Interested to know if folks use specific patterns or techniques for hand watering plants. Maybe I’m overthinking, but was thinking there may be consideration of whether you water away from, or right at the base of the plant, taking care not to erode or riffle out soil, etc.
I know generally you water plants until “just moistened” and not every day (many say every other day or based on observation) but how much runoff through the pot should be observed? I know there has to be some runoff since sometimes readings are taken of it and for root health.
I rake the soil with my fingers to break surface tension. Spread the ladies out and give each a16oz cup poured almost to the edge of the pot. Continue 1 cup for each plant untill runoff starts. I m currently in promix and feed/h2o. If using living soil etc you may not wish to go to runoff. Currenty watering once every 3 to 4 days.
I also like using the container as a “cup”. Fill container with soil an inch less than full and when you water pour it until container is full. A catch basin under your pot is handy, as watering this quick is not efficient and much will runoff. The basin will make it efficient. Dump any excess water if your plants haven’t used it in 30 minutes.
A better way is to water twice if you have the time. Watering twice all the soil gets wet with no dry pockets.
Once watered, ( once i am finished watering twice) I let the soil dry out before watering again. Soil should be dry about a half inch down, or when the soil begins to pull away from the containers edge. At this time take note of the container weight. Always take note. When you gain experience lifting containers is a great method to judge if water is needed.
go slow like people say. took me a while to figure this one out. but once you feel it …you know it. does not matter solo cup or 3 gal pot. if you get the soil wet it will feel heavy for size. once it starts to dry up the soil gets lighter. you can feel it instead of heavy it will get lighter… time to water. enjoy the grow.
you learn as you grow and go. the wet lift thing really helped me. pick up the pot if that is possible. water is 8 lbs a gallon you can tell by lifting the pot if it has enough water or not. by the same token you do not want get a flooded 20 pound pot either… just like you learned to up the water. once you know you can feel it. " it becomes natural". grow and learn i still do. enjoy the grow.
I rotate from top and bottom feeding. I tend to over water, so the bottom feeding prevents me from drowning them. I try the lift technique but I have noticed sometimes i swear it’s light or heavy, than I check minutes later and I change my mind. I may start weighing them.
Speaking of weighing… It has been my experience, most of the plants I had killed, it had been due to overwatering (at least it is what I’ve observed…).
Now, during veg, things go so much more smoothly it clearly shows I have a long road ahead of me, as far as learning goes. Besides, once in flower, plants need more water, higher maintenance (maybe not!?), etc…
Correct me if I’m wrong, since most of us here, 98 to 99% of times could, most likely would be a bit stoned (more often than not), weighing pots would literally help one not lose track of how much water our plants should be getting… Feeling the weight of pots should be as good as one’s self confidence of being “subjectively” as accurate as when comparing to using scales.
With my 1 gallon soil pots, approximately 500ml/16 to 17oz watering every 3 to 4 days. I haven’t noticed a difference between pouring it all at once vs slowly in increments. The next day, usually, I pour back 100ml to 200ml/1 to 2 oz from what was collected from the previous day (runoff!? Please anyone, if this should be a NO! NO! please let me know, pun intended!!). So far it’s been working out, and I haven’t killed a plant lately, at least inadvertently… Weight of pots says it all, question is, are we aware of, and taking into account most, if not all variables!? Hope it helps!
Hi @Upstate! Not really! I mean it is the actual runoff from the previous 500ml/17 oz. Even about a half hour later, this 100 to 200ml is what comes out from the bottom of the pots! Did I make myself clear!?
I simply pour back on top, at the bottom of the stem. I kinda want to believe there are nutrients being still absorbed from this leftover “seasoned” water.
Thanks!
@Abbbian…Only thing is that every now and again it would be good to toss that water due to potential salt buildup in the root zone…
Good use of resources.
Tons of great advice above, but when you are just getting started it’s useful to have an objective measurement. So try this.
Get one of these silly gizmos as a learning tool. This one purports to measure pH, Light and Moisture. It’s basically useless for all three of those things, but it will accurately detect where the moisture level begins in your pots.
Set it for the moisture reading and then slowly press the sensor rods down into your soil, the meter will jump as soon as dampness is detected. Grab the rods with your thumb at the top of the soil and when you withdraw it you can see pretty exactly where the water level is in your soil.
I like to see a moisture level about halfway down the pot before I water in soil. Then, just enough to create runoff, otherwise you’re just washing out nutes.
I don’t use this much any more because you just “get a feel for it” after awhile, but it can be a great learning tool. Actually just pulled it out to dial in OctoPot watering which is a whole different game.
Hope it helps!
