I'm dying to water them!

[Sprite]

Here's the weirdest part--I did go ahead and water them the other day. Then, the very next day, they were drier than before I had watered them. I think I am going to drill some extra holes in the sides of the bottom 1/3rd or so of the buckets to make sure the water isn't just sitting in there.

[Ocotillo]

Are you sure the water really soaked in and did not just run through the side? When I water I really soak them or I don't water yet at all. Some may call me a radical, but when I water I like to fill the pot and then flex the pot to loosen up the soil. I give it another soaking or two again. That is just my own theory so please take with a grain of salt.

Yes, when a small plant is in a big pot it'll need less watering. In this case you can not go by the pot weight alone. You'll have to also do the top test by poking your finger in the first inch or two of soil to check moisture. Your soil probe meter thing will do that too. This is where one may want to "half water" and try to just give a "medium" amount just at the plant. I stopped doing that, now I water or I don't.

If after a week I'd probably be watering anyway. I've gotten so I usually take the first drain water and check not only pH but also ppm/EC. Before getting a ppm meter I must have been in a constant lock out crisis and didn't even know it! Trust your instincts on not using nutes if they are not asking for feeding. Scott's soil is same as Miracle grow soil company, yes? It's probably fairly nut-ed already and probably why you've found not much need yet. Sounds like you're right on track! :thumbsup:

Rep added, friend request sent! A+++
GodSpeed, Doc Oc.

Here's the weirdest part--I did go ahead and water them the other day. Then, the very next day, they were drier than before I had watered them.

[Sprite]

Well, I haven't had even a drop of water run out the bottom. So....I don't know. I don't water much--maybe a 1/2 gallon each plant twice a week now. They don't even seem to use all of that. Mostly just using the water a a vehicle for their fertilizers. I've read that AK-47 doesn't take much water. I'll be interested to see the difference when I get a chance to grow some other strains.

Oh also, I drilled some more holes around the bottom of the buckets. They look like swiss cheese, but I know they aren't sitting in a swamp at least.

P.S. Thanks for the rep and compliments. I'm having a blast!