How much water to give seedlings? When to transplant

[GrimyVille]

I'm having a hell of a time with this I have one real grow under my belt and I started with clones and it was outdoors. Now I'm inside and I have started with seeds. I germinated them in paper towels for a few days then planted them. They were planted on May 20 probably 10 Pm so ultimately May 21. They are doing great some bigger than others and a couple small ones. The one thing that is always on my mind. Is the warning everyone gave me when I first started don't over water them. Last year I did great a few of them got so big I prob should of gave um some more water but that's done with now. My seedlings I read that I should water them with a spray bottle, so I have been. They seem to be doing good but because this is my first trip with this I have nothing to compare it to. Even if a few drops drain at the bottom I was curious so I stuck my finger in the dirt and the moisture really didn't go that far down not even a half an inch. At one point I went crazy one night and sprayed them double or triple the amount I normally do and they didn't dry out for 2 days. I could really use some info. As well as when I should transplant some of them there leaves are as wide as the solo cup I started them in some of the others are not I will add some pics..

 

[Morda Grown]

I let mine get 3 to 4 nodes before I transplant. I water from the bottom about once a week till transplanted. Then, I watch the leaves... if they start to wilt, I give them a drink. I let them tell me they want a drink.

This little girl is at 4 days old, Started in paper towel 5/26, Planted in cup on 5/28, Broke ground 5/30.

 

[Skunksta]

Let them dry out my advice IF soil.And if you want to get some great advice/reading take a look at Emilya
grow journal , cookies one about when to transplant etc.

 

[GrimyVille]

I let mine get 3 to 4 nodes before I transplant. I water from the bottom about once a week till transplanted. Then, I watch the leaves... if they start to wilt, I give them a drink. I let them tell me they want a drink.

This little girl is at 4 days old, Started in paper towel 5/26, Planted in cup on 5/28, Broke ground 5/30.

How do u water from the bottom.. and I'm using a spray bottle I feel I'm not giving it enough. I to scared to pour water in until water comes out the bottom

 

[GrimyVille]

Let them dry out my advice IF soil.And if you want to get some great advice/reading take a look at Emilya
grow journal , cookies one about when to transplant etc.

How much water should I give them. I've been spraying should I pour them in?

 

[Skunksta]

@Emilya I would just be repeating what Emilya has gone over from the short time i have been here many times.
Do a quick search for a member and read her latest post in her journal in fact just read it will really help you
getting your head around feeding/up potting. I have tagged her hope she does not mind im a coco grower
and my know how its not that vast in soil its been years.

But me the spraying is over dry to wet feeding with small cup etc to run of forcing the roots lower down to seek food.
If the tops the only place really wet at this stage can see that being a good thing wouldnt be in coco.

 

[Nunyabiz]

I wouldn't change a thing you're doing, they look healthy and perfectly fine.
Water them exactly as you have been.
When your plants are looking perfect then don't fuck with it and start changing shit.
Just keep doing what you're doing.
And for gods sake don't let the roots dry out thats just as bad for a seedling as massively overwatering is.

And if it were mine I'd transplant into a final pot right about now, I usually do mine about day 7, thats when the leaves start hanging out past the rim of the solo cup and the roots are starting to curl at the bottom of cup

 

[bobrown14]

What @Nunyabiz said.

I usually pick up the solo cups and can feel when they are light. You get a feel for it.

At this stage I usually water a small amount every day just enough to keep the soil moist but not wet and skip a day here and there.

 

[Emilya Green]

Hi @GrimyVille! I have developed a system of watering that will answer all of the questions you are now having, how much to water, when to water, when to transplant... Without a system, your only choice is to guess regarding these issues, trying hard to read the situation and do what is right for the plants... but here is the point. Without guideposts to go by, or essentially taking your clues from the plant itself, it is you, a human being, making all of these decisions for the plants. It is far better for everyone to let the plant run things, not you.

So how do you do this? Watering from the bottom is a fad that is currently being talked about in the online forums and being promoted by a few, but this is not the age old time tested way of growing plants in a container. There are many reasons to top water, like what happens in nature. Setting your plants down in a container of water, hoping that the right amount of water will seep up into the plant is not the best way to grow any plant and it causes the gardener to totally lose touch with how much water the plants are using and how fast they are using it.

Let me throw this at you. Soil in a container can only hold a certain amount of water. Any extra water will simply fall out of the soil and out of the bottom of the container as runoff. It is impossible to overwater this plant by putting too much water in the soil at one time. The ONLY way to overwater this plant is to water too often, not letting the soil dry out between waterings.

