The Proper Way To Water A Seedling In A Large Final Container

[Will11]

Thanks Emilya! This post is really helpful. I saw somewhere that you recommend starting autos in solo cups. That would be new for me but I’d like to try. Do you mind if I ask a few questions?
How different is the watering process in the solo cup from the one posted here? Can you explain your solo cup watering for autos? When is the best time to transplant? Can you explain the pause and when it happens? And no/little water or nutes during pause . Correct?
Thank you for your time and dedication to supporting this community!

 

[Emilya Green]

Thanks Emilya! This post is really helpful. I saw somewhere that you recommend starting autos in solo cups. That would be new for me but I’d like to try. Do you mind if I ask a few questions?
How different is the watering process in the solo cup from the one posted here? Can you explain your solo cup watering for autos? When is the best time to transplant? Can you explain the pause and when it happens? And no/little water or nutes during pause . Correct?
Thank you for your time and dedication to supporting this community!

Hi Will! I would be happy to answer your questions here, but also be advised that I wrote more extensively about the ideas I am going to present here, in my original watering article, The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant
I invite you to read the entire thread, which halfway through explains a new concept... how to water in bloom.

To properly water a solo cup, you employ a completely different method than described here. In a small container like a solo cup, you have the advantage of being able to start a strong wet/dry cycle almost immediately, forcing your roots to grow rapidly in that confined space. I have no different watering method for Autos for I believe that they are simply a plant like any other plant, and have the same needs as their photoperiod cousins.

While you wait for your planted seed to come up, you should keep the cup fairly moist. I spray the top surface 2 or 3 times a day, the theory being that I am giving the life supporting water that the seed needs to wake up, and that with gravity pulling that surface water down toward the bottom, that water flow is also showing the new roots where to go. When the seedling finally reaches the surface, it is time to stop supplying so much water, and instead challenge your new plant to use up all of the water you have already supplied. You goal is to wait to water that solo cup fully, until the plant has been able to use almost all of the water in that cup. Knowing that the plant and its roots are tiny at first, I do cheat a bit by giving just a small amount of water every day at first, and then every other day, but no where near the amount that the cup of soil could hold, but just a few drips down the center of the stalk so that water falls down to the bottom, again, showing the new roots how to get to the bottom of the cup.

I am waiting for the cup to get pretty darn light that first time, before I soak that soil the first time to runoff. I forgive the young plant for not being able to drain all of the water the first time, but the cup should be significantly lighter than it was when the plant first came up and the soil was soaked. This process usually takes 4-5 days.

By this time the plant will have its second set of leaves coming in and it can really start using the water rapidly and you should no longer be giving extra water down the middle. Where it took the plant 4-5 days the first time to convince you to water it, the next time it is going to drain that cup in about 3 days. This time, the cup will be as light as a feather by the time you water, and you will be amazed how healthy the plant looks in such super dry soil. Congratulations... you have just started a strong wet/dry cycle and the roots are now capable of draining the cup.

You want to keep the plant in this constricted space until it can show you that it needs more room. The next wet/dry cycle will even be shorter and with rapidly growing Autos I am going to recommend uppotting to a container 3x bigger when the plant is finally able to drain all the water you can get that soil to hold, in 2 days.

The problem with Autos is that usually stall about this time. Since you are carefully monitoring the water usage by picking up the cup and feeling its weight, you will be able to see the plant stall out. All of a sudden, it is not going to use water as fast as it previously was. It might stall out and not use the water in that cup for almost a week. Since you know there is water (and nutes if you have already used them) in that cup, you will not water during that stall week. Be patient, and make that plant work for a living... do not water again until she earns it.

It is my theory that in an Auto, the Ruderalis gene tells the plant to start out life a little differently than its tropical cousins. It is colder up north where they come from, and it makes sense that a hardy plant prepared for harsh conditions would have learned to develop strong roots down below, before starting to rapidly grow the top half that is above soil and in the elements. This I think is the explanation of the pause... its not really paused down in the root area... you just cant see what is happening. The plant is building up energy for a rapid push in about a week, no matter the conditions and weather up above.

So once the wet/dry cycle starts up again, you will rapidly get to the point where the plant is draining that water in 2 days or less, and then and only then, is it time to uppot. Once you get in the larger container, water the new soil to saturation (runoff) to merge the two soil regions together, and the wet/dry cycle will expand back out to 7-11 days. It is very important not to overwater during this time by thinking it needs extra water. Be patient, and force the plant to expand its roots into the new wet soil to find all of that water. Once the plant earns it, by draining all of that water, water to runoff again and note how the wet/dry cycle is already shrinking. When the very rapidly growing Auto can drain that new container in 2 days, repeat the process and put her in her final container.

