1 gallon air pot watering

[Verbalist]

Hi!
Decided to keep 1 gallon and 1,5gallon pots as a final containers for my plants and see how those air pots do the work. Ive had no experince growing in this small containers before. The smallest one has been 2.5 gallon..

Plants just started the 5th week of flowering and Im wondering how frequent I should water small containers and what kind of volumes?

Basic info to be aware of my situation:

- Growing medium is BioBizz Light mix soil (which is very airy and does not hold water too well) ~1/2gallon poured into 1gallon pot gives around 10-20% run off.
- Lighting is 250w HPS with unboxed reflector and 100w LED panel (both produces totally around +7C (44F) extra heat) — So temps at the daytime are between 25-28C (77-80F)
- Having a strong exhaust fan which creates the vacuum inside the tent (to keep the temps in check
- Humidity stays between RH 40-50%

Ive been following this kind of watering schedule before: 1/2gallon per pot on day 1. And on day 2 ~0.2gallon ”top water”. Day 3 no water and Day 4 repeat 1/2gallon water per plant again.

I’ve heard watering small containers more frequently with less water would be better in my situation(?) If so how much would you advise me to water per day?
Im aware of the root bound and heard you can somehow control it with watering. Anyway the plant does not show any significant symptoms of root bound. The bud growth might be a bit slow or Im just impatient. But no any defiences, excess, no droopines and plants look healthy overall.

TLDR; small containers -> follow the ”wet/dry cycles” as I would do with the bigger pots? OR water them more often and keep the soil moist all the time?

Here is the pic of the plants so you get the picture about the height, size etc.
The scrog is 2x2 (60x60cm)

And theyre pretty much striped under the net.

 

[Verbalist]

Thinking about watering less but more frequent -> no run off. People tends to say this builts up salts from the nutrients which causes for example pH problem(?)

But the Biobizz itself says if using light mix soil u do not want to water too often for the runoff because that clears out the microbes and molasses from the soil.

Which would be better?

Would that make any sense to ”mimic” the drip feed system? Water 2-3 times per day. Pour in 5-10% (0.2-0.4l) of container size at a time? …Guessing that would saturate the couple top inches very well, but does it leave dry pockets or does the water ever reach to the bottom roots?

 

[Roy Growin]

LiteMix goes kind of crusty after a while and holds less water, plus smaller pots dry out much more quickly so you will probably end up watering to run off pretty much every day 0.5 - l Litre per pot
You will know if it is too dry in the root zone because the water will run straight out, if that happens you'll need to re-hydrate the soil by soaking
It's the same principle as why a damp cloth soaks up water better than a dry one (surface tension, capillary action)
Even if you soak LiteMix, it doesn't go soggy saturated as long as there is drainage and the bottom of the pot is exposed to air - with air pots, that should not be a problem
Looks like you're judging it well at the moment so I wouldn't fret

 

[Verbalist]

LiteMix goes kind of crusty after a while and holds less water, plus smaller pots dry out much more quickly so you will probably end up watering to run off pretty much every day 0.5 - l Litre per pot
You will know if it is too dry in the root zone because the water will run straight out, if that happens you'll need to re-hydrate the soil by soaking
It's the same principle as why a damp cloth soaks up water better than a dry one (surface tension, capillary action)
Even if you soak LiteMix, it doesn't go soggy saturated as long as there is drainage and the bottom of the pot is exposed to air - with air pots, that should not be a problem
Looks like you're judging it well at the moment so I wouldn't fret

Ikr the problem isnt the soil itself or getting the soil saturated. Your statement makes sense and Ive noticed those things happening with airy light mix.

The problem was more likely the watering/feeding schedule or more likely density.
Had to explain and go thru the things to make it more clear, but the question would be like;
1 gallon air pots being very small container compared to the size of the plant. Should I do like I would do with bigger containers -> more water at a time and go thru the wet and dry cycles. OR would it be better to mimic like drip feed system and feed 1-3 times per day with 5-10% of size at the time?