Also, if you water to runoff, filling the soil with water, this becomes your benchmark. You can count on the soil holding this same amount of water each time. Now all you need to watch is how long it takes the plant to use up all of this water. I call this the wet/dry cycle. Your goal is to move the soil from totally wet to totally dry and monitor how long it takes the plant to do this. As the roots get stronger, this amount of time will steadily decrease and your wet/dry cycle will typically go from 5-7 days, to 4, to 3 and finally the roots will be so strong that the plant will be able to use all the water you can get that cup of soil to hold, in 24-36 hours. When this happens, the soil in that container has ceased to be a buffer that keeps you from having to water each day, and it is time to uppot. There are no other valid reasons to uppot if your goal is to build the strongest roots possible.

So when you water, water with gusto. Treat that soil as a sponge and see how much water you can get it to hold. Water to runoff and then come back again 20 minutes later, and see if you can get it to hold just a little bit more. Then, sit on your hands for a few days and watch the plant use up all of that water. Using the lift the pot method, see if you can determine when all of the water has been used. If your human senses can feel any water weight as compared to a dry cup of soil, it is not yet time to water. Watch your plants too. When the last of the water is really getting used up deep down in that cup, the lowest of the plants leaves will start to drop below horizontal. The plant will tell you when it is time to water, if you are alert. It is at this moment, when the plant is seeking out the last of the water in the cup, when the roots grow the most rapidly. A plant experiencing a well managed and strong wet/dry cycle, is a strong plant and one that is growing like crazy. A coddled plant, one not having to work so hard for a living, usually is a lazy plant, and doesn't grow nearly as fast.

For more details on this wet/dry method, please check out the links in my signature as to how to properly water a potted plant and then for even more information, go to its 2nd version, how to water a small plant in a large container.

 

[Morda Grown]

How do u water from the bottom.. and I'm using a spray bottle I feel I'm not giving it enough. I to scared to pour water in until water comes out the bottom

I put holes in the bottom of the cups and set the cups in a tray then just add (depending on how may plants) about 1/4 cup for five plants. I only water from the top once when I plant them.

I agree that you are doing just fine. Just showing what I do, in no means is it the way everyone would. I do my starts in the house (with a crappy light) lol, I grow outside in wicking pots for the rest of the grow. To check if they need water you look down the tube and see if there is water. If not, fill the tube if there is no rain in the forecast. The tube holds about 1 cup or two of water. It will go to the bottom and wick up. Last summer I watered them twice the rain did the rest.

 

[skirk]

How much water should I give them. I've been spraying should I pour them in?

Depending on your soil mix, 2-3 ounces should get you to a slight run-off. In 18-48 hr. you'll need to repeat the process.
The amount of time will vary depending on grow environment conditions. Pics are dry weight and wet weight to slight runoff. As you can see, it's only a two ounce difference. Notice the condiment water bottle. Stop spraying. Titrate slowly in a circular, outward radiating fashion to first sign of run off.

 

[GrimyVille]

I put holes in the bottom of the cups and set the cups in a tray then just add (depending on how may plants) about 1/4 cup for five plants. I only water from the top once when I plant them.

I agree that you are doing just fine. Just showing what I do, in no means is it the way everyone would. I do my starts in the house (with a crappy light) lol, I grow outside in wicking pots for the rest of the grow. To check if they need water you look down the tube and see if there is water. If not, fill the tube if there is no rain in the forecast. The tube holds about 1 cup or two of water. It will go to the bottom and wick up. Last summer I watered them twice the rain did the rest.

LoL.. I love it.. I was thinking of how I could do something like that... Something as simple as a pipe...

 

[GrimyVille]

Depending on your soil mix, 2-3 ounces should get you to a slight run-off. In 18-48 hr. you'll need to repeat the process.
The amount of time will vary depending on grow environment conditions. Pics are dry weight and wet weight to slight runoff. As you can see, it's only a two ounce difference. Notice the condiment water bottle. Stop spraying. Titrate slowly in a circular, outward radiating fashion to first sign of run off

Hi @GrimyVille! I have developed a system of watering that will answer all of the questions you are now having, how much to water, when to water, when to transplant... Without a system, your only choice is to guess regarding these issues, trying hard to read the situation and do what is right for the plants... but here is the point. Without guideposts to go by, or essentially taking your clues from the plant itself, it is you, a human being, making all of these decisions for the plants. It is far better for everyone to let the plant run things, not you.

So how do you do this? Watering from the bottom is a fad that is currently being talked about in the online forums and being promoted by a few, but this is not the age old time tested way of growing plants in a container. There are many reasons to top water, like what happens in nature. Setting your plants down in a container of water, hoping that the right amount of water will seep up into the plant is not the best way to grow any plant and it causes the gardener to totally lose touch with how much water the plants are using and how fast they are using it.

