

Alot of the problems new growers experience are due to pH problems and over watering. There is no need for 20% run off until the biology in the soil has been close to used up. Watering until run off leaches the soil. With transplanting, you're not using it up to need run off yet. You don't need to stick your finger down into the dirt to feel how dry blah blah inches is, then soak the sucker. Feel the weight.

Let it get light. Like Jedi light, then let it soak up 25% of container volume of water from the bottom.

You will avoid the stress you feel and the stress you impart in your plants.

 

[Emilya Green]

As the years go by and my experience increases, I do adjust certain things as I find ways of doing things that work better. The advice I just gave you today is the result of all of my learning over the years as well as my getting better at explaining things and you got the latest and greatest advice that I have to offer you, and it supersedes anything that I may have said or written before. Can you start in dry soil? At one point I thought that was the best thing to do, so I have no doubt that it will work.

 

[Emilya Green]

I disagree with any method that involves watering from the top (until nutrients are introduced, and salts need to be leached). For most new growers, this leads to complications that can be avoided... very easily.

You OGs got it dialed in, but the new folks are trying to follow y'all's examples without the experience.

Getting started, there is a simple method to follow, and it goes like this...

A solo cup is ~16 oz. 25% of 16 is 4.

Place your cup in a tray when the cup is light, and fill the tray with 4 oz of water. Come back later and the tray will be dry. It's not dry yet? Come back later. Repeat until transplant.

Once you uppot, continue this 25%/container volume until you reach the final container and you need to start adding nutrients. Then...

Keep doing it until you need to water until run off to leach the excessive salts, then... yep, you guessed it... 25Bo% in the tray. Repeat.

Alot of the problems new growers experience are due to pH problems and over watering. There is no need for 20% run off until the biology in the soil has been close to used up. Watering until run off leaches the soil. With transplanting, you're not using it up to need run off yet. You don't need to stick your finger down into the dirt to feel how dry blah blah inches is, then soak the sucker. Feel the weight.

Let it get light. Like Jedi light, then let it soak up 25% of container volume of water from the bottom.

You will avoid the stress you feel and the stress you impart in your plants.

Hi Dbac and welcome. You of course are free to have your opinion, but the science disagrees with your assumptions. Weeds have 2 sets of roots, the bottom feeder roots and the top spreader roots that define the weed. Bottom watering totally ignores the top spreader roots. It is impossible to draw water down deep into the core of both root systems with bottom watering, and the roots will suffer because of it, especially the top spreader roots that gather in a lot of the nutrition. The bottom feeder roots will have to adapt because they will be constantly under water, and the plant's ability to uptake water will suffer. Lastly, you will have no idea how strong or weak your roots are in a bottom watering system since there is no natural watering cycle. Sorry, but bottom watering is inferior to top watering when you are discussing a weed. Some types of plants love it, but not cannabis.

 

[CBDMed]

I don't, but I should. I have made a clumsy effort to describe it in the watering thread, but I have found many people misunderstand what I tried to explain. Let me try it again here.

You have just planted the seedling and are waiting for it to come up. Water is critical to make this happen, but not too much water. Before I planted the seed, I water the cup of soil filled to about an inch from the top, to the point of runoff. I make a little divot in the wet soil and place my seed in there. Then I cover the seed with dry new soil (usually Happy Frog) about another half inch. I have a little sprayer and twice a day, morning and night, I spray 10 good squirts right where I think the seed is. The very first time, with totally dry soil on top, I give it 20 squirts.

Morning and night, 10 squirts until they come up and then for another day, just 10 squirts right where they are. Then look down from above at your new seedling. Imagine a circle that the plant can fit inside. Triple the size of that circle, and give 20 squirts all around inside that circle, twice a day. The next day, re-evaluate the size of the new circle and give 20 more squirts. The soil is getting pretty wet by now, but you still are a ways from runoff.

By the third day or so, the imagined circle around the plant will be very close to the edges of the cup by the time you go 3x larger with it. If you have reached this milestone or reasonably close to it, it is time for your first proper watering of the cup. Water it to runoff.

Now, make the plant work for the next drink. It will typically take 5 days before the cup is getting pretty light. There is still some water weight in there, but its minimal. I usually water early this first time, and water on the 5th or 6th day, again to runoff.

The next cycle will go much faster. The plant will start shaving whole days off of this watering cycle, every time you successfully go through another cycle. Keep making the plant work for the water, and soon she will develop such strong roots that she will be able to drain the cup in 48 hours or less. You can uppot to the next container any time after that, and continue using this water cycle to force the plant to grow roots in the containers. I find that the plants are growing so rapidly at this point, that usually my first topping will happen while still in the solo cup.

Thank you, @Emilya , this is great

 

[BackeD]

Hi Dbac and welcome. You of course are free to have your opinion, but the science disagrees with your assumptions. Weeds have 2 sets of roots, the bottom feeder roots and the top spreader roots that define the weed. Bottom watering totally ignores the top spreader roots. It is impossible to draw water down deep into the core of both root systems with bottom watering, and the roots will suffer because of it, especially the top spreader roots that gather in a lot of the nutrition. The bottom feeder roots will have to adapt because they will be constantly under water, and the plant's ability to uptake water will suffer. Lastly, you will have no idea how strong or weak your roots are in a bottom watering system since there is no natural watering cycle. Sorry, but bottom watering is inferior to top watering when you are discussing a weed. Some types of plants love it, but not cannabis.

Then explain SIPs by your science. My plants are bottom watered from seed to harvest with zero issues. I start in cups and transplant twice before final container. No purple stems. No nutrition issues.

With all respect to you, none of what I said are assumptions. It is a tried and true method. The soil stays moist from bottom to top. There is no "sitting in water". You didn't account for the dry cycle I mentioned.

Please, do not assume I am arguing in a negative way, because I am not. Just don't brush me off as nonsense without understanding that have done it this way for years with nothing but excellent results until I went organic in SIPs.

 

[CBDMed]

@Dbac , sorry, could you please define SIPs? I tried to Google them, but got only unrelated hits. Thanks.