Maintain a strong wet/dry cycle all through veg and for another week after seeing your first pistil. After that, you should have established what your wet/dry cycle is in that final container, hopefully 3 days or so, and then in bloom, start watering a bit earlier, like every 2 days. Let her dry out a bit more every 4th watering or so, but try to be consistent and stick with the cycle she has established, but just a little early, so you keep the soil more moist than you did in veg. In veg you use the lack of water as a tool to force the plant to grow new roots, but when you get to bloom, you change modes, and use those roots you carefully developed to force more water into the plant so it can grow bigger buds.

I hope this helps. Please read the other article to get the basics of the wet/dry cycle concept down, as well as how to migrate micro soil particles around in your container. Feel free to ask any other questions that come up. Good luck!

 

[Will11]

Emilya, this write up is amazing and just what I needed. Thank you so much!
Do you start out with very wet soil or just from the bag into the solo then spray 2/3x a day? I’m just trying to gauge how wet soil should be when I plant my seed.
Do you have any thoughts on 3vs5vs7 gallon pots for autos? I’ve been using 3gal. If you think I should keep using 3 gal, can I go from solo to 3gal pot or is that too big of a jump? Should I do a 1 gallon in between?
Last thing, I’ve read in your other posts not to be afraid of nutes and that the directions from the company are there for a reason. This makes total sense! My nutes directions give me dosage amount per stage but don’t specify if auto should be feeding ever watering. What are your thought about feeding? Should I be feeding from seedling to harvest every watering session or every other or something totally different?
Thanks again for being so generous with your time and wisdom. You make this community so valuable!

 

[Emilya Green]

Emilya, this write up is amazing and just what I needed. Thank you so much!
Do you start out with very wet soil or just from the bag into the solo then spray 2/3x a day? I’m just trying to gauge how wet soil should be when I plant my seed.
Do you have any thoughts on 3vs5vs7 gallon pots for autos? I’ve been using 3gal. If you think I should keep using 3 gal, can I go from solo to 3gal pot or is that too big of a jump? Should I do a 1 gallon in between?
Last thing, I’ve read in your other posts not to be afraid of nutes and that the directions from the company are there for a reason. This makes total sense! My nutes directions give me dosage amount per stage but don’t specify if auto should be feeding ever watering. What are your thought about feeding? Should I be feeding from seedling to harvest every watering session or every other or something totally different?
Thanks again for being so generous with your time and wisdom. You make this community so valuable!

Before I plant the seed, I pre-water my cup of soil. Some soil is very hydrophobic when it gets very dry, and I don't want to mess with that with a seed in there. The soil is slowly watered to the point of runoff. The squirts every day after that are exactly that, just squirts. I am just trying to keep the surface damp and am sending a small trickle of water toward the bottom for the roots to chase. This is more important on day 2-5 as you wait for the seed to come up, since due to evaporation and the young seedling using some of it, the water table is slowly dropping and doing it exponentially faster and faster as that root begins to grow.

There are some exceptions, but unless the manufacturer specifies otherwise it is assumed that in soil you are using a f/w/f/w routine. This is one reason why soil feeding recommendations are more generous than in hydro, because with the ability of soil to hold the nutrients, you are essentially feeding twice with each feeding.

I hate using the term "feeding" to our nutes because it gets people out of the mindset of what they are doing. We buy fertilizers so that we can grow big plants. If that is our goal, then why wait? If they give you a dosage to use that is safe for seedlings, then by all means use it. You spent the money, so why waste time? I have yet to find special feeding instructions from a nutrient manufacturer that gives a separate feeding schedule for Autos. It is a total and complete myth that Autos need less, they just have a stall period that needs to be worked around but from then on they are growing much faster than a regular photoperiod plant at that stage. Don't be afraid of your fertilizer.

I recommend going from solo to 1g. Build up a rootball a second time, and then move to a 3, unless you have also been training the plant so as to get more colas, and then I suggest at least a 5 or even a 7 if you have created a monster plant.

 

[Will11]

Thank you so much! This is super helpful. I am also closely reading and really enjoying your recent auto journal. It reads like a novel! I am super entertained. I’m on page 9 and you are about to uppot to a 5 gal. She’s beautiful! I have never had an auto look like that. Hopefully …..following your advise, better days ahead!

