Newbie here - how often do I need to water my 5 gallon pots??

Dammit I deleted the wrong one! You had duplicate threads!

@Suburbandad Welcome to AFN.



What you need to learn about watering will come with practice. Here are the basic rules: Never let the soil dry out. Soil and or coco can become hydrophobic if allowed to dry. This means it repels water. This in turn will create dry pockets in the soil and the roots and microbes will die there. If your soil - coco have accidentally dried out use a surfactant to help re-wet it. I like yucca powder. Don't let soil remain soggy by watering too much too often. Root rot, damping off, molds, fungus gnats and other problems start in soggy soil. When you do water water the entire pot. How to learn when to water starts before you plant the seed. Fill your container with fresh soil/coco and weigh it (heft it) this is the lightest weight and consider it a dry pot. Now slowly water until the soil/coco will no longer absorb the water and run-off begins; weigh the pot (heft it) this is the maximum water, the wettest the pot can get. The difference between wettest and driest is the maximum water weight, for ease of explanation lets just say the water weighs 20 pounds. When the pot loses 10 pounds (half of the water weight) it is time to water again. Slowly wet ALL of the soil until run-off begins. There is an art to watering.

Ok...just looking at them...expect to lose em, hope for the best...about a joint or two......if your set on using the 5 gal buckets for the next run, get a drill with a 2 inch spade bit, drill lots of holes, line the bucket with landscape cloth, or buy fabric bags.....watering is an art that takes time to learn...fabric potys dry out faster and you seem to love watering....( and please, don't take it as being mean and I would love a big F U if you want.......brother been there, done it and just tossing info with no sugar coating) I'm a nut for rooting for the little guy and trying to help them make it ( plants that is) but I would pull em and start over. Learn LITFA....do abit more research ( no more than a week should be good) ask us anything at all.........can you limp them to make something? yes...will it be worth your time and effort?...only you can decide that...but we are here to help...

Yeah, I know I might sound a little harsh....but the name suggests he's a Dad...we are used to harsh realities........good place on the site to hang is Stoner Chat dude...most anytime of day someone is there, from new growers to old breeders.....we are here to help....and please excuse me, a few beers and home life occasionally make my thoughts reality without thinking of others feelings...

Suburbandad said:

I will just keep watering and see what happens. It's not the end of the world here folks

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What kind of lighting are you using?.....they look a little stretched out

I agree with Bill, those plants look rough, sorry bro. Get some cloth pots, new seeds, do a lot more research and get a fresh start.

Good luck!

Suburbandad said:

I will just keep watering and see what happens. It's not the end of the world here folks

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I would just slow up on how often you water, no biggie. I went thru the same thing when I first started growing in containers with soil and was more concerned about under watering rather than over watering, but I learned as I went along.

And you are right it isn't the end of the world, just a learning experience and any day that you don't learn something is a day wasted, or is it a day spent wasted you dont learn something....LOL

Bill.de.Cat said:

Yeah, I know I might sound a little harsh....but the name suggests he's a Dad...we are used to harsh realities........good place on the site to hang is Stoner Chat dude...most anytime of day someone is there, from new growers to old breeders.....we are here to help....and please excuse me, a few beers and home life occasionally make my thoughts reality without thinking of others feelings...

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Feelings shmeelings! We’re here asking for help not compliments.