Thanks, UB, for this awesome post and the thread that follows. Less really is more... I'm in my first grow, but I've been gardening avidly for 15 years. When I started growing weed, I tossed out everything I knew for "the mystique and voodoo" you mention. Well, just for a couple weeks -- I quickly pulled my head out, shook off the fog and said "it's just a damn plant, man!", and my plants are kickin' ass now. They're starting to freak me out with how much space they're filling.

Just a couple little things to add:

1) People either don't know or forget that plants are water pumps. So, the bigger/smaller the plant the more/less water you need. Therefore, the watering regime you had a week ago no longer works with a fast-growing plant like MJ. I've gone from 8-10 day watering intervals at seedling stage to barely keeping up at 4 weeks old with every-other-day waterings. They just suck it up.

2) Newbies: Get a moisture meter. They're 5 lousy bucks at Lowe's, etc. Once you have it and know how to use it, don't argue with what it says. I find mine really helpful 'cause under a 18 hours of beaming HPS light and fanning, that top inch of soil is going to be dry within hours of watering while you may have a root-killing swamp developing down below (thus confounding the "place a finger an inch into the soil" measure). The meter probe lets you see what's going on throughout the pot top to bottom. I'm sure the meter becomes obsolete with experience, but for newbies, I think it's a great way to get solid on your watering approach.

Thanks again, UB!