Watering Questions New Grower

[azcruiser]

I am using Fox Farms Ocean Forest soil and Fox Farm Big Grow nutes. It concerns me that when I water so much comes out the bottom of the pots. I wonder if the plants are getting the nutes they need when it seems not much is retained in the soil.

I would appreciate it if someone can ease my mind that this is normal and the plants will get what they need . Thanks in advance.

 

[Wild Heart]

Water coming out of the bottom is good. Means the whole pot is wet and so are all the roots. But watering more when water is coming out is just overkill.

 

[azcruiser]

I appreciate your input. It's hard when you start to know what's right.

 

[Wild Heart]

I know man just wait till u get it down then it's just a waiting game.

 

[YardDog35]

Water slowly. Pour a little, let it soak in, then pour a little more. By a little I'm talking a cup or two at a time. I lift my pots after each pour, when it feels heavy enough I'm done. This also helps keep the soil from compacting.

Water shouldn't really run out of the bottom on a regular watering, in my opinion.

 

[Hogdady]

Water shouldn't really run out of the bottom on a regular watering, in my opinion.

I would have to disagree. You haven't fully saturated your soil until you have runoff (which, btw, you should measure it's ph from time to time to check soil ph).

 

[Hogdady]

I am using Fox Farms Ocean Forest soil and Fox Farm Big Grow nutes. It concerns me that when I water so much comes out the bottom of the pots. I wonder if the plants are getting the nutes they need when it seems not much is retained in the soil.

I would appreciate it if someone can ease my mind that this is normal and the plants will get what they need . Thanks in advance.

As a fellow FFOF user, I would recommend adding perlite and dolomite to your soil mix. Perlite for drainage and aeration, dolomite for ph stability. I would also recommend watering until you see drainage.

 

[YardDog35]

I would have to disagree. You haven't fully saturated your soil until you have runoff (which, btw, you should measure it's ph from time to time to check soil ph).

Agreed. I guess I should have been a little more clear. The O.P. stated so much water is coming out of the bottom. I visualized a lot of run-off when I read that.
By lifting my pots during watering I can dial in weight before I get a lot of run-off. This allows me to saturate without wasting.

Should I consider watering more?

 

[Goldengoose7]

I just fill to the rim of the pot and wait for the runoff. Mine veg outside in the summer, so I just go down the line with my watering wand and garden hose and top off each plant.

Last thing you want is a soil mix that won't drain properly. A good soil should drain in seconds, NOT several minutes. FFOF is a quality mix, so it is doing what it is supposed to.

Sent from my iPod touch using Forum Runner

 

[Hogdady]

Agreed. I guess I should have been a little more clear. The O.P. stated so much water is coming out of the bottom. I visualized a lot of run-off when I read that.
By lifting my pots during watering I can dial in weight before I get a lot of run-off. This allows me to saturate without wasting.

Should I consider watering more?

My pots sit in overflow trays which capture the run off and allow it siphon back into the soil as it drys....

 

[Droopy Dog]

I am using Fox Farms Ocean Forest soil and Fox Farm Big Grow nutes. It concerns me that when I water so much comes out the bottom of the pots. I wonder if the plants are getting the nutes they need when it seems not much is retained in the soil.

I would appreciate it if someone can ease my mind that this is normal and the plants will get what they need . Thanks in advance.

I know this is going to sound silly, but did you get the FFOF wet before you used it?

Dry peat will actually repel water and needs to be 'pre moistened' before you plant in it.

I mean, after you water, are the pots still light? Like the water just went on through and wasn't absorbed?

If this is the case, an easy fix is water with the container in a bucket or tub or similar and the mix will absorb water from the bottom till all the medium is saturated. Remove, let drain and then your regular watering schedule.

DD

 

[azcruiser]

Thanks to all of you for the helpful replies.
Droopy Dog: I did pre wet the FFOF. Thanks.
HogDady: I also use the tray for overflow. I bought a small shop wet vac and use it to take out the excess overflow. Some of the trays are hard to reach in the small space but this works great.

 

[Hogdady]

Thanks to all of you for the helpful replies.
Droopy Dog: I did pre wet the FFOF. Thanks.
HogDady: I also use the tray for overflow. I bought a small shop wet vac and use it to take out the excess overflow. Some of the trays are hard to reach in the small space but this works great.

 

[HigherDrifter]

I don't know if what I have to say applies to your situation since I've got my plants in the ground.

On average I've only watered my plants maybe once a week. The last 2 weeks have been hot and dry here, so they got some additional watering, not too much.

One thing I've noticed that if I give them lots of water the the branches would break off the main trunk, like they were brittle. Their fibrous qualities weren't developed enough to hold all that water I suppose. I reckon most people would want to shore up their plants with string, or gardener's tape - I'd prefer not to. Cannabis, in general, is a very drought tolerant plant. They'd more than likely grow fine without any watering from us at all, they just wouldn't be all that productive for what most people want - GOOD BUDS .

I just give them enough to keep the soil lightly moist (beneath all that mulch) and they're doing fine. Buds are developing very nicely.

Gets really windy here too. That's another thing I have to take into consideration when I'm watering. Those plants really do get thrashed about by the wind sometimes and I don't want my branches snapping off, especially now when I've got all these beautiful buds developing - I'd say at least 60% of my plant has turned into buds and they're only at 4 weeks.

 

[Goldengoose7]

If you see your plant's leaf tips starting to CURL UNDER that means that the roots are saturated from overwatering and need some airation.

Another good way to detemine when the plant needs watering is to LIFT the POT when the plant starts looking like it needs watering and take note of how heavy the pot feels. Then water the plant thoroughly until you get runoff coming out of the bottom, and then LIFT the pot again and note the difference in weight. It will then be easy to tell how much water you have in the soil of that particular plant at any given time.

I water all my outdoor grows every day, but only water my indoor grows once or twice a week. Artificial lights can't reproduce the same Evapotranspiration values (ET) that the sun can, so the watering schedules are vastly different.

If you don't already have one, a good IN SOIL PH and Soil Moisture meter is a good investment! They are not that expensive and provide some useful info on soil moisture as well as the actual PH value of your soil.

 

[Hogdady]

If you don't already have one, a good IN SOIL PH and Soil Moisture meter is a good investment! They are not that expensive and provide some useful info on soil moisture as well as the actual PH value of your soil.

imho a waste of money....measuring runoff is far more accurate than those meters....

and if you can't tell if a pot is light or not, you have bigger problems....