water will not absorb out of catch tray!

[cjen34]

why will my catch tray not absorb the excess water?

I can't get any three of my pots.

they just sit in the drained water, why is this?
i've let them sit for 2 to 3 days at a time also.

thanks, if anybody can help!

and attached is a picture of my three babies, if anyone can help as to any problems they see.

would be greatly appreciated!

cjen34 Reviewed by cjen34 on 03-17-2010. water will not absorb out of catch tray! why will my catch tray not absorb the excess water? I can't get any three of my pots. they just sit in the drained water, why is this? i've let them sit for 2 to 3 days at a time also. thanks, if anybody can help! and attached is a picture of my three babies, if anyone can help as to any problems they see. Rating: 5

[superskunk1]

Im assuming you mean everytime you water or flush there is no run-off and all the water stays in the pot?
If so im sure there are a good amount of drainage holes in the pots.
Also how much pearlite is in that mix? i use a 50/50 mix with pro-miix.
What is the size of the pots and how much water do you give them?

[cjen34]

no. i mean.

my pot are 4 or 5 gallon pots.
final transplant.

and i give them two waterings, 30 minutes apart.
of 1.75 liters a water, with ph set at 6.8.

and i mean.

when i water, the water drains into the catch trey.

and won't absorb back up into the medium in the pot.

or is it not suppose to.
i'm confused.

[Vancefish]

Personally I've only been watering once the soil has started to kinda separate from the edge of the pot, then if I stick a finger in there an inch or so(kinda dig a little). If it's damp an inch down I wait until tomorrow to water.

When I do water, I water just enough to have a small amount drain out the bottom. I'm currently running around 4 gallon pots(they were cheap). I water around three beer pitchers (the old skinny at the bottom kind) every second-third day, now that I'm flowering. Only now that they are so huge, and absorb SO much, have I watered enough to have any sit in the tray.

I'm using Fox farms Ocean mix with about 20% perlite.

I've never judged how much to water by any measurement either. I mix more then I need, then add a pitcher to one plant, then the other, Then back to the first and so on. Until I see some drain out. Then I add a tiny bit more. Maybe 12 oz? I've always assumed a portion of this just evaporated.

Give us more information for a diagnosis. What are your lights? What type of soil are you using? Are you using nutrients(nutes)? If so, what and how much?

Hope I helped. Your plants don't look bad though! One is a bit droopy but still looks good.

Here's mine last Saturday, looked like your early January, but I LST'd it.:thumbsup:

[DreadedHermie]

Damn, Vancefish. That's a nice looking plant. :thumbsup:

cjen34, are you talking about the "built-in saucers" on those plastic pots? Aha, I thought so!

Rip those suckers right off. They're detachable.

You want no standing water anywhere around your garden, including run-off trays, saucers, etc. Everything dry and clean. To answer your question, you do not want that stale runoff getting sucked back into your grow medium, either.

Lotsa folks water in the bathtub, or some other container to catch the runoff. (If you test this runoff for pH and ppm, you likely can adjust it for use on your vegetable garden, lawn, etc.-- but don't try to feed it to your cannabis twice.)

After watering, wait till your pots pretty much quit dripping before you set them back on a saucer. Make sure whatever holes are in the bottom of your pots will still drain when the pots are sitting flat, or else add some new ones that will. HTH, Hermie

P. S. I'd recommend a lower pH, too, but nobody asked...

[DreadedHermie]

my pot are 4 or 5 gallon pots.

It's kinda hard to judge, but those pots in the pictures don't look that big. You sure about their size?

[Rusty Trichome]

Add a 1/2 teaspoon of non-antibiotic dishsoap (antibiotic type will kill the beneficial bacteria in the soil) per gallon of water. The dishsoap acts as a surfactant, (lowers surface tension) and allows for easier absorption into the media. One 'dishsoaping' when watering the same way you have been, (slowly) should be all that is necessary. Don't overdo it. No repeated applications should be necessary.

Gently squeezing the opposing sides of the pots when watering (while waiting for it to absorb) changes the 'channeling' of the water through the medium, hopefully allowing the water to better absorb.

Is this used soil or fresh? This shouldn't be happening unless soil is kinda old or crusty.

Do not leave water sitting in the drip pan in hopes it will re-absorb. Rroot rot will set in.

[cjen34]

:stoned:

Give us more information for a diagnosis. What are your lights? What type of soil are you using? Are you using nutrients(nutes)? If so, what and how much?

cheers to all. I appreciate the feedback.

and my lights, are, one 65 Watt cfl corralreef light, with a blue acetinic? spectrum light. It's a 50-50 light, one puts out 10,000 K's and one side is the blue acetinic. 109.00 light, that I got for 9.99, sale at petco! haha.
and about 8 other CFL's all screwed to a 3 pieces of wood, that are connected by the flimsy door brackets, and connected into 4 sets of flood light sockets, screwed into the boards...the female piece is cut off of the extension cord, and ran into the flood lights, where the CFLs go. You can see a picture of the same set up in Seemore Buds Book "More Buds for Less".

About to get a digital ballast with a 600 W HPS. Or MH. Idk what you all prefer.

The boards that hold my lights look something like.

_
/ \....with the lights underneath it.

I'm using Miracle Grow Soil with Moisture Control. Feeds up to 9 months.

Now, I KNOW that MG products are fucking shitty. But there is no fox farms ocean mix where i'm from...and it sucks. But I currently have a buddy at my local nursery...that is getting me some soil he said will be perfect for my uhhh, "current situation." ha. :stoned:

and for nutrients, yet again, due to limitations, i'm using African Violet....11-40-20....at 1/4 strength right now.

Plants just showed signs of sex, both females ! with pistils shining out the tops.

Cheers!

[cjen34]

DreadHermie: They are in 4-5 gallon pots, you are looking at the plants right before they were transplanted a few days after.

and

RustyTrichrome: Why dish soap, if i may ask?

[Rusty Trichome]

and i mean.

when i water, the water drains into the catch trey.

If lack of absorption is an issue (if the medium is getting old and not absorbing like it used to) non-antibacterial dishsoap helps the water absorb into the meduium, instead of draining out so quickly. Tiz an old trick of the trade, so to speak.

If the medium is rejecting the water, it's usually either old soil, or overwatering. If it's from overwatering, don't use the dishsoap.

Miracle Grow has the same learning curve as any other soil or medium. The problems with MG are not because it's a bad product, it's the growers inability to adjust that gives it a bad rap. Tiz better than any soil offered by WalMart.