Indoor Airpots & Watering -- How do you water your airpots ?

[Smokey]

Hey Guyz,

quick question about everyone using Airpots..... I water by Hand

Basicaly i having trouble keeping the soil wet enough for the plants...
Ofcourse when their young it is easier but at just over 5 wks my technique not working so good anymore :Stones slap:

I though my plants were using about 1Ltr water a day but have now discovered my soil fairly dry... :no:



basicaly i used to water in 1 go -- depending on how much water they need..
Example : 500Ml and waited 10 min +500Ml and so on but came to the conclusion it not keeping the soil wet enough...

What i notice happens, the water hasnt got enough time to spread and wet the soil and gravity pulls in down and out of the pot... end result dry pockets and uneven moisture....

I am considering now to water in the morning and then again in the evening...

Example : 800ml Morning & 800Ml evening
(This is based on my plants current water consumtion ofcourse)

The guys at Yaroots on their website recommend a dripper system for best moisture spread throughout soil but it be my last resort cause then i might aswell go hydro...

Any help much appreciated.... :tiphat:

 

[CB420]

Hey Guyz,

quick question about everyone using Airpots..... I water by Hand

Basicaly i having trouble keeping the soil wet enough for the plants...
Ofcourse when their young it is easier but at just over 5 wks my technique not working so good anymore :Stones slap:

I though my plants were using about 1Ltr water a day but have now discovered my soil fairly dry... :no:



basicaly i used to water in 1 go -- depending on how much water they need..
Example : 500Ml and waited 10 min +500Ml and so on but came to the conclusion it not keeping the soil wet enough...

What i notice happens, the water hasnt got enough time to spread and wet the soil and gravity pulls in down and out of the pot... end result dry pockets and uneven moisture....

I am considering now to water in the morning and then again in the evening...

Example : 800ml Morning & 800Ml evening
(This is based on my plants current water consumtion ofcourse)

The guys at Yaroots on their website recommend a dripper system for best moisture spread throughout soil but it be my last resort cause then i might aswell go hydro...

Any help much appreciated.... :tiphat:

new to the air pots. i saw this lady named missisturd use them well so i tried them and i love them. they do dry up a bit faster and i am cool with that. i water with a sprinkling can and i have no trouble. maybe try the can or next run use a 50% mix on perlite if you dont use a ton already as this helps with the late stage compaction for sure.......hope that helps as the airpot are great on my sour spyders.......cb420

 

[CB420]

that being said, i find my self watering everyday and thats a huge change from every 3 days with 4 gallon pots and i have 7 gal smart pots. so i see the issue but slow watering with a can gets it done bro

 

[N.W.]

Ive been use Airpots for more than 3 years now.... Good tip is... Rake the soil from around the plant to make a well in the soil(you dont need to go too deep)and bank it up on the sides....
I fill the hollow with water and move on to the next pot... Then refill first pot again, i keep repeating this until i get a good run-off from the bottom of the pot..... :smokebuds:

 

[CB420]

now lets get that bald cat watered....lol. slow is the key it seems, my way is slow and steady and his is slow and ....well....steady too....lol i actually water for a pitcher too when i want my plants to get clean water and i have the same thing going on n.w does, but i think my soil just did that on its own , but i do often scratch up the surface to keep compaction down....cb420

and worth saying that i never really water all at one time. i like to watch it sink into the soil evenly so i just do a little at a time also, no matter what container i use to hold water or soil, for that matter.........hope this all helps. i realize i have been posting on my threads so much that i have not got out to help in a while........so hope it does.....cb420

 

[Smokey]

now lets get that bald cat watered....lol. slow is the key it seems, my way is slow and steady and his is slow and ....well....steady too....lol i actually water for a pitcher too when i want my plants to get clean water and i have the same thing going on n.w does, but i think my soil just did that on its own , but i do often scratch up the surface to keep compaction down....cb420

and worth saying that i never really water all at one time. i like to watch it sink into the soil evenly so i just do a little at a time also, no matter what container i use to hold water or soil, for that matter.........hope this all helps. i realize i have been posting on my threads so much that i have not got out to help in a while........so hope it does.....cb420

Hey CB420,

thank a mill for all your intput & wisdom -- slow and steady does seem to win the race with airpots - I looked at scraping the top layer soil but noticed the roots have spread to the very top of the soil now -- i can just imagine what they like inside the pot... I use a measuring jug for watering so I know how much water exactly each plant is getting .....

I seem to be getting there tho with my new method, water once in morning and then in evening --- it seems to be doing the trick -- i might look into adding more perlite -- i am sure there are some benefits to be had...

 

[Smokey]

Ive been use Airpots for more than 3 years now.... Good tip is... Rake the soil from around the plant to make a well in the soil(you dont need to go too deep)and bank it up on the sides....
I fill the hollow with water and move on to the next pot... Then refill first pot again, i keep repeating this until i get a good run-off from the bottom of the pot..... :smokebuds:

Hey NW's,

cheers for your reply, I def would agree the bowl effect helps from the water running right out of the side, I usually create this effect right from the beginning when i fill the post and water the first time, once the pot/soil settles the bowl effect seems remain for the whole grow ...

I try to have as litlle run off as possible, just due for the fact that biobizz said with run off i wash out friendly soil bacteria which is essential to keep soil healthy -- so runoff is a no go for me... :no:

 

[Loud Pipes]

Good info here. I had some of the same concerns. According to the tracking # I'm supposed to get my first airpot on Monday. My question is about preparing the soil in the pot before planting. On the pots I use now I usually fill the pot about a quarter of the way and the add water with a sprinkler can then add some more soil and again water until the pot is full. Then I let it sit for a few days before adding the plant. Would this be ok for air pots? The you tube vids say the compost has to be compacted to fill all the cones so I'm going to up my perlite percentage. I always water very slowly anyway so that part doesn't bother me. Just wondering about the first time prep

 

[Smokey]

Hey there Pipes,

your prep sounds pretty much like mine with the following exceptions below.....

With airpots how i usually fill the soil to ensure i dont over compact it....

Take a handful soil and squeeze it against the walls and work your way around.. you notice the soil will fill holes and kind of stick to the walls and it can be done in circular motion upwards -- when you about 1/3 up fill the middle as normal and continue the process....

About 1st watering i normally use the hand pressure sprayer, it creates a fine mist and initial soil absorption is much better as it breaks the water tension, my pots when filled with soil take about 3 ltr water -- so i take my sprayer , spray soil 1 ltr water , let settle for 15-2 min and give next ltr and so on....

 

[CB420]

and for the next cat skinning....ok i do this guys. i fill it with my soil very dry and loose and by the way my mix is 50% perlite. the root explode thru it, but back to the pot. i fill it with dry mix all the way to they top, and then i pick it up and bounce it on the ground to shake the soil into the egg carten looking sides and then i top off the pot and do it again. when it is full i water it with my can and 2 gallons of water with molasses in it. then i let it dry out one time, or close but not to kill my bacteria i grew with the molasses. hope it helps again guys. i like how these and all pots fill with dry soil. you cant over pack it when its dry i promise. and roots love unpacked soiless medias..... when it is watered it will always drop more and need topped of, but i dont till i plant the plant .......cb420