Watering

[VAHomegrown]

What are you all shooting for when watering in living soil? Do you water until you get just a small amount of run off, or do you water until you get 1/3 volume of run off like traditional soil +nute growers? I personally just wait until I get a small amount of run off, maybe 10% and let them sit in for an hour or so to absorb it. My Gnats are few and far between now that I water with less volume as well. I'm interested to hear your methods.

 

[TerpyTyrone]

What are you all shooting for when watering in living soil? Do you water until you get just a small amount of run off, or do you water until you get 1/3 volume of run off like traditional soil +nute growers? I personally just wait until I get a small amount of run off, maybe 10% and let them sit in for an hour or so to absorb it. My Gnats are few and far between now that I water with less volume as well. I'm interested to hear your methods.

I struggled with this as well. I had to train myself to water less.
I also have to lift the pot in order to ensure dry time in between waterings.

 

[Ramjet159]

I water till I get just a very slight run off and don’t raise my pot in my pan , I just let the pot sit flush in the bottom and it adsorbs whatever it wants which is usually 100mils or less back into the soil . I use a moisture testing probe to give me a consistent idea and lift the pots as already mentioned .
Never had an issue related to watering that I’m aware of besides my first couple grows where I overwatered like most rookies do .
My mindset is why create more run off and drain more nutrients from the soil than you need ??‍♂️
Had no PH issues either which apparently in soil with its natural buffer isn’t as big a deal .

 

[JL2G]

What are you all shooting for when watering in living soil? Do you water until you get just a small amount of run off, or do you water until you get 1/3 volume of run off like traditional soil +nute growers? I personally just wait until I get a small amount of run off, maybe 10% and let them sit in for an hour or so to absorb it. My Gnats are few and far between now that I water with less volume as well. I'm interested to hear your methods.

All organic living soil here, water only grows, no mixing shit except dirt.
Here's my MO
I'll always go by pot weight, feel it by hand for how thirsty they are. Never letting them dry out. Rarely do I get any runoff, once in awhile they'll get some, but not often.
I do water every day about a half gallon per plant in flower.
Veg gets the same, just less, seedlings just get a light spray with water to keep the topsoil from drying out.

 

[Psychobilly]

The first year I grew, I gave my Blue Cheese clone like 5 gallons of water a day.... and it still produced and didn't die.... I'd say "let that sink in" but, you know, puns lol.... I only lost like two buds to bud rot too but that's just because Blue Cheese is incredibly amazing even when being tended too with incompetence.

Now though?

I don't like runoff myself, and what I have been doing is simply pouring water in until it pools on top of the soil, and then I watch to see how quickly the soil absorbs the water and go from there; if it goes right down, I come back to it and give it extra, and if it sits on the soil a bit, i6 generally don't. I watch the water on the soil though, and sometimes dig my fingers into the top layer top check how dry it is.

For seedlings I don't water much at all since they're tiny, so I just make sure they don't dry out.

When my plants get too tall to see the tops though, they can easily slam down 2 gallons a day, so it depends on conditions too.

 

[Rozgreenburn]

Minimum run off to none at all. When I grew in coco, I'd let 20% run off.

 

[Trichitect]

In my 15 gal living soil pots I water 1 gal per pot every 3rd day, zero runoff. I usually water 2 to 3 times on watering day, 1/3 in morning, 1/3 at noon, 1/3 at night. That let's it soak in much better. I also have my fabric pots wrapped with shrinkwrap & I use a piece foil-faced bubblewrap as a soil cover to prevent rapid moisture loss.

 

[TerpyTyrone]

In my 15 gal living soil pots I water 1 gal per pot every 3rd day, zero runoff. I usually water 2 to 3 times on watering day, 1/3 in morning, 1/3 at noon, 1/3 at night. That let's it soak in much better. I also have my fabric pots wrapped with shrinkwrap & I use a piece foil-faced bubblewrap as a soil cover to prevent rapid moisture loss.

No offense, that seems like alot of work... Why not just use plastic pots?

 

[Hawkman]

Some plants are heavy drinkers so to say -- years ago when Green House Seed published growing information on each strain - they do a 5-7 day dry period during grow - 7 days is too long but a 3 day dry period work very well , kind of stressing plant but worth in the end ; then again after a month or so one can figure out what each plant needs in relation to H20 WHEN YOU FEEL YOU OVERWATERED DO DRY PERIODS and then start from scratch so-to-say and water 1x a day -- watering does depend on growing enviromenal issues (ventilation, temps, ect)

 

[Trichitect]

@TerpyTyrone , the 15 gal fabric pots are cheap, perfect dimensions, accessible, and fold up nicely when not in use. There's also the air-pruning benefit, no circling roots. Watering is definitely a lot of work, but only because I'm a perfectionist about it. I'm thinking about trying out Blumats to alleviate some of the hassle and for when I'm away. Anyone using Blumats?

 

[Hawkman]

@TerpyTyrone , the 15 gal fabric pots are cheap, perfect dimensions, accessible, and fold up nicely when not in use. There's also the air-pruning benefit, no circling roots. Watering is definitely a lot of work, but only because I'm a perfectionist about it. I'm thinking about trying out Blumats to alleviate some of the hassle and for when I'm away. Anyone using Blumats?

FYI - if one used Air-pots due to their make-up reguire a heads-up when it comes to wattering --@Trichitect thoughts on the best fabric pots ? I used them once with didn't like run-off on the fabric - thinking this will cause plant issues (mold, root rot, ect)

 

[Psychobilly]

I used fabric pots last season for some Blue Cheese clones, and I think a Strawberry Diesel clone; Honestly they dry out very well and though I did see water coming through the sides, it was pretty easy to deal with; Just gave those some water, and once the soil was moist, add the nutrient mix in and it absorbs pretty well. The roots were able to literally make their way through the bottom of the pots, which I discovered when I went to move one and heard a Velcro like noise LOL. They were fine though. It's actually pretty ideal for a strain that likes it a little dry.