Watering help "Indoor Grow Soil"

[bcguy01]

I plan on turning a spare room into a grow room and am going with soil for the grow. I will either build a grow box out of 2x8's and plastic wrap or use 5 gallon pots. I want to get the most out of my crop and will be using 3-1000w HPS and 2-120w LEDs. I was wondering how much i should water each plant? I know this is a very noob question but i have done the research for the equipment but dont know much about feeding schedule or watering. Any and all help would be appreciated.:thumbsup:

bcguy01 Reviewed by bcguy01 on 11-11-2010. Watering help "Indoor Grow Soil" I plan on turning a spare room into a grow room and am going with soil for the grow. I will either build a grow box out of 2x8's and plastic wrap or use 5 gallon pots. I want to get the most out of my crop and will be using 3-1000w HPS and 2-120w LEDs. I was wondering how much i should water each plant? I know this is a very noob question but i have done the research for the equipment but dont know much about feeding schedule or watering. Any and all help would be appreciated.:thumbsup: Rating: 5

[canniwhatsis]

Water when the plants need water,.... don't overwater, but don't underwater.

Soil growing is a delicate balance of moisture, tho it's much easier to control than Hydro, the effects are longer lasting and slower responding. Different strains respond differently as well, and may require different feeding. You have to have intimate knowledge of each strain to know what it wants. Keep reading, then when you think your set, READ SOME FUCKIN MORE!!!!!!!!


3240w of power is a LOT of grow, how many plants are you planning on growing? Please, for fucksake Scale back to a single 120wLED vege over 2-3 plants and 1000wHPS bloom before you hack off the full potential of what i'm seeing there.


Get a clue before you dive nutz deep into this. I would really hate for this to be the 2nd log that I follow like a train wreck. (Don't want to watch the disappointment/horror, but cant look away)

[WashougalWonder]

No real idea here on the size of this indoor garden, but if using soil, start with smaller pots and about every 3 weeks repot to larger pots. This allows the roots to utilize the water and nutrients as it grows, but prevents stagnation at the bottom of the pot.

[Slevinkal]

What they said

Also, it may be just me but Ive been putting about and inch worth of vermiculite at the bottom of the pot to help with drainage and keep things from getting soggy.

[TANKJR]

What the C guy said...water when they need it...most plants will tell you when they need water and if your over-watering

1)When the tops look dry and start to droop or fall over, the leaves may begin to curl and soil is dry...water,

2)If leaves begin to yellow, and may start to fall off (and your not into the last few weeks of flowering, and your nutrients are correct), and the soil is moist, stop watering so much!

3)A moisture meter can help "read"...and help you decide when and how much to water. Cheap insurance! <$10 @ any garden store!

4)A growing plants needs will change as it grows, as it gets bigger, it's needs for water and nutrients will change, so there really is no set answer to your question, sry, but no substitute for experience sometimes!

Learn to "read" your plants...they will tell you more than we can!

[bigsby]

Just to repeat - start small and scale up. We see so many of these pie-in-the-sky setup threads most of which come to nothing, often because the noob grower over reaches and then burns out. Do an initial grow for 4 - 6 plants under one light. Get a feel for it, work out the kinks in your setup, learn the growing process, and then scale up. You will save time, money, and headaches. Plus that way you can get a mom garden going. With that kind of space and lighting you should take a close look at hanging your lights vertically. You likely could reduce your HPS to 600w while achieving significantly better results.

[bcguy01]

thanks I think i will start with 6 big bud plants, 2- 120w leds and 1-1000w HPS in soil pots in a sealed room with CO2. I thing I will leave to leds on during bloom along with the 1000w HPS

[Horsemanrocks]

Did I overwaterâ?¦..did I underwater, comes up a lot.

As a beginner hear thisâ?¦..too much water drowns your plant (too little oxygen). With a well drained soil itâ??s very difficult to drown a plant. (over water)

Do your research to construct a well drained mediumâ?¦..itâ??ll save you fear and headaches down the line.

