Water... Am? Pm?

Have just set up a top feed drip system to use a couple of weeks ago....am now hooking it up to a timer to auto-feed.....should I water when lights are off or on??? Begining of the light cycle or end??? Right when the lights turn off or right before they turn on???

Right now I only plan to water Mon.,Wed.,Fri. for 30 min. through a 2gph emitter that is hooked up to a 1/4" poly tubing ring with five 1/8" holes poked in it around the plants. I will later adjust as needed to keep the buckets perfect.....any suggestions or input would be great.

water shortly b4 lights come on. Excessive moisture during lights off can increase risk of mold

At what point during the light cycle do the roots take in the most water and nutrients???

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my plants like 30 minutes after lights come on. just keep an eye on how wet the soil gets after the watering. so you do not over water. how big of pots are you in?

I'd go with shortly after lights on.

I run FoxFarm Ocean Forest in 5gal buckets with holes in the bottom stuck in a 5gal. bucket with a bulkhead fitting going to waste drain. 2 GPH emiters....plan on doing like 30 min. moday wednesday friday or maybe wednesday for a half hour and saturday for an hour......IDK

how big are your plants. a 5 gallon bucket, you would only need to water once maybe twice a week. depending on heat,size and drainage.

grown from seed.....5gal. buckets with a 2" layer of gravel on bottom.....first lst'd till the bush is about 12-16" tall then scrog'd.....pretty much all 64 squares except for a few on the edge of the screen are full.....currently in flower....grown in GrowLab tent(4x4x6'7")....1000W HPS dimmed down to 600W....temps about 80*F right now(wishin for winter).....i can water a gallon every other day(Mon.,Wed.,Fri.) and have a little bit of runoff and be decently dry before the next gallon...then I was figuring having no water Sat. and Sun. to have a good drying before the next gallon....then as the plants get bigger through flower adjust more or less water as need.....my question has been what is the best time to really give the plants water so they can use it to their best advantage....from what I have been hearing so far is right before the lights come on.

nice setup. why dimmed down lighting? for your 80* temp? i run 4 1k in a 9x9 room and my temps get 95* on hot days and my plants are killing it. but im with you cannot wait for cooler days. give your timing a shot. but i think you will not have to water every other day. most likely every 3 to 4 days depending on the size of plant. there is a million ways to grow. everyone has OPINIONS on how you should grow, whether its the right or wrong way. just try different techniques and see what works best for you. but please keep me informed because im intersted in the final outcome.

justa hobby said:

nice setup. why dimmed down lighting? for your 80* temp? i run 4 1k in a 9x9 room and my temps get 95* on hot days and my plants are killing it. but im with you cannot wait for cooler days. give your timing a shot. but i think you will not have to water every other day. most likely every 3 to 4 days depending on the size of plant. there is a million ways to grow. everyone has OPINIONS on how you should grow, whether its the right or wrong way. just try different techniques and see what works best for you. but please keep me informed because im intersted in the final outcome.

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Thanks alot...I appreciate post like this!!!!!Yeah...I just stepped up to a 1Kwatt Galaxy ballast...originally needed a new HPS bulb for the 400w Lumatek and the local shop at the time I went in was having their 15% off anniversary sale so I said fck it..why not......so I hook it up on the 1000k setting the second I got home and holy fk was it bright and holy fk was it hot...96*.....cant have that....so dimmed down to 600 im at or around 80*..still not diggin it but cold is comig I can feel it(was 62* this morning on the drive in to work...whoo hoo)

haha same way i upgraded my lights some sale like that. you will love the 1k setting.