If you choose to have lava rock in the bottom of your plants how do you water from underneath?I also heard just misting the tops and watering from underneath is a good method...
Thanks....groovy brothers and sisters...
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If you choose to have lava rock in the bottom of your plants how do you water from underneath?I also heard just misting the tops and watering from underneath is a good method...
Thanks....groovy brothers and sisters...
Hi Starchild....
I am imagining a grow container with lava rocks at the bottom and then soil on top....
is this correct?
If so.. and you wish to water from the bottom...
You can fill a bucket up with 1 gallon of water.. this bucket will need to be slightly bigger than your grow container..
Then put your grow container in the bucket.. hopefuully it will be the perfect size and the water will come up 3-6 inches from the top of the bucket (without overflowing)
Leave your plant/pot in the bucket for 30-60 minutes...
When you return the water should all be gone!! Absorbed into your POT!!
: )
Just have your plant container sitting on top of a water collection plate.
In watering the plant from the bottom, you need a lot of patience. The lava rock will quickly absorb much of the water, but it takes a while for the soil to absorb the water from the rocks.
Also, you should only do this in 12 quart or larger containers as the roots will indeed grow under and around the rocks. Give them room in the soil.
You will need to water much more frequently using this method as well. For this to work, you do not want to let the rocks dry out, as this will also dry out the roots that take over the base of lava rock.
Also water temp is VERY important here, lest you give your roots a shock of cold water...warm water is best.
Nutes are another issue. Be very careful not to burn the roots with this watering technique. Remember, this method removes the protection of the soil base in buffering any dangerous counts of nutes.
Watering from the bottom is very effective and usefull but it takes a lot more attention in time than topside watering.
Finally, when watering from the bottom, never let the water level get above the top level of rock. At this point you will be saturating the soil. One of the benefits to lava rock is the mineral content. (red rock only)...
When water is above the rock line, there is less mineral transport available to the soil. Keep the bottom moist at all times. Once you see it completely dry, get some water in there.
Once in a while, its good to also water from the topsides. Especially when nuting.
HARD
Starchild...
What I do, Is water from the TOP... thoroughly...a little less than 1 gallon of water per plant in 3 gallon dirt container.... (3.5 quarts)
I have trays under the plants that allow all the water to be caught..
I just leave the water in the catch trays. In 30-40 minutes the plants have completely absorbed all the water. The plants require watering about every 5-10 days. They never get root bound and when I take the dirt out of the container the roots are evenly dispursed throughout the entire container from top to bottom.
I use 1/2 inch of perlite at the bottom of the pots for drainage.
: )
Hi HARDON
generally, it is not a good idea to water from the bottom with cannabis ... it prefers a well-drained loose soil ... the rocks in the bottom of the pot are good for providing drainage, but I would water from the top, allowing for pot to dry out well, between waterings ... just my 2cents :smokin:
uh oh...
now you did it!!!
where's H? Is he back from Rome?