watering time- need 2nd opinion pls

[saycheese]

i am at my gro at 7am this visiting hour cannot be changed have 2 choices.
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set the lights to be on at night to avoid a temperature fluctuation, but watering falls quite 'late in the day' meaning my dirt is moist in darkness.
.
Or
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Ignore the fluctuation (28-30deg day
15-18deg nite, ruffly the maximum fluctuation allowed) and set cycle so watering is at lights on
. ? ? ? ?
I have in and out fans but cant afford a heating solution, also wouldnt know how to incorporate a heater with thermostat as my 1m2 tents are full, i have only 10inch clip fans cos an oscillating would have an awkwardly large footprint and i hang a cfl. Thanx to anyone in advance for a speedy response i gota make a decision bout the light cycle time in a couple days..

 

[niteshft]

They say it's best to water when the lights come on but I don't know how critical that is or how much a difference it makes.

 

[maineharvest]

Do you have a fan exhausting hot air from your tent?

 

[maineharvest]

18 degrees is a pretty significant change in heat. I would change the light schedule if it would give you warmer temps at night. I just had to stop growing a closet because the temps were down into the 50s at night and it was locking up the roots and causing deficencies. What are your lowest temps?

 

[dman1234]

if your watering enough your dirt will be wet for a few lights on lights off cycles so it shouldnt matter, look after your temps.

 

[Hick]

Afternoon rain showers.... come at or near lights off..:confused2:..
There is certainly no harm in watering in the evening or at lights off, as long as your rh isn't ridiculous.

 

[Roddy]

My plants stay wet long after the lights are off....

 

[saycheese]

thanks so much for ur input and so fast.
My lowest temps prob 15degrees, highest 30degrees just before lights off.
I have full extraction, but only small fans directed at the girls, the extraction is adequate i worked it out a few years back (4m3 space, rvk100 in,
rvk125 out).
.
But what is watering 'properly'?
I want a daily wet/dry cycle.
.
Ive put the seedlings in 30/70 perlite/terra but to be honest i think they felt too heavy when fully saturated.
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I basically want a full soaking untill there is runoff, to be enough for 24 hours and be nearly dry by next watering.
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I put an inch of perlite at the bottom of the pots.
I think im swaying towards the temp being more important than the feeding time at the mo, low temps have caused me problems with growth rates slowing down.
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What i really am after is a bigger yeild with the same bat guano fed flavours ive been acheiving- getting more o2 downstairs seems to be one of the reasons hydro is faster and can yeild more (ive never done hydro)

 

[Roddy]

Not sure I understand the benefit to needing to water daily?

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I'm with Roddy--why are you needing to water everyday. The plants really do like to kind of dry out between waterings.

 

[saycheese]

thats what im on about, i want them dryish every 24hrs, ready for watering ,
so every day when i flood them the 'dirty' air is forced out and new air drawn in.

I promise my last grow showed noticeable improvement and the only thing i did differently was water daily, as opposed to twice weekly.
.
I was measuring the amount of water very carefully to get a daily wet/dry because the mix would hold enough for a week if saturated.

Any thoughts?

Why would h2o2 be available if dissolved o2 in the water wasnt desirable?

 

[saycheese]

how important is o2 in the rootzone? if 'aeroponics' is so great, why? I thought it was the o2 prescence.

Im trying to strike a balance. Organic taste. Hydro yield and speed(or just improvement in these areas). Am i insane for following this train of thought?

 

[niteshft]

Your asking too, much for the ability to water daily and have the pot dry out in between. I wouldn't give it another thought and water them as needed ... when they have actually dried out sufficiently for watering. To do otherwise is just making the joy of growing a tedious job and more work than nessassary.

 

[woodydude]

I understood that with soil, you let the soil get dry to encourage the plant to grow more roots to find water, more roots means more to feed with, more feeding means bigger plants.

If you are unsure, experiemnt with 1 plant for a week, follow your usual regime with the rest, but let 1 plant dry out between feeds and see what difference there is.

Peace
Woody

 

[Wetdog]

.
I was measuring the amount of water very carefully to get a daily wet/dry because the mix would hold enough for a week if saturated.

Any thoughts?

Measuring is silly. Saturate them and water once/week if that's how long it takes them to dry.

Little 'sips' are the worst way to water.

You are way over thinking something simple and basic, the wet/dry cycle.

Wet

 

[saycheese]

yeah that makes perfect sense woody, roots go huntin.
So if they go huntin more thats a good thing. Yes?
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And yeah its everyday work but worth every second i reckon.
.

 

[Roddy]

I dunno...harvested 9.5 ounces of killer bud today...was watering that plant every 3 days!

 

[saycheese]

that sounds great 9.5z wow.
under 400w nine girls gave me a dry oz each last time .
Is this any good idk?
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So if daily watering is not worth it, do people using flood/drain systems only 'flood' twice weekly? I thought it was multiple times feed of a measurable amount or time duration.
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More importantly will this daily cycle cause harm?
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I have heard of plants growing from pure perlite only, is this bull?
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Time and effort dont bother me its not an issue.
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I know each variable is of near equal importance in a grow im trying to find advice as to which variable to favour in a given situation, ie-
nitetime temp fluctuations and watering before lights off @ 18hrs vs. Less roots (supposedly) @ 24hrs.
.
Or.
.
Water twice weekly, stronger food (cos no ec rise in medium from drying) and less air in rootzone vs.
Water daily, high perlite ratio, possible ec rise when pots dry so fed tiny bit weaker,but more fresh air in rootzone.
.choices choices.
. Keep the opinions comin! Thanks again all.

 

[Roddy]

Ask yourself this, does someone water a plant in the wild daily....mother nature isn't going to lol. I'd imagine you can grow a plant in most any medium as long as you feed it every bit of nutrient it will ever need...but why bother? IMO, grab some good soil, drop the gals in and feed organic.

But I am very new to all this myself lol....

 

[saycheese]

im using terra plus.

Im putting couple tspoons high 'p' guano in the bottom third.

Woody what do u ph to and why?
If at all.

U right about ma nature tho.
I start under 125w blue cfl w/reflector, adding a 400w hps when they are ready with cfl's hanging thru veg and until stretch calms down, red thru flower and for the last couple days just red w/reflector with no hps, my intent being smoother simulation of the seasonal spectrum change
.then i get unnatural and stick them in the dark for a few days before manicure.
Mostly with my cheese this is done by hand, as after the fan leaves are plucked everything else i want. I do chop into jar sized bits at some point, but id love a plant sized jar!