Just want to give them best possible water schedule in that small containers. And as mentioned above Ive had no experience growing in still small final container before.
Thanks

 

[greentelescop]

Im growing outdoor with 1.5g pot she is in flower for 10days im watering 3times per day with 1L she drinks more than 3L per day..

 

[Verbalist]

Im growing outdoor with 1.5g pot she is in flower for 10days im watering 3times per day with 1L she drinks more than 3L per day..

Wow man. There must be high temps and very low humidity? So you giving them water 50% of container size per 24h? Are you getting a lot run off per watering by doing so?

Im running 2x 1gallon and 1x 1,5gallon airpots. The are on the 5th week of flowering now and feels like the buds are lacking even tho Im heavy feeding them. More water if they do not show any droopines? Sadly dont have EC meter..
Ive gave for the 1,5gallon pot around 1.5-2l every two days and feel like it would drink more (now even more certain about it).
1g pots was watered more often every 1-2 days around 1-1.75l depending how fast they dried and if the pot felt light.

Idk might maybe could start mimic the drip feed schedule with the smaller pots. Give them 0.5-0.75l twice in a day. Could make the overall watering easier and faster since the most of the soil would stay moist so it wouldnt squirt the shit out from the holes.
Plus Biobizz said that as the Light mix contains a lot of microbes and its organic you dont want to water till the run off too often because it just flushes everything out.
But wondering what about the salts build up since Ive no idea about that bcoz damn EC meter is gone.

Would love to hear more people experiences growing in small pots!

 

[Nunyabiz]

Id water at least twice a day in such tiny pots.
But why hamstring yourself by growing in 1 gal pots?
That would be like a marathon runner strapping on steel toed work boots to run in.
Just making shit a whole lot harder than it needs to be.

 

[Roy Growin]

Wow man. There must be high temps and very low humidity? So you giving them water 50% of container size per 24h? Are you getting a lot run off per watering by doing so?

Im running 2x 1gallon and 1x 1,5gallon airpots. The are on the 5th week of flowering now and feels like the buds are lacking even tho Im heavy feeding them. More water if they do not show any droopines? Sadly dont have EC meter..
Ive gave for the 1,5gallon pot around 1.5-2l every two days and feel like it would drink more (now even more certain about it).
1g pots was watered more often every 1-2 days around 1-1.75l depending how fast they dried and if the pot felt light.

Idk might maybe could start mimic the drip feed schedule with the smaller pots. Give them 0.5-0.75l twice in a day. Could make the overall watering easier and faster since the most of the soil would stay moist so it wouldnt squirt the shit out from the holes.
Plus Biobizz said that as the Light mix contains a lot of microbes and its organic you dont want to water till the run off too often because it just flushes everything out.
But wondering what about the salts build up since Ive no idea about that bcoz damn EC meter is gone.

Would love to hear more people experiences growing in small pots!

If you are using BioBizz organic nutes there is no need to worry about salts building up or washing anything out of the soil, and you don't need an EC meter to measure out 2-3ml/L
Drip systems work fine, but the flood method draws some fresh air into the root zone
A 5L pot will take about 1L of water and gives about 10% run off and it never quite dries out completely - ideal
Week five of flower, I'd be cutting back on N (Gro) despite what the charts say and giving a CaMg & PK rinse

 

[Verbalist]

If you are using BioBizz organic nutes there is no need to worry about salts building up or washing anything out of the soil, and you don't need an EC meter to measure out 2-3ml/L
Drip systems work fine, but the flood method draws some fresh air into the root zone
A 5L pot will take about 1L of water and gives about 10% run off and it never quite dries out completely - ideal
Week five of flower, I'd be cutting back on N (Gro) despite what the charts say and giving a CaMg & PK rinse

Yeah found 6l (1.5gallon) air pot being lot easier to keep moist. Struggling with the 4l (1gallon) ones…

