how often should i water?

[elwood]

Hey guys heres a description of my grow:

cupboard dimensions 180cm X 90cm X 50cm

400w HPS

Passive air intake with 2X 25cm ballbearing ceiling extraction fans

20-25L pot with 100% perlite medium

 

I started the grow from seed which i germed in rock wool cubes and ran at half strength nutes for a week before slowly increasing the strength. The plants are roughly a month old and are being vegged at 18/6

 

This is my first shot at growing and im more concerned about getting through the grow successfully than yield (although high yield is obviously preferred )

 

Can anyone tell me a safe amount to water my plant so as that im not at risk of overwatering. I've heard that you should only water when the perlite gets dry an inch or so below the surface?

 

Any ideas as to whether this is good/safe advice? I'd hate to be over watering or under watering my baby.

[grok]

ive never grown in perlite...however the one inch finger test..if soil is dry 1-2cm from surface(wont stick to fingers) is fairly good guideline for soil...

 

..hopefully some of our more learned brethren will chip in a more detailed answer for you soon..

 

..you obviously been studying up lots for yer first grow..(plenty of info for people to help u with in yer post)...hope u get half a pound of smoko...or more!!....

[Gazza2001au]

when i grow in strait perlite i use a spill tray and fil lthat with water than add a air pump to it with a peg holding the hose below the water works a treat just top up the spill tray when needed

[Pure]

Fortunatly perlite is a very forgiving medium i know some people that give their ladies once a day and i know people that feed every couple of hours aswell, if your in a recirculating system a nice time to go by is every 4 hours of light on feeding them for about 1-2 mins depending on the size ofyour tank ect

 

you will achive much faster growing plants with the seccond alternative of regular short feeds as aposed to one large feed a day , at least thats what i have found.

[Frazz]

Yea elwood next time you water the plant feel the weight of the pot .... and then when you pick it up next day or whenever and it feels like its got no weight its due for a drink, you will quickly get the hang of it ...

 

I like the sounds of Gazza's method too

 

[Token Jet]

Good topic man I just been overwatering myself or not having enough drainage.

 

Gazza's method sounds good.

 

Is the spill tray just plain water?

[mrsmokey1]

yeh wat gazza said is good, let the pots sits in some water, then water again day after it goes dry.

The air pump will be better for the oxygen but theyll grow just sitting in water like im doin, i let the water run out then let the plant roots dry out a bit maybe a day or 1/2 day couple times a week.

[Luke Skywalker]

If you use this bottom feed method ensure that every couple of weeks you run some fresh, pH adjusted water through the pot to remove any buildup of salts that can occur.

[Roadblock]

Easy way to find the right cycle is to water normaly then dont water again and watch then closely when the stem starts to wilt set your feed about 2-4 hrs before that point in time , dont feed in the night cycle unless they are drying right out during lights out ,,, this works for any system as its lets the plants themselves tell you thier water needs for your circumstances and you wont be over watering them which is a very common mistake made , dont have a high CF about 1.5 and when your water cycle is on catch the very first run off out of the plants and test its CF strength and PH , if it went in at 1.5 and comes out at about 1.8 - 2.2 your system is water balanced , dont worry to much about your PH so long as it stays within 5.5 to 7.0 you wont have a problem , it drift a little , just set it up at the other end of the drift direction at the start and it should get you through to next tank change with constantly trying to keep PH within a tight range which is unnecessary.

 

Like Luke said if you feed from the bottom be very careful about about CF going extreme at the top of your medium , syringe some nuts out from there and monitor , can go very high quickly .