Any tips on getting soil to dry?

[keithxs]

Hi all, this is my 4th grow and this time around I decided to not be as easy on the nutes and watering. I have had no problems in the past, but feel I have only got to use little amounts of nutrients. I want more density and just better bud in general.

This time I transplanted after 3 weeks into a 4-5 gallon square container. I gave it 1 gallon of water w/ 1tsp of Grow Big. No burns or anything, but it has been 8 days and the soil below the surface is still wet. The plant is growing great, but since it is an autoflower I have even less time to give nutrients. At this rate I will only be able to water it 5 more times (2 of the 5 should be flushing). I had 5 - 3/8" drainage holes in the bottom, but today I put about 20 more 1/8" holes around the side near the bottom. My last plant I watered too soon and it developed a mold, but that was taken care of with peroxide and water. Still don't want that to happen again.

The humidity is about 30% and temps range from 75-84 degrees. HPS 150watt. Intake and outtake fan, plus one inside to move air around.

I would still like to give it gravity (3 weeks after beginning blooom?) Also would like to give molasses, snowstorm & Big Bloom. Is it okay to mix all these items together (less strength on Big Bloom)?

Open to any suggestions/opinions.

keithxs Reviewed by keithxs on 04-24-2011. Any tips on getting soil to dry? Hi all, this is my 4th grow and this time around I decided to not be as easy on the nutes and watering. I have had no problems in the past, but feel I have only got to use little amounts of nutrients. I want more density and just better bud in general. This time I transplanted after 3 weeks into a 4-5 gallon square container. I gave it 1 gallon of water w/ 1tsp of Grow Big. No burns or anything, but it has been 8 days and the soil below the surface is still wet. The plant is growing great, Rating: 5

[StoneMeadow]

I am still a total newbie at growing medijuana, being on my very first grow, but I do have many years (decades) of experience growing fruits and veggies indoors and out, so maybe I can offer a few thoughts. First, let me put a plug in here for my grow thread, which has a link in my sig. All the details are in there, so I won't repeat them here unless I need to. In any case, here goes...

I water a small amount of water with nutes every day. Overwatering plants is the commonest mistake nearly every new indoor grower makes. IMO one does not need to give a gallon of water to plants in a 4 gal container. I give my plants about a cup of water every day, and the dirt in the container always looks dried, yet my plants are thriving as you can see in the photos. If I detect some kind of problem (I haven't so far...knock on wood), I can change the nutes or ph or whatever the next day...or even that very day! Anyway, take a quick look through my thread and feel free to ask any questions you may have. Thanks and good luck!

[lbezphil2005]

Hi all, this is my 4th grow and this time around I decided to not be as easy on the nutes and watering. I have had no problems in the past, but feel I have only got to use little amounts of nutrients. I want more density and just better bud in general.

This time I transplanted after 3 weeks into a 4-5 gallon square container. I gave it 1 gallon of water w/ 1tsp of Grow Big. No burns or anything, but it has been 8 days and the soil below the surface is still wet. The plant is growing great, but since it is an autoflower I have even less time to give nutrients. At this rate I will only be able to water it 5 more times (2 of the 5 should be flushing). I had 5 - 3/8" drainage holes in the bottom, but today I put about 20 more 1/8" holes around the side near the bottom. My last plant I watered too soon and it developed a mold, but that was taken care of with peroxide and water. Still don't want that to happen again.

The humidity is about 30% and temps range from 75-84 degrees. HPS 150watt. Intake and outtake fan, plus one inside to move air around.

I would still like to give it gravity (3 weeks after beginning blooom?) Also would like to give molasses, snowstorm & Big Bloom. Is it okay to mix all these items together (less strength on Big Bloom)?

Open to any suggestions/opinions.

I am still a total newbie at growing medijuana, being on my very first grow, but I do have many years (decades) of experience growing fruits and veggies indoors and out, so maybe I can offer a few thoughts. First, let me put a plug in here for my grow thread, which has a link in my sig. All the details are in there, so I won't repeat them here unless I need to. In any case, here goes...

I water a small amount of water with nutes every day. Overwatering plants is the commonest mistake nearly every new indoor grower makes. IMO one does not need to give a gallon of water to plants in a 4 gal container. I give my plants about a cup of water every day, and the dirt in the container always looks dried, yet my plants are thriving as you can see in the photos. If I detect some kind of problem (I haven't so far...knock on wood), I can change the nutes or ph or whatever the next day...or even that very day! Anyway, take a quick look through my thread and feel free to ask any questions you may have. Thanks and good luck!

Get some different pots, drill some big holes in it all over like swiss cheese, then line the inside with landscaping fabric, will help o2 get to the soil faster, better transpiration. Stonemeadow, your roots are not developing and soon you will start showing signs of it. better to water the whole pot, and water less often, than to water like you are doing, it doesn't allow for the full development of the roots, and it stays too wet near the main taproot, it doesn't have to search for water so there is very little growth there. The bigger your plants get the bigger the root system needs to be, for safetys sake. I water my seedlings maybe every 3 days, but they are in "rooting cups", holes drilled like swiss cheese in one cup inserted into another cup. water like that to runoff, then remove the container cup to let the air naturally dry the soil, in a week you will have great roots ready to transplant to bigger pots. I water now every 5-6 days, approx. 20 percent runoff, helps carry leftover salts, etc. out of the soil, in anywhere from 2 to 5 gal nursery pots with 2 1/4 inch holes drilled all over the place, top to bottom. You get nice, healthy vigorous plants this way that respond well to just about anything you can throw at it. I may be a noob to this forum, but I've been around a lot and made my fair share of errors. the worst thing you can do to your plant is water too much, affects every aspect of your grow.

[Treez81]

The soil dries as the plant uses the water. This is what happens when u put a small plant in a large container. It roots have not reached out to the water yet. If.it does not kick in gear then u could have problems once the roots get to the old water.

[evertking]

I have been using smart pots and the soil seems to dry quicker.. which means more waterings..more feedings.