About the feeding and nutrients. Im using these:
- Biobizz Bloom, Grow, Topmax & Cal/Mag
- Atami ATA PK13-14 booster
- Seaweed exctract

Ive been following this BioBizz’s chart

As the chart says on 8th week I would be supposed to feed them 4ml Grow and 4ml Bloom. But Ive tried to cut the Grow down to the 1-2ml/l because the foliage is dark green and leaves having a turtles look

Bloom and Grow is designed to work together during the whole bloom cycle, but I feel like feeding them too much N.
Idk if I should just trust the chart and give them 4ml each(?)
PK13-14 goes already in max dose 1-1.5ml/l amongst other nutrients and no signs of any burnt.

I guess mimicing the drip/flood feed with the watering can And trying to find good balance between 0.5-1l water twice per day. Not gonna buy nor build any drip feed system for this late flowering. Next grow goes with the DWC most likely.
But yeah as people has mentioned that more frequent watering would be better with this size of pots, I guess thats how we go then.

 

[Roy Growin]

Id water at least twice a day in such tiny pots.
But why hamstring yourself by growing in 1 gal pots?
That would be like a marathon runner strapping on steel toed work boots to run in.
Just making shit a whole lot harder than it needs to be.

Hi Nunyabiz - there are advantages of smaller pots if you don't have a huge space
I can get a better yield from 12 small plants than one big one
As smaller pots dry more quickly, much more air is delivered to the roots
Watering more frequently means I can react and adjust to any defs/boost etc more quickly
2oz buds are much easier to dry and less prone to mould than an 8oz cola
I can do several strains at the same time
These plants can grow in cracks in rocks, so 3' plants can handle 5L of coco with nutes no problem
If you're not convinced, there are photos in my journals

 

[Verbalist]

Id water at least twice a day in such tiny pots.
But why hamstring yourself by growing in 1 gal pots?
That would be like a marathon runner strapping on steel toed work boots to run in.
Just making shit a whole lot harder than it needs to be.

Thanks for the input.
And reason why I chose such a small containers was simply bcoz the goal was to fill the 2x2 (60x60cm) Scrog net.
Comparing to the prev crops had kind of idea what size of containers I need for 3 plants to fill the scrog.
Also as @Growings mentioned using smaller pots its easier and faster to react to any defiences/excess.
But found out later that watering volumes was harder to figure out how much and how often.

And obv wanted to do/try something different than before. Never had smaller than 2.5gallon pot as a final container… after this grow we know better that am I going back to the bigger containers or do I throw the shit out and grow 20 plants in solo cups.

 

[Nunyabiz]

Gotcha.
Well also the thing to remember is if its quicker to react to deficiency means its quicker to get deficiency also.

If your goal is simply to fill a 2x2 then a 30 gallon fabric pot would do nicely with a lot less problems.

 

[Roy Growin]

Gotcha.
Well also the thing to remember is if its quicker to react to deficiency means its quicker to get deficiency also.

If your goal is simply to fill a 2x2 then a 30 gallon fabric pot would do nicely with a lot less problems.

I get what you're saying, but for me, in a UK block of flats, lugging several bags of coco up the stairs is not an option,
never mind getting rid of it again

 

[Verbalist]

Gotcha.
Well also the thing to remember is if its quicker to react to deficiency means its quicker to get deficiency also.

If your goal is simply to fill a 2x2 then a 30 gallon fabric pot would do nicely with a lot less problems.

As we going this far, lets get back to the start line…
And ye thats truee. 2x2 net and the whole progress maybe would have been easier with giant barrel using only one plant.
But the original plan was to grow 10 plants SoG. Only managed to get 3x of these seeds so had to improvise. Having 60x90x135 2-in-1 tent so found best to buy 2x2 scrog and just fill up the scrog. I only veg’d my plants 25days then flipped into 12/12 and pretty much achieved what I wanted.
Just gotta hope those buds above the net gets all connected and a lot more dense.

