How to tell when to water

**SickofPain** · 12-20-2011, 07:11 AM

Ok, so I have a moisture meter,and know that I need to stick it 2 1/2 -3" in the soil. But now that I transplanted into 1 gal pots I'm not sure if this is going to work as they're 7 1/2" deep. I have over watered so many plants in my life (loving them too much) that I am afraid to water them when they are a lot moister (is that a word?) deeper down. I'm so confused!

(OMG I feel like Vinny Barbarino LOL) My gut instinct is wait until it is dryer deeper into the pot. That said, I use FoxFarm's 3 pack nutrients "Big Bloom, Grow Big, Tiger Bloom) The instructions say to use twice a week, but my plants aren't drying out enough for a watering (plain water) between using nutes. Do I forego the plain water & only use the nutes, or do I just toss out the FF instructions (figuratively of course) and do it another way (help here please)
They are all still pretty moist so still good until I get some input. Thanks in advance!

**laced23z** · 12-20-2011, 07:20 AM

ur best bet is to get a empty pot as the same that ur using and fill with soil and water it lift it to see how heavy it is and then go lift ur growing pot and if it feels alot liter than the one u just watered it pretty safe to say that its time to water

**Sunbiz1** · 12-20-2011, 07:20 AM

Toss the FF instructions(literally), their feeding schedules are overkill...particularly if you are already using a pre-fertilized medium. With respect to watering, I tend to wait until the soil almost begins to separate from the sides of the container...marijuana is a native plant and naturally resistant to drought.

Good luck!

**GoldenGanja13** · 12-20-2011, 07:20 AM

Lift your pots, are they easy to lift ? water if so, and just plain water is fine. Matter of fact what i do is water every other day, and i water with plain water then wait 20 -30 mins then water again with the nutrients added. this way i am sure that the entire root system is being watered. In short, they eat every other watering lol,every other day.

**laced23z** · 12-20-2011, 07:20 AM

what kind of soil r u using?

**SickofPain** · 12-20-2011, 08:53 AM

[QUOTE=laced23z;6804099] what kind of soil r u using?

I'm using a soiless medium of:

3 parts Pro-Mix
1 part Perlite
1 part Earthworm Casings
1 heaping TBSP (fine) Dolomite Lime
1 TBSP FoxFarm Peace of Mind5-5-5
1 tsp. Blood Meal (per gallon)

I got this from a guy on another forum, that seems to be doing well for me.

GoldenGanja13 & laced, I have the pots with the dry soil mix that I compare with. That being said, there is so much advice on forums that contradicts each other that I asked this.

What I THINK I'm reading is, no matter if the meter says it's dry 2 or 3" down, DON'T water until it is completely dry (same weight as dry pot)

Sunbiz I believe you are saying use nutes every other watering?

Ya'll have to explain things like I am a complete moron, cause when it comes to MMJ I suppose I am! lol

Thank you all for your fast responses, I appreciate!!!

Peace!

**Maine Brookies** · 12-20-2011, 10:11 AM

What did you use for part measurement on the first three ingredients? You'll need to adjust the amounts in the last three based on the first three - for example, i use 1Tbsp of dolomite lime per gallon of mix. If you used a gallon measure for the first three parts you will have cal/mag deficiencies using only 1Tbsp of lime.

**SickofPain** · 12-20-2011, 10:21 AM

Originally Posted by Maine Brookies

What did you use for part measurement on the first three ingredients? You'll need to adjust the amounts in the last three based on the first three - for example, i use 1Tbsp of dolomite lime per gallon of mix. If you used a gallon measure for the first three parts you will have cal/mag deficiencies using only 1Tbsp of lime.

All the measurements I used were actually based on my 1 gal pots. so, basically I used 3 pots of Pro-Mix, and 1 of Earthworm Casings & Perlite. I used more, but it all went in 1 pot at a time. So the Lime, Blood Meal & Peace-of-Mind were used exactly as stated. But what you said made perfect sense. I DID have a Mag deficiency & played hell to get it fixed. What would be your suggestion to set the pots I have filled right?

**Maine Brookies** · 12-20-2011, 11:30 AM

Originally Posted by SickofPain

What would be your suggestion to set the pots I have filled right?

I'm no expert but I'd probably top dress a little less than a Tbsp/gal of container on my next watering. I see you are using 1gal containers - i'd probably use 2tsp per and see what they look like in a week. This will have the added benefit of correcting any pH drift.