# ***RANT*** Watering



## JBonez (Oct 7, 2008)

Ok, so my plants are wilting, dont worry, i just watered them, apparently i am putting too much time in between watering them, but lets get real here, this watering business is getting old. the plants are so darn temperamental when it comes to watering that im at my wits end with worry. NO WONDER people use hydro, never have to worry about not being home in time before the plants start wilting. GAH. Im done with soil, If getting my ph, ppm is all i have to worry about with hydro(i know there is other stuff to worry about with hydro), well then thats the road im going, getting tired of wondering if the soil is too dry or too wet, am i giving them too much or too little. Not to mention i put to much ph up in my 12 gallon resovoir of distilled water, that was a waste of money. I dont care if chlorine hurts them at this point, just gonna ph my tap water and call it a day.

-End Rant-


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## omnigr33n (Oct 7, 2008)

I use tap water and have never had any problems.  I heard a good trick to see if you need water is to stick your finger 1/3 the way down into the soil.  If it is moist/damp then don't water, if it is dry then water.  This works for me and I rarely see my plants wilt.  Some people just take it to extremes though.


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## JBonez (Oct 7, 2008)

omnigr33n said:
			
		

> I use tap water and have never had any problems.  I heard a good trick to see if you need water is to stick your finger 1/3 the way down into the soil.  If it is moist/damp then don't water, if it is dry then water.  This works for me and I rarely see my plants wilt.  Some people just take it to extremes though.



Well, im ocd, not to the point that i cant function, but i tend to worry too much about little stuff, i just dont understand if the first two inches is supposed to be bone dry or what, i mean, the first inch gets bone dry, then its a little moist after that, but it seems by then the plants are already wilting, what the heck! Im def cloning the best plants and going with a dwc setup, this is really irritating, im sure if i stick with soil i will get it down, but something about a dwc scrog setup sounds just to tempting. I dont think nutes or ph will be my problem down the road, you can never be too precise with that so after i clone these ww, im gonna build a couple of dwc's and scrog those little girls!


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## Alistair (Oct 7, 2008)

Are your pots too small for the plants?  Sometimes if the plants are rootbound they drink up the water quickly.

Stick your index finger all the way into the soil; that should be at least three inches deep.  Don't over-think it; either it's dry or it's not dry.  I understand the doubting aspect of OCD.  If you don't like testing the soil in that fashion, then purchase a moisture meter at the nursery.  It shouldn't cost more than $7.00 or so.

When using a moisture meter be sure to scour the tip of the probe with a green scouring pad before using.  I scour the tip really well, and then put the probe in a cup or bowl of water and then see if it reads "10" on a scale of 1-10, 1 being the driest, and 10 being the wettest. Be sure to clean the probe tip and test it for accuracy before testing the soil.

It seems to me that you'd be better off mastering the soil first before trying hydro. I believe that learning hydro can be tricky too.


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## JBonez (Oct 7, 2008)

Alistair Young said:
			
		

> Are your pots too small for the plants?  Sometimes if the plants are rootbound they drink up the water quickly.
> 
> Stick your index finger all the way into the soil; that should be at least three inches deep.  Don't over-think it; either it's dry or it's not dry.  I understand the doubting aspect of OCD.  If you don't like testing the soil in that fashion, then purchase a moisture meter at the nursery.  It shouldn't cost more than $7.00 or so.
> 
> ...



From what ive gathered, the only thing hard about getting a dwc setup right would be ph, and nutes. I am not having a problem yet with that, just when to give water, something not really an issue with the correct equipment. Ive ordered the parts to get a couple of dwc's setup once i get my clones, gonna try that while finishing up the 20 ww's i have in soil, itll be a trile and error thing, but im pretty sure ill get it. i just dont really like the fact that soil is messy, have to repot to avoid getting rootbound, watering 20 plants including ph-ing them has become tiresome. id rather just run some dwc's in series, fill from one resevoir and be done with it, you know what i mean? On grasscity there is a killer diy for a bubble bucket that im going to build, as with the diy clone machine on this site. I dont know man, my mom did hydro when she was younger and said she didnt have a fricken clue what she was doing, 4lbs later, she said it must have been luck. If she can do it, I know i can! thanks for the advice man, very appreciated bro.


