Under-Watered Or Over-Watered With Pictures & Examples

[Major PITA]

Day 15​

will be interesting to see some more root shots...to these ole eyes...looks like 2 and 3 are showing more root development...cheerz...h00k...

Agreed. It is all about the roots from here on. So far, I can see subtle differences in the root growth but it is very difficult to capture in a single picture per plant. Some have better root development around the cup while others have most of the roots in a single location. I'm going to try to capture a single shot per plant that best represents what I see in person. It may be another week (or more) before the difference become obvious.

I'm not surprised the differences are small at this point. They were treated identically for the first 7 days and there was only a single extra watering for #1 thru #3 until just a few days ago.

I'm calling #1, "The wet one". It gets drenched every other day.
#4 is, "The dry one". Still no water and it will always get the least frequent drinks.
#2 &#3 will be getting my usual wet/dry cycles with watering as needed - about once per week while small.

#1

#2

#3

#4

 

[Chronic the Hedgehog]

I keep seeing threads asking for help where I'm sure the plants are being watered improperly. We all love our plants and want to do SOMETHING to help them along. Unfortunately, many new growers love their plants to death since watering is something they can do and plants need water - right?

I let a couple of plants wilt a little more than usual in hopes of documenting the difference in plants that need water and those that are getting too much (or have some other problem). I'm sure this has been done many times before here, but I had a quick opportunity to get a few photos, so here goes...

This first plant is in a 7 gallon pot.
On the left, the plant is thirsty. Note the leaves look pretty good. It is the tip of the stems/branches that are drooping.
On the right is the same plant that was kept wet for a while. Note the stems are straight but now the leaves are drooping and curled. She was drowning.

The next plant is in a 1 gallon pot.
Again, notice the leaves. They look good for the most part, but those stems are really having a hard time holding themselves up.

This is the same plant 10 minutes later after a good drench. In another 10 minutes all leaves are pointing to the sky.

My tips for deciding on if you water too often are:

1- If you water your droopy plant, it should respond immediately. If it is still droopy an hour later, it didn't need water and you may have made the situation worse.

2- You are better off looking at the branches and stems to see if the plant needs water. They are the parts that droop first. If it is just the leaves that look sad, you probably have other issues.

3- Let your plants get dry. Never water daily, or on any set schedule unless you really know your plants. Likewise, don't stick your finger in the soil to see if it feels wet or dry. That won't tell you anything about the bottom of the pot. That's where the water-seeking roots are. It is also where the perched water table is. For small pots, lift them. They should be lighter than you expect. In fact, before you put a plant in a pot, get to know how heavy the pot and soil are. Weigh it if you need to.

I hope this helps someone.

Hey man, I was wondering if you could let me know if this is normal? New leaves curled!? Cheers


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[Major PITA]

Hey man, I was wondering if you could let me know if this is normal? New leaves curled!? Cheers

No - I don't think so. Sorry!
I can't say it is from being over-watered since the first true leaves aren't doing it. That is an unusual looking set of leaves. Dunno what to make of it.

Sorry I have not been keeping this up. I will post root pictures ASAP - maybe weekly. All plants are still growing. No nute's of any kind yet. Plant #4 was finally allowed a drink after a full three weeks.
My sister has been in the ICU for several days so I'm not around much right now.

 

[redmud]

This is just awesome it will make a great watering 101 thread reference thanks for putting in the time.

 

[Major PITA]

Day 32​

As some of you may know, life threw me a curveball. I have not been able to follow through on this experiment the way I'd hoped. This will be the last update on my little watering test but I hope others will continue to add to the information.

The pictures are inconclusive. I've made my own conclusions and feel confident in recommending solid wet/dry cycles even if you can't see the differences below. Obviously 3 weeks for a brand new seedling is too long to go w/o a drink. Yet even that plant bounced back and is thriving. I'm gifting all to good homes. The seedling that was kept the wettest is slightly bigger but the roots are mostly all in the bottom and the leaves typically have that flabby, droopy appearance. The two plants in the middle range from a slightly thirsty looking to electric and stunning, IMO. Unfortunately, I can't say I captured any of this very well in this, or my previous photos. None of the seedlings were fed anything but tap water until they were at least three weeks old.

