soil seems to be staying wet for too long

[Invisighost]

Not sure how big of a problem this might be but im on my first Indoor grow. Ive had a few problems on the way with Ph being out of range. I finally believe i have the ph problems corrected now but im wondering about the water retention in the soil..I use Sunshine Mix 4.. my plant is on day 41 of flower..For the last 2 weeks, possibly 3 weeks, my plants have not been using up the water quickly..before i had to water every 3 days..lately it takes around 10 days before my plants even get dry..Im wondering why bc my lighting (400w LED) has not changed or anything else for that matter..Ive been reading up on bud mold and Flushing and i know its getting close to harvest so im trying to figure out how to flush properly being that they stay so wet for so long and also scared they may develop mold on the buds bc they are staying so wet for so long...any ideas would help as i was wanting to add more nutes before harvest but i usually let the plant dry out first before i do all that, but its taking too long to dry out is the problem...any info welcomed

 

[Torch1]

Aerate the soil... get a wooden dowel or the like & start poking holes thru the soil--all the way to the bottom of pot.
I'd do it till I felt comfortable in knowing roots are getting a good exchange of air down there.... should help some then let dry out good.
Peace.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Rollitup mobile app

 

[Invisighost]

thanks Torch1, Imassuming that the few roots i will tear wont be a problem...and also, any info on why this started happening to begin with..thanks again..

 

[GreatwhiteNorth]

Did you add Pearlite or Vermiculite to your soil mix?

 

[Invisighost]

no i didnt add any but it already contains Vermiculite..

 

[GreatwhiteNorth]

no i didnt add any but it already contains Vermiculite..

I always add extra pearlite to help drainage, but the vermiculite apparently aids in water retention.

"Vermiculite: (permeability, water retention) Vermiculite lightens soils much like perlite, but it also help soil hold moisture. Vermiculite can make clay soils too soggy, but it can increase the water retention of sandy soils."

 

[Invisighost]

I always add extra pearlite to help drainage, but the vermiculite apparently aids in water retention.

"Vermiculite: (permeability, water retention) Vermiculite lightens soils much like perlite, but it also help soil hold moisture. Vermiculite can make clay soils too soggy, but it can increase the water retention of sandy soils."

yea i knew it was good for water retention but going from watering every 3days to watering every 10 days is odd..i didnt know if the plant slowed down on drinking water or not but from most of what ive read it drinks a good bit during flowering

 

[vostok]

Not enough Perlite, consider adding 30% per volume next pot up?​

 

[ULEN]

I usually go based of how much the pots weigh.

But I myself was generous with the verm on my shorties and the soil stays wet for a good 5 days in this heat.

 

[TinTizzy]

whats your humidity like? a dehumidifier will dry them out quick as it speeds up transpiration

 

[Invisighost]

Not enough Perlite, consider adding 30% per volume next pot up?​

noted...preciate it

 

[Invisighost]

whats your humidity like? a dehumidifier will dry them out quick as it speeds up transpiration

humidity is around 50%, im actually looking into getting one as we speak..

 

[Coolvibes]

400 led dose not produce heat I say temp of room could be in the equation

 

[Invisighost]

400 led dose not produce heat I say temp of room could be in the equation

one other problem ive had, temp of the room is 80 degrees plus..72 on the coolest of days where i live....any leftover water evaporates within a day here...have plants on a baking pan to collect runoff

 

[furnz]

Did you do a lot of defoliation?

 

[chuck estevez]

read,
http://rollitup.org/t/plant-moisture-stress-symptoms-and-solutions.150004/

 

[Invisighost]

Did you do a lot of defoliation?

I actually did cut off a few dead fan leaves that I had from my ph problems

 

[furnz]

Just a few would be fine. But if you defoliated a lot at once it could have shocked it, and it cuts down on transpiration through leaves leaving you with more water left in your soil.
This happened to me once when I let a N def go to long into flower and lost almost all my leaves.
The pot would not dry out after that and I had to pull it.

 

[Invisighost]

Just a few would be fine. But if you defoliated a lot at once it could have shocked it, and it cutsdow

on transpiration through leaves leaving you with more water left in your soil.
This happened to me once when I let a N def go to long into flower and lost almost all my leaves.
The pot would not dry out after that and I had to pull it.

It was suggested to me about a week ago that some probs I was having was due to a nitrogen problem..it was corrected by me adding a dose of grow which of course has more nitrogen...my leaf problems halted and being that I'm a novice I prob did cut more leaves than necessary. ..what you are saying sounds exactly like what has happened to me

 

[furnz]

Care to share a picture of the plant if possible?