New Grower Watering..... oh no!

[Bandit]

Hello everyone!

I am currently on my first cannabis grow and so far things are going fairly well.
The thing that I am having the most trouble with is watering. I am not sure how often to do it. Well, let me rephrase that. I know that you should wait for the soil to be fairly dry before watering again. But just how dry. I have not allowed my plants to completely dry out. The soil 3" down is just barely damp, 2" down bone dry. Is now a good time to water? If so, how much? Do I water sparingly, or do I saturate until water is flowing from the drain holes?

Is is better to water small amounts frequently keeping the soil slightly damp constantly, or saturate and allow to dry...repeat?


Sorry for the rant, just need some advice!

Thanks

~bandit

 

[AndyBotwin]

No worries, Bandit. Watering is one of the toughest things to grasp as a new grower. I've found that cannabis really likes wet/dry cycles, and the roots seem to do better when they're seeking out moisture instead of always staying damp. If your pot is dry 3" down (assuming it's not something big like 5 gal), you could probably go ahead with a watering. Before you do it, spend some time picking up the dry pot and gauging the weight. Then water until you have around 10% runoff - now's a good time to test pH of that runoff. Spend some more time lifting the pot after watering to get a feel for how much heavier it is. I've gotten to the point that I can lift a pot a couple inches off the ground and know just how long until it needs water. Much easier than fingers in the soil.

 

[Bandit]

Thanks AndyBotwin!


Now for another question.

Can I use well water if I do not have any RO DI water at the moment?

Thanks

~bandit

 

[AndyBotwin]

Thanks AndyBotwin!


Now for another question.

Can I use well water if I do not have any RO DI water at the moment?

Thanks

~bandit

Well water is fine, but do you know the pH? If it's really high or low you need to account for that. An electronic meter is best, but even a quick test with one of the cheapo aquarium kits would give you a ballpark of where you are. My first grow I didn't worry about pH until I got major lockout issues around a month in. That stunted the plants and cost me quite a bit of yield.

 

[SmashedbyHashish]

hey Bandit, if your water has a softener hooked up you won't want to use it due to the salt. also a ppm meter is helpful for gauging part per mil. to much cal, sulf, iron...etc will/can cause problems.

 

[namvet]

I use well water,but the ph is almost eight.I use ph down to correct it.

 

[Muddy]

The weight method Andy described is the best way. Also, if your pots have big enough holes in the bottoms you can stick a finger in one of those and feel the moisture in the bottom of the pots. If it stills feels damp, they don't need water yet.

 

[Bandit]

Thanks for all the advice guys!

The girls drank up last night, and boy do they look good today.

~bandit