Questions and comments are welcome.

Here they are side-by-side for comparison. #1 is the wettest, #2 & #3 are what I prefer, #4 is the dryest.

Plant #1 (the wet one), watered every other day, usually.

Plants #2 & #3 were watered after 2 weeks and about once per week thereafter.

Poor little #4 was not watered for 3 weeks and only one other time since.

Draw your own conclusions. Sorry the pictures are blurry and not definitive. Time has been my enemy at getting quality updates. At least you can be sure, young cannabis plants can take dry spells in stride. I will continue to add more info as I find it, but this portion of the test is complete.

 

[Sharksbreath]

Very informative post man, good source of knowledge with good picture comparisons imo. Thanks man, this actually helped me out a bit!.


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[Major PITA]

This is what I use to completely drench small plants. The 1/2 gal. yoghurt tub is perfect for 1 gallon pots. Very little waste of water and nutrients. I let them soak and also water/feed from the top.

 

[Sharksbreath]

This is what I use to completely drench small plants. The 1/2 gal. yoghurt tub is perfect for 1 gallon pots. Very little waste of water and nutrients. I let them soak and also water/feed from the top.

You mind going into a little further detail as to how you do this? I have my seedlings in 1 gal pots currently so I'd like to try mimicking your method to see if it helps me. How do you water from the top? How long do you soak the 1 gal pot? How much water do you use? Soak and watering from top? Watering seems to be my only problem when it comes to plants. I seem to always under or over water everything I grow lol.


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[Major PITA]

You mind going into a little further detail as to how you do this? I have my seedlings in 1 gal pots currently so I'd like to try mimicking your method to see if it helps me. How do you water from the top? How long do you soak the 1 gal pot? How much water do you use? Soak and watering from top? Watering seems to be my only problem when it comes to plants. I seem to always under or over water everything I grow lol.

This is a terrible picture, but it is the only one I could find right off (sort of surprised at that!).

The 1/2 gal. tub fits a 1 gal. pot with just a little extra room for water or nutrient solution, but any container will work. I also use a nursery pot one size larger than the pot I'm currently growing in. That way I can use this method for just about any size pot I am able to lift. If using a larger nursery pot, I line it with a trash bag so it doesn't leak.

For seedlings in cups, I use that blue bulb syringe in the previous picture to apply the water or nute' solution to the top of the plant's soil after it is in the tub. The syringe works great for seedlings and we just happened to have it kicking around. Again, anything will work to give the water. By watering from the top, the soil gets a light flush as the water/nute's pass through the soil and ends up in the tub. Once I get the amount of runoff I want (about 25% of the plant container volume), I fill the outer tub with additional water/nute's as full as possible without going over the top of the plant's pot (much faster than additional top feeding). I let it sit at least a few minutes. Sometimes I do other stuff and they can sit like this for an hour. Pull the plant out of its bath and let it drain well. After initial draining, I tip the plant's pot and get more drainage. This reduces the perched water table in the bottom of the pot.

Now comes the hard part: Let it dry out! Ideally, you want to repeat this just before the plant begins to wilt. Conditions vary, but a young seedling in a 1 gal. pot should easily go two weeks - probably more without another drench. It is a great idea to have an identical pot with the same soil, but dry, so you can lift them together for comparison. Your plant and pot will feel lighter than you think it should be, but if the plant looks OK, it is.

Let me know if any of this is unclear or you have more ???

 

[Sharksbreath]

This is a terrible picture, but it is the only one I could find right off (sort of surprised at that!).

The 1/2 gal. tub fits a 1 gal. pot with just a little extra room for water or nutrient solution, but any container will work. I also use a nursery pot one size larger than the pot I'm currently growing in. That way I can use this method for just about any size pot I am able to lift. If using a larger nursery pot, I line it with a trash bag so it doesn't leak.