Let me throw this at you. Soil in a container can only hold a certain amount of water. Any extra water will simply fall out of the soil and out of the bottom of the container as runoff. It is impossible to overwater this plant by putting too much water in the soil at one time. The ONLY way to overwater this plant is to water too often, not letting the soil dry out between waterings.

Also, if you water to runoff, filling the soil with water, this becomes your benchmark. You can count on the soil holding this same amount of water each time. Now all you need to watch is how long it takes the plant to use up all of this water. I call this the wet/dry cycle. Your goal is to move the soil from totally wet to totally dry and monitor how long it takes the plant to do this. As the roots get stronger, this amount of time will steadily decrease and your wet/dry cycle will typically go from 5-7 days, to 4, to 3 and finally the roots will be so strong that the plant will be able to use all the water you can get that cup of soil to hold, in 24-36 hours. When this happens, the soil in that container has ceased to be a buffer that keeps you from having to water each day, and it is time to uppot. There are no other valid reasons to uppot if your goal is to build the strongest roots possible.

So when you water, water with gusto. Treat that soil as a sponge and see how much water you can get it to hold. Water to runoff and then come back again 20 minutes later, and see if you can get it to hold just a little bit more. Then, sit on your hands for a few days and watch the plant use up all of that water. Using the lift the pot method, see if you can determine when all of the water has been used. If your human senses can feel any water weight as compared to a dry cup of soil, it is not yet time to water. Watch your plants too. When the last of the water is really getting used up deep down in that cup, the lowest of the plants leaves will start to drop below horizontal. The plant will tell you when it is time to water, if you are alert. It is at this moment, when the plant is seeking out the last of the water in the cup, when the roots grow the most rapidly. A plant experiencing a well managed and strong wet/dry cycle, is a strong plant and one that is growing like crazy. A coddled plant, one not having to work so hard for a living, usually is a lazy plant, and doesn't grow nearly as fast.

For more details on this wet/dry method, please check out the links in my signature as to how to properly water a potted plant and then for even more information, go to its 2nd version, how to water a small plant in a large container.

WoW... Thank you. I want to ask you a million questions but I don't want to take your time away from others you can help like you just did me... LoL.. that was a great explanation... Unbelievable ... I will ask you more questions in the future prob not that distant thanks again. I'm gonna start reading everything you write about everything I can find

 

[GrimyVille]

@Emilya I would just be repeating what Emilya has gone over from the short time i have been here many times.
Do a quick search for a member and read her latest post in her journal in fact just read it will really help you
getting your head around feeding/up potting. I have tagged her hope she does not mind im a coco grower
and my know how its not that vast in soil its been years.

But me the spraying is over dry to wet feeding with small cup etc to run of forcing the roots lower down to seek food.
If the tops the only place really wet at this stage can see that being a good thing wouldnt be in coco.

How can I go to her journal

 

[Sueet]

How can I go to her journal

Here is a link to her links page - Emmie's Links - Happy reading!

 

[BakedARea]

Click on her links in her signature.

 

[Morda Grown]

LoL.. I love it.. I was thinking of how I could do something like that... Something as simple as a pipe...

Oh it is not just the pipe there is more you need to do. If you are interested in learning more, Check out "Gardening with Leon" He is the guy that started me making them for my plants.

 

[Anologguy]

I'm having a hell of a time with this I have one real grow under my belt and I started with clones and it was outdoors. Now I'm inside and I have started with seeds. I germinated them in paper towels for a few days then planted them. They were planted on May 20 probably 10 Pm so ultimately May 21. They are doing great some bigger than others and a couple small ones. The one thing that is always on my mind. Is the warning everyone gave me when I first started don't over water them. Last year I did great a few of them got so big I prob should of gave um some more water but that's done with now. My seedlings I read that I should water them with a spray bottle, so I have been. They seem to be doing good but because this is my first trip with this I have nothing to compare it to. Even if a few drops drain at the bottom I was curious so I stuck my finger in the dirt and the moisture really didn't go that far down not even a half an inch. At one point I went crazy one night and sprayed them double or triple the amount I normally do and they didn't dry out for 2 days. I could really use some info. As well as when I should transplant some of them there leaves are as wide as the solo cup I started them in some of the others are not I will add some pics..

I learned a way. Instead of Red solo use clear ones. Insert clear cup with plant nestled inside a Red one. You can pull the clear out and inspect the roots anytime and Know when yo transplant