"about 2 cups of plain water poured slowly in a circle about 3-4" from the stem" ... The idea is to pour the water slowly in a circle around the plant so that the water has an opportunity to sink deep into the pot ... the bottom of your tap root should be at least 6-8" deep by this point ... if you sprayed 2 cups of water on the surface of the pot, the water probably didn't reach any deeper than an inch or so ... this trains the roots to stay shallow and results in a smaller plant ... If you sprayed the water on you'll want to water again today, this time w/ 2 cups of plain water (not ph'd) poured slowly around the plant so that the water can sink deep into the pot .... this trains the tap root to grow down ... then you'll train the roots to grow out after they are trained to grow deep on their quest for water ... alternatively you could pour the water 1/2 cup at a time onto 4 spots 3-4" from the stem ... this should allow the water to sink fairly deep before it begins to spread out ... too early to saturate the pot because that will slow / halt the growth of your roots and possibly kill your plant ... using the red cup to protect the seedling and act as a distance measure is a good idea ... I try to keep the top of the soil in the area around the stem dry to avoid damping off ...