For seedlings in cups, I use that blue bulb syringe in the previous picture to apply the water or nute' solution to the top of the plant's soil after it is in the tub. The syringe works great for seedlings and we just happened to have it kicking around. Again, anything will work to give the water. By watering from the top, the soil gets a light flush as the water/nute's pass through the soil and ends up in the tub. Once I get the amount of runoff I want (about 25% of the plant container volume), I fill the outer tub with additional water/nute's as full as possible without going over the top of the plant's pot (much faster than additional top feeding). I let it sit at least a few minutes. Sometimes I do other stuff and they can sit like this for an hour. Pull the plant out of its bath and let it drain well. After initial draining, I tip the plant's pot and get more drainage. This reduces the perched water table in the bottom of the pot.

Now comes the hard part: Let it dry out! Ideally, you want to repeat this just before the plant begins to wilt. Conditions vary, but a young seedling in a 1 gal. pot should easily go two weeks - probably more without another drench. It is a great idea to have an identical pot with the same soil, but dry, so you can lift them together for comparison. Your plant and pot will feel lighter than you think it should be, but if the plant looks OK, it is.

Let me know if any of this is unclear or you have more ???

Thank you very much for this explanation! I really appreciate it! I actually already went ahead and made up a spare pot with just soil just to use as a comparison tool to help better feel pot weight. Does it matter how I water from the top? Is it okay to just pour out of 1 gal distilled water jugs? It's hard to maintain a slow pour as to not disturb the soil too much, but other than that is this fine? Also do you have any recommended watering tools? Like your little blue bulb syringe, where can I find one of those? Should I buy a watering pail? Thanks again, will screenshot your reply for future reference!


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[Major PITA]

Thank you very much for this explanation! I really appreciate it! I actually already went ahead and made up a spare pot with just soil just to use as a comparison tool to help better feel pot weight. Does it matter how I water from the top? Is it okay to just pour out of 1 gal distilled water jugs? It's hard to maintain a slow pour as to not disturb the soil too much, but other than that is this fine? Also do you have any recommended watering tools? Like your little blue bulb syringe, where can I find one of those? Should I buy a watering pail? Thanks again, will screenshot your reply for future reference!


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I make do with whatever I can scrounge for this kind of stuff. Small watering cans, etc. are stupid expensive, IMO. Pouring from a big jug is difficult w/o tearing up the soil. I'd pour the water into something smaller first - like measuring cup or any small container that is easy to pour from. That bulb syringe probably came from the pharmacy of Wallyworld, or some other dept. store. They are used on babies to aspirate crud from their nose and mouth early on. BTW, I don't use distilled water, but our well has good water. The trace minerals in most water is a good thing, but some city water is crap.

 

[Sharksbreath]

I make do with whatever I can scrounge for this kind of stuff. Small watering cans, etc. are stupid expensive, IMO. Pouring from a big jug is difficult w/o tearing up the soil. I'd pour the water into something smaller first - like measuring cup or any small container that is easy to pour from. That bulb syringe probably came from the pharmacy of Wallyworld, or some other dept. store. They are used on babies to aspirate crud from their nose and mouth early on. BTW, I don't use distilled water, but our well has good water. The trace minerals in most water is a good thing, but some city water is crap.

I'll look into the bulb at Walmart next time I'm there. And yeah big jugs are hard to pour from, can't believe I didn't think of using a measuring cup lol.. Doh! My tap water isn't the best, really high amounts of fluoride and chloramine and chlorine. Don't want to risk it tbh, I've tested the ph and the ph is around 6.7 so that seems fine. But I rather not pour chlorine/ chloramine and fluoride into my soil/plants. Even though I know some if not most evaporates within 24hrs


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[OlderGrower]

Top of the afternoon to you Major,

Great thread by the way, have no idea how I let this one slip past me but better late then never as I always say.
one question and one comment.

1st the question, plant #1 you said you watered every other day, did you drench her every other day or only give her just a sip every other day? From how well she ended up I would assume only a sip every other day but I could be wrong.

