Help end an argument Ebb&Flow watering

[SpaceNeedle]

Please help end an argument.
I have an ebb & Flow table with 6" netpots filled with 50% vermiculite and 50% Perlite. The plants are vegging 16/8 and are averaging 6-8" tall. The tray fills to about 2" high for 15 minutes at a time.

I have had the tray flooded 3 times every 24 hrs, and my friend thinks thats too much. He says they would grower better/faster if they were allowed to dry out and says MAX should only be once a day. My argument is that when it fills up with water, and then drains, the water is being replaced by oxygen.

Who is right?


SN

SpaceNeedle Reviewed by SpaceNeedle on 08-16-2006. Help end an argument Ebb&Flow watering Please help end an argument. I have an ebb & Flow table with 6" netpots filled with 50% vermiculite and 50% Perlite. The plants are vegging 16/8 and are averaging 6-8" tall. The tray fills to about 2" high for 15 minutes at a time. I have had the tray flooded 3 times every 24 hrs, and my friend thinks thats too much. He says they would grower better/faster if they were allowed to dry out and says MAX should only be once a day. My argument is that when it fills up with water, and then Rating: 5

[latewood]

each grow has it's own characteristics. However, generally you ebb for 15 minutes 2wice a day. vermiculite tends to keep the rootball a little too wet.

V is used for cloning,propagation...etc.
if you were using rockwool then You might only water once, but that would depend on whether or not you are using slabs or blocks backfilled with hydroton or rocks...etc.

With the method you described...2 times a day should be plenty...the point is to allow the roots to get oxygen...thus the need for you to have your medium on the drier side before ebbing again. hope this answers your question and gives you some insight on the subject.

[Buffalo Bill]

You are right, not that your friend is necessarily wrong. I usually water right before lights on, halfway into the lights and then an hour before lights out. I do not water after lights out unless my plants call for it. Watering after lights out just raises the humidity in the garden. Then again, I have had plants that asked to be watered 4 times daily and the timer that I had was a 30 minute timer. I am now a bit more religious having a 15 minute interval timer for water my 2'X4' American Hydroponics Bigfoot table. The drain allows the water to get 3 -3 1/2inches deep as it comes up near the tops of my 4'X4" rockwool cube. I line the table with coco mat to keep the roots from becoming exposed and dried out when they jump out the bottoms of the cubes. They just grow right into and/or through the mat to keep them from being exposed to light.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it!!!!!Best of luck! Take care and be well....