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## jb247 (Oct 8, 2008)

You didn't tell us you had a mentor!! That really changes the learning curve on any new project, I wouldn't be as good a grower if I hadn't had a mentor to come over, or to talk to, when I ran into problems when I started growing. He still reminds me of little things I can do to increase yield, and how to avoid smaller problems that can lower quality overall. He still recieves a small stipend of the final product for all of his help. Gladly!

I still haven't made the jump to trying a hydro grow, but I wish you luck in your new endeavor...

Peace...j.b.


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## PeaceLove&amp;FreeBudz (Oct 8, 2008)

Ive learned the hard way about overwatering and over fertilizstion.

Now i do the 3inch finger check for moistness. water if dry, leave a day or so if damp then water.
I use terraCycle for my nutrients and have had noting but success, its all naturla and was founded by a marijuana grower looking to make a better fetilizer for bigger and better yields.
good luck and keep us posted. You can go to my thread about my new grow room and follow along thru my findings and mistakes


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## Mr.Wakenbake (Oct 9, 2008)

LMAO... dood watering plants isn't hard and it's not rocket science... Water till it runs out of the bottom of the pots...  wait a couple days and check the pots with a moisture meter.  U can get a moisture meter for 5 $ from your local wal mart or any other store that sells gardening supplies.

Otherwise u can watch the pots and when the soil begins to pull away from the side of the pots it's dry enough to water.... you can also stick a popsicle stick down in the soil and it will tell you if it's dry or not. 

You are making this thing harder than it has to be.... and if you think soil is a lot of work then try hydro..... u will def be working then lol.


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## Alistair (Oct 9, 2008)

JBonez, I agree with Mr. Wakenbake; you're making this harder than it is.


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## JBonez (Oct 9, 2008)

i agree with you both. maybe my problem isnt watering, i watered them and my plants are still wilted. after two days, if it was too dry they would have bounced back up, something else is going on here and it isnt nute def.


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## daf (Oct 9, 2008)

what lighting are u using


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## Tater (Oct 9, 2008)

OVERWATERING

I guarantee it.  Leave those plants alone and let them dry out.  

(the above guarantee holds no weight and should be ignored as the issuer is a stoner and sometimes has no idea what he's talking about)


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## JBonez (Oct 9, 2008)

good luck, i dont know what im doing wrong.

before you ask, some of the leaves are cut due to not knowing how to top, learned the hard way, but finally got it right on one plant.


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## JBonez (Oct 9, 2008)

daf said:
			
		

> what lighting are u using



1000w mh


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## daf (Oct 9, 2008)

nice setup jbonez, do u get alote of heat from the 1000


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## JBonez (Oct 9, 2008)

My temps are in the 70s I have good ventilation


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## daf (Oct 9, 2008)

nice setup u must have for that lamp


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## THCPezDispenser (Oct 9, 2008)

I don't know man, they look fine to me, large leaves and just drooping a bit under their own weight?  A bit of yellowing going on too, maybe a slight nitrogen deficency, but they look great to me!


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## daf (Oct 9, 2008)

i think tooo much water


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## Alistair (Oct 10, 2008)

Maybe a bit too much water, but they look just fine.  Yes, there's a little yellowing, but nothing to worry over.  Make sure your pH is good and don't over or under-water your plants.  Your temperature is good too.  So, I'd say that the yellowing isn't heat related. If the pH is good, then maybe you might want to diagnose the problem (magnesium deficiency?).  Right at the moment the plants look good.  

How old are those plants?  Have you fertilized them yet?  If they're three weeks or younger, then you shouldn't have to feed them nutes.  If they're older than three weeks, then it might be time to start giving them some food.  Do not overdo the fertilizers; it's easy to do.  I know better, and I still do it.

I'll say it once more: Your plants look fine.  Don't worry over them.


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## JBonez (Oct 10, 2008)

thanks AY, i need to check the soil ph, Ive given them a small nute dose already, about a week ago, they looked their best right after that, my next watering im going to give them a feeding, but it seems like if im overwatering then i dont know when i need to be watering, i went five days between the last watering, so i dont know. but anyways, i will just have to wait and see. gonna look into ro for my tap water. I wonder if they are getting root bound, they are only about 3 and a half weeks old, but they are 2 gallon pots. just have to see.


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## Alistair (Oct 10, 2008)

I looked at them to see if they looked rootbound and I don't think that they're rootbound.  Plus, they're only three weeks old in two gallon pots.

Go purchase a moisture meter; that will help quite a bit.


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