Slev above suggests vermiculiteâ?¦..vermiculite retains moistureâ?¦.perlite lets water passâ?¦..keeps the soil light and promotes drainage. I add a lot of perlite to my soil blends. And havenâ??t ever over watered.

Simply lift the pot w/ both hands to feel itâ??s weightâ?¦..youâ??ll pick it up real fast.

Read, read, read.
HMR

[bigsby]

Have a look at the link in my signature - Instructions for Growin'. There is a lot of useful information there. Below is a snippet about soil that you may find useful.

Sounds like you have reasonable expectations and that you are doing your home work. Keep us posted!
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Soil:
There are a baffling array of soil choices, and some are more appropriate than others. A true soil has a range of ingredients that may include compost, lightener, peat, lime, and even living organisms such as mycorrhizal fungi, among others. Soilless mixes are much simpler in composition and work very well with the chemical fertilizer regimen that many new growers will begin with.

For simplicity, you can use ProMix, Sunshine Mix, John McInnis', or any equivalent soilless mix which contains nothing but PEAT, LIME, and PERLITE. Any time you use a peat-based soil, start in small cups and re-pot frequently, letting no plant sit in the same pot more than 6 weeks. This soil is also fine for seedlings. The commercial seedling mix I like, Faffards Seedling Starter, is almost identical to ProMix but has a finer texture and a bit of vermiculite added to it as well. Read the links below for more info, ESPECIALLY if you plan a soilless grow.

If you want a true soil, you have the option of assembling one yourself. For general use on plants from about week 3 to harvest, the soil that I think is the simplest to make is based upon the Agway 'manure and humus' product. The composted humus is the #1 most important ingredient in this mix, and will buffer your soil pH, while providing nutrition for your plants. It's $2.50 for a 40 lb bag. One of these bags, mixed to a total ratio of 2:1 soil : perlite (approximately a regular-sized bag of perlite also from Agway), will give you plenty of light, rich medium that will not interfere with your fertilizer regime the way a pre-fertilized soil such as Miracle Gro will. This compost mix is also already pH balanced for cannabis, and buffered around 6.8, ideal for your vegging and flowering plants. You can substitute other bagged compost, such as seaweed compost, if the pH is correct (it should come in at 6.9 or so) but don't use straight composted manure. It has too high a level of nutrients in it. Also avoid starting seedlings in pre-fertilized bagged grow media such as Fox Farms Ocean Forest. It has a lot of fertilizer in it and is better for later, when the plants are big and strong. Re-using soil is not recommended since pests and eggs and salts from your previous grow can harm future plants. Your garden plants will LOVE it though!

Fertilizer:
For fertilizer, you have a lot of choices, but the ones I have really been impressed by are the Botanicare PureBlend Pro line and the Canna line. PureBlend is not OMRI listed organic, but is so heavily organic that you really can consider it the same deal. The 'Grow' formula is fantastic, and you will find it tough to make mistakes. Canna is also not OMRI certified but carries the European organic certification and is an amazing product. They even make a living soil that smells like rich warm earth and grows spectacularly happy plants.

Supplements:
There are scores of supplements on the market, and these should be used with caution. The safest are carb boosters such as Sweet, and unsulfured molasses. The most dangerous are the super bloom high Phosphorous products, and hormone products, which, while they can improve yield with proper use, can also burn your plants if overapplied, or used when there is already excessive fertilizer in the soil. I generally think people should avoid these until they have made it through a couple good harvests, as you will have more than enough yield already for personal use. The combination of a low dose of molasses plus Sweet or TopMax (an OMRI listed carb synthesizer), though, is a real winner. Increased available carbon to the plant stimulates the production of resins and terpenes, allowing the plant to produce both medicinal and aromatic compounds to its genetic potential.

[WashougalWonder]

thanks I think i will start with 6 big bud plants, 2- 120w leds and 1-1000w HPS in soil pots in a sealed room with CO2. I thing I will leave to leds on during bloom along with the 1000w HPS

Sealed is bad. They need fresh air too. forget theCO2 complication of having to shut off the vent system, add CO2, restart the vent system...see..not so easy.