The comment, if all you have is a 1 gallon jug say on old milk jug, take a paper clip and heat the paper clip up with a lighter or flame of some sort then use it to poke small holes in the plastic screw on cap of the milk jug. Then when you water you do not trench your soil. I have one sitting in front of me and could post a picture but I think it is pretty self explanatory.


Thanks for starting this thread, saves me from a ton of typing

 

[Sharksbreath]

Top of the afternoon to you Major,

Great thread by the way, have no idea how I let this one slip past me but better late then never as I always say.
one question and one comment.

1st the question, plant #1 you said you watered every other day, did you drench her every other day or only give her just a sip every other day? From how well she ended up I would assume only a sip every other day but I could be wrong.

The comment, if all you have is a 1 gallon jug say on old milk jug, take a paper clip and heat the paper clip up with a lighter or flame of some sort then use it to poke small holes in the plastic screw on cap of the milk jug. Then when you water you do not trench your soil. I have one sitting in front of me and could post a picture but I think it is pretty self explanatory.


Thanks for starting this thread, saves me from a ton of typing

Great idea with the water jug! Homemade pail! Nicee! .


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[Major PITA]

I did fully rench every plant every time I gave them anything. Plant #1 was watered about every other day, but that was after the initial 2 week dry spell. I also didn't get to it recently while I was away. But when it got water, it got the full soak.

 

[Jackleen]

I keep seeing threads asking for help where I'm sure the plants are being watered improperly. We all love our plants and want to do SOMETHING to help them along. Unfortunately, many new growers love their plants to death since watering is something they can do and plants need water - right?

I let a couple of plants wilt a little more than usual in hopes of documenting the difference in plants that need water and those that are getting too much (or have some other problem). I'm sure this has been done many times before here, but I had a quick opportunity to get a few photos, so here goes...

This first plant is in a 7 gallon pot.
On the left, the plant is thirsty. Note the leaves look pretty good. It is the tip of the stems/branches that are drooping.
On the right is the same plant that was kept wet for a while. Note the stems are straight but now the leaves are drooping and curled. She was drowning.

The next plant is in a 1 gallon pot.
Again, notice the leaves. They look good for the most part, but those stems are really having a hard time holding themselves up.

This is the same plant 10 minutes later after a good drench. In another 10 minutes all leaves are pointing to the sky.

My tips for deciding on if you water too often are:

1- If you water your droopy plant, it should respond immediately. If it is still droopy an hour later, it didn't need water and you may have made the situation worse.

2- You are better off looking at the branches and stems to see if the plant needs water. They are the parts that droop first. If it is just the leaves that look sad, you probably have other issues.

3- Let your plants get dry. Never water daily, or on any set schedule unless you really know your plants. Likewise, don't stick your finger in the soil to see if it feels wet or dry. That won't tell you anything about the bottom of the pot. That's where the water-seeking roots are. It is also where the perched water table is. For small pots, lift them. They should be lighter than you expect. In fact, before you put a plant in a pot, get to know how heavy the pot and soil are. Weigh it if you need to.

I hope this helps someone.

Thanks major ... . .

 

[Marthajeep]

re: Under-Watered Or Over-Watered With Pictures & Examples



Yeah the problem I had with this approach was that a digital scale with an 11 pound capacity was 20 bucks, which I guess if you had high hopes for yield wouldn't be a bad investment, bur any kind of bathroom scale doesn't really work. The pots aren't heavy enough to register on it, unless it's an old analog one.

If I were to recommend it and want to give it a try again I'd suggest using a fish scale. Just hook the rim of a pot and pull up until it just barely comes up off the ground. That way you do not have to have enough floor space to set the scale down, to get it level or zero it out which all gets cumbersome when trying to weigh several pots, or even need to move the plant around much. Plus they're not expensive.

I know this is old, but I had to leave a comment. If you have a digital scale, hold the pot and stand on the scale. Subtract your weight and Bob’s your uncle.