Very interesting thanks for sharing your experience Gonzo. I would be interested the know the following:
1.) Does that mean overwatering is almost impossible then due to the holes?
2.) I would like to know how your watering schedule looks like (quantity, how often) for veg/bloom on a normal rH & temperature so i can get an idea?
3.) You wrote heavy feeding you mean during veg or flowering or both? Also here I would highly appreciate a feeding/water guide for Air Pots...
You add nuts on every single watering or sometimes you just feed plain pH water
1. Not at all. Especially in the beginning, if you dont estimate well and put too much water daily you might finish with 1 l or more excessive water in your pot, what is very much for a little plant. Then you have to wait and in that time outer areas dry too much, but pot is still full of water. For some time at the beginning, evaporation is faster than plant consumption and slowly plant takes over with drinking. I can not say exactly when that happens but I will soon find out. As I said before, I started to weight pots and I am getting more and more clear picture. But whenever you overwater, ther will be some more air available as in ordinary pot and bottom will never be so soaked.
2. In veg daily watering is hard to perform, because there is soon too much water and you have to wait. I use 1/3 - 1/2 l at the beginning, not every day. I follow weight of pots. Later on it is easier, because plants start to drink and water circulates faster. Now my plants at day 51 drink from 0,8 to 1,5 l daily and one at day 39 is approaching 1 l daily. I give them 0,5 l in the morning and then the rest in the evening, when lights are off and I can weight them. Quantity of water depends on pot weight in the evening. This way overall weight of a pot never comes into extremes, they are never too light and never too heavy. That maintains ph and nutrients concentration more even and stable. On the other side, this brings salts that are not flushed with excessive water and must be flushed away some time around day 35 or so.
Airpot with Plagron weights 7,2 kg and is far from dry out of bag so I use this weight as guideline. With time I add some weight that plant might have got (pure guessing) and try to maintain that average, 8 kg, for example. This way a pot weights from 7,5 kg - 8,5 kg and not from 6,5 kg - 9,5 kg as with strong wet-dry cycles. And seems that it makes difference. I think this way of watering brings more even and stable nutrient concentrations, more stable ph level, less dried out roots and that all mean better food availability and more buds.
I feed with basic Advanced Nutrients and add some little calmag later on. Start with 1/4 of recommended dose and go up to 1/2 slowly, never more. I never use plain water except when flushing. Feeding is always the same and doses increase every week in small steps.
3. Heavy feeding during veg is impossible, you just take care that there is enough water and start to feed on time, depending on soil you use, of course. I start at day 10 with Plagron light mix. When plant starts to drink more, somewhere after day 30, it is time to split daily dose into 2.
Some people say that some runoff with every watering prevents salts buildup, I am sure it does, but I have tried both ways many times and frequent watering brings better results. So I think that frequent watering brings more positive than damage. But it makes some damage with salts for sure.
Hope it helps. What I write here works for me and has brought 120-145g per plant so far. I would like to get more, but something should be changed and I do not know what that could be.
Good luck!