 

[Emilya Green]

Thank you so much! This is super helpful. I am also closely reading and really enjoying your recent auto journal. It reads like a novel! I am super entertained. I’m on page 9 and you are about to uppot to a 5 gal. She’s beautiful! I have never had an auto look like that. Hopefully …..following your advise, better days ahead!

Please take special note of the 11 days during her stall when I refused to water her

 

[Will11]

Please take special note of the 11 days during her stall when I refused to water her

Interesting you mentioned that. I was reading in your journal you mention the plant stalled in the first week. Do you mean the first week after it broke soil? I’m just trying to understand when I should be on the look out for the stall. Thanks!

 

[Emilya Green]

Interesting you mentioned that. I was reading in your journal you mention the plant stalled in the first week. Do you mean the first week after it broke soil? I’m just trying to understand when I should be on the look out for the stall. Thanks!

Yes, it was in that first week... the tiny thing refused to grow for a while

 

[Will11]

Yes, it was in that first week... the tiny thing refused to grow for a while

Ok thanks! Super helpful!

 

[jokerlola]

Emilya, so are you saying that once the plant is in flower you should step up the watering beyond the wet/dry cycle? For instance, my outdoor plants have definitely in flower but I'm still watering them only when the pot feels super light but before they droop (about every 4 days). I should step that up and water them every 2 days now that they are in flower? And this is because the roots have stopped growing? Any risk of root rot?

 

[Emilya Green]

Emilya, so are you saying that once the plant is in flower you should step up the watering beyond the wet/dry cycle? For instance, my outdoor plants have definitely in flower but I'm still watering them only when the pot feels super light but before they droop (about every 4 days). I should step that up and water them every 2 days now that they are in flower? And this is because the roots have stopped growing? Any risk of root rot?

Your plants will be sucking up a lot of water at this point, so there is not going to be much chance of water sitting around and getting rotty... Veg is where you build roots and bloom is where you use those roots to build buds. If you have been on a 4 day cycle, just take a day off of it, and water them every 3 days. Just to be safe and to give the roots a good hit of oxygen now and then, about every 4th watering, I make them go dry that extra day again.

 

[jokerlola]

Your plants will be sucking up a lot of water at this point, so there is not going to be much chance of water sitting around and getting rotty... Veg is where you build roots and bloom is where you use those roots to build buds. If you have been on a 4 day cycle, just take a day off of it, and water them every 3 days. Just to be safe and to give the roots a good hit of oxygen now and then, about every 4th watering, I make them go dry that extra day again.

I have one plant that is solidly in flower, in a 5 gal fabric pot, that is using up the water every 2 days. Pot is feather light every 2 days. Should I go to daily watering on that one?

 

[Emilya Green]

I have one plant that is solidly in flower, in a 5 gal fabric pot, that is using up the water every 2 days. Pot is feather light every 2 days. Should I go to daily watering on that one?

I would. There is no longer a need to go feather light so as to entice further root growth. All you are doing now is slowing down the plant. If after a few rounds you notice the plant not using the water, then by all means slow back down... but that probably will not be the case.

 

[jokerlola]

I would. There is no longer a need to go feather light so as to entice further root growth. All you are doing now is slowing down the plant. If after a few rounds you notice the plant not using the water, then by all means slow back down... but that probably will not be the case.

Ok. Thanks so much. In the past I've always continued with the wet/dry cycle thru to harvest but this makes sense and I'm going to step up the watering in bloom this year.

 

[Emilya Green]

Ok. Thanks so much. In the past I've always continued with the wet/dry cycle thru to harvest but this makes sense and I'm going to step up the watering in bloom this year.

It's not a bad thing to let them go dry about 1 out of 4 cycles, just to make sure that o2 is pulled deep into the lower roots

 

[jokerlola]

It's not a bad thing to let them go dry about 1 out of 4 cycles, just to make sure that o2 is pulled deep into the lower roots

Got it! Will do. This is very helpful!

 

[Will11]

Hi Emilya! I was wondering if indoor vs outdoor changes your solo cup watering routine? I live in Hawaii and am trying to take advantage of year round growing conditions. I do bring plants into a tent at night for additional light, thinking that will help with growth and yield. So my plants get about 10-11 (depending on season) hours of outdoor/mostly sun time and another 12ish hours under lights in a tent. I know you wait for seedling cups to get feather light before first watering. If the sun is drying out the cups instead of the roots, does that change your watering strategy?