As we’re on day 56 flowering 32 today IMO that 2x2 net wad filled a lot faster than growing one giant, huh? Prob would be still vegging the one big plant. And dont get me wrong Ive got no hurry to finish the plants. Just a bit for the next grow

And quick one edit: idk if there has been any major problems or ”actual problems” at all, as u mentioned. This watering dillema may sound like problem, but more likely just trying to fine tune the watering. …And thats the whole reason why I posted this thread. To ask advice from people who had experince from small pots

 

[Roy Growin]

Yeah found 6l (1.5gallon) air pot being lot easier to keep moist. Struggling with the 4l (1gallon) ones…

About the feeding and nutrients. Im using these:
- Biobizz Bloom, Grow, Topmax & Cal/Mag
- Atami ATA PK13-14 booster
- Seaweed exctract

Ive been following this BioBizz’s chart

As the chart says on 8th week I would be supposed to feed them 4ml Grow and 4ml Bloom. But Ive tried to cut the Grow down to the 1-2ml/l because the foliage is dark green and leaves having a turtles look

Bloom and Grow is designed to work together during the whole bloom cycle, but I feel like feeding them too much N.
Idk if I should just trust the chart and give them 4ml each(?)
PK13-14 goes already in max dose 1-1.5ml/l amongst other nutrients and no signs of any burnt.

I guess mimicing the drip/flood feed with the watering can And trying to find good balance between 0.5-1l water twice per day. Not gonna buy nor build any drip feed system for this late flowering. Next grow goes with the DWC most likely.
But yeah as people has mentioned that more frequent watering would be better with this size of pots, I guess thats how we go then.

Absolutely, go by your gut and read the plants, ignore the chart - they want you to add about 25ml of gunk by the end of it then flush it all out again - your pics demonstrate the reason to hold back on the N perfectly

 

[bluter]

you can fill an area faster with a reduced veg time if you do more plants in smaller pots, versus fewer in larger. you have to know when to flip though as the trade off is always going to be managing issues in flower that wouldn't show up in a larger pot.

 

[Verbalist]

you can fill an area faster with a reduced veg time if you do more plants in smaller pots, versus fewer in larger. you have to know when to flip though as the trade off is always going to be managing issues in flower that wouldn't show up in a larger pot.

Bless. Thats the one thing which I also just brought up

 

[bluter]

should also add we used to go 12/12 with photos from the start in smaller pots. they begin to flower as soon as they hit maturity. it ensures there will be enough leg room for the roots in flower.

 

[Verbalist]

@Growings sum up with me

- obv firstly I wanna reduce bio-grow/N amount
- tomorrow start with 0.5l and see the run off % (should be moist if barely any run off innit?) ..if the shit spills out from the holes then I should saturate the whole soil to avoid dry pockets.
- see which works better 0.5-0.75l twice a day or 0.3-0.5l three times per day (dont really want to deal with the run offs multiple times per day since scrog makes life so much more laborious)
- moar moar PK booster. I believe in u EC will be all good with even tho there will be around 15-20ml nutes mixed in

 

[Roy Growin]

@Growings sum up with me

- obv firstly I wanna reduce bio-grow/N amount
- tomorrow start with 0.5l and see the run off % (should be moist if barely any run off innit?) ..if the shit spills out from the holes then I should saturate the whole soil to avoid dry pockets.
- see which works better 0.5-0.75l twice a day or 0.3-0.5l three times per day (dont really want to deal with the run offs multiple times per day since scrog makes life so much more laborious)
- moar moar PK booster. I believe in u EC will be all good with even tho there will be around 15-20ml nutes mixed in

Hi mate - Yes, yes, yes and yes, that sounds like a logical plan to me
If you want to avoid run off hassle, just put a bit of capillary matting under the pot or a tray of perlite/clay pebbles, the plant will draw it up again if it needs it and your roots/medium never dries out completely