I guess on a side note, should I keep seedlings in tents for 12 hours daily and wait until they’re our of their cups and into 1 gallons pots before introducing them to full sun to prevent the sun drying out cups too quickly? Would that solve the vaporation problem (if there is one)? I’d love your thoughts.

Is tent+outdoor a strange strategy? I know people usually grow either in a tent OR outside, but I haven’t run into too many people on the forum that do a hybrid.

Hope you’re doing well! And thank you as always for being so generous with your knowledge and experience!

 

[kreikrei]

Before I plant the seed, I pre-water my cup of soil. Some soil is very hydrophobic when it gets very dry, and I don't want to mess with that with a seed in there. The soil is slowly watered to the point of runoff. The squirts every day after that are exactly that, just squirts. I am just trying to keep the surface damp and am sending a small trickle of water toward the bottom for the roots to chase. This is more important on day 2-5 as you wait for the seed to come up, since due to evaporation and the young seedling using some of it, the water table is slowly dropping and doing it exponentially faster and faster as that root begins to grow.

There are some exceptions, but unless the manufacturer specifies otherwise it is assumed that in soil you are using a f/w/f/w routine. This is one reason why soil feeding recommendations are more generous than in hydro, because with the ability of soil to hold the nutrients, you are essentially feeding twice with each feeding.

I hate using the term "feeding" to our nutes because it gets people out of the mindset of what they are doing. We buy fertilizers so that we can grow big plants. If that is our goal, then why wait? If they give you a dosage to use that is safe for seedlings, then by all means use it. You spent the money, so why waste time? I have yet to find special feeding instructions from a nutrient manufacturer that gives a separate feeding schedule for Autos. It is a total and complete myth that Autos need less, they just have a stall period that needs to be worked around but from then on they are growing much faster than a regular photoperiod plant at that stage. Don't be afraid of your fertilizer.

I recommend going from solo to 1g. Build up a rootball a second time, and then move to a 3, unless you have also been training the plant so as to get more colas, and then I suggest at least a 5 or even a 7 if you have created a monster plant.

Hi, Emilya!
You said "Before I plant the seed, I pre-water my cup of soil"
I have asked about pre watering a 5 gallon pot (I plant autoflowers right in the final container) and you were not a fan of pre soaking the big pot, since no roots will use the bottom portion as they are too small yet.
Have you changed your mind on presoaking soil or it all depends on other factors? Fr example - prewater a small cup (fast wet/dry cycle), but not prewater a big pot.

Thank you very much

 

[Emilya Green]

Hi, Emilya!
You said "Before I plant the seed, I pre-water my cup of soil"
I have asked about pre watering a 5 gallon pot (I plant autoflowers right in the final container) and you were not a fan of pre soaking the big pot, since no roots will use the bottom portion as they are too small yet.
Have you changed your mind on presoaking soil or it all depends on other factors? Fr example - prewater a small cup (fast wet/dry cycle), but not prewater a big pot.

Thank you very much

Hi Kreikrei! Good catch, and sorry to be so confusing in a thread talking about using large containers. Yes indeed, I will soak a beer cup of soil first, but not a large final container, for that would just be too much water for the tiny plant to deal with.

 

[Emilya Green]

Hi Emilya! I was wondering if indoor vs outdoor changes your solo cup watering routine? I live in Hawaii and am trying to take advantage of year round growing conditions. I do bring plants into a tent at night for additional light, thinking that will help with growth and yield. So my plants get about 10-11 (depending on season) hours of outdoor/mostly sun time and another 12ish hours under lights in a tent. I know you wait for seedling cups to get feather light before first watering. If the sun is drying out the cups instead of the roots, does that change your watering strategy?

I guess on a side note, should I keep seedlings in tents for 12 hours daily and wait until they’re our of their cups and into 1 gallons pots before introducing them to full sun to prevent the sun drying out cups too quickly? Would that solve the vaporation problem (if there is one)? I’d love your thoughts.

Is tent+outdoor a strange strategy? I know people usually grow either in a tent OR outside, but I haven’t run into too many people on the forum that do a hybrid.

Hope you’re doing well! And thank you as always for being so generous with your knowledge and experience!

Hi Will11! I can't see any advantages of using a tent outdoors, but I am sure that you would be able to make it work. Regarding cups of soil out in the direct sun, yes, that might require watering a couple of times a day to keep up with the intense sun. A larger container would seem to solve that problem, at least until the plants got bigger. You have some of the best and brightest sun in the world where you are at, and that certainly needs to be taken into account when devising a method to grow weeds in it, and you are going to have to adjust in ways that an indoor grower would not.