50% runoff, best way to deal with it?

Hi,

I have 4 plants in 7 litter pots
49 days old
I am giving 10 liter every feed, 2.5 litter per 7 litter pot
Last time I got 5 litter of runoff

Probably I added too much perlite to the soil mix (mostly peat, some coco fibers, perlite and vermiculite)
Should I feed more than usual?

Next week they are going to transfer to 11 litter each, final pot.
I will not add anything this time to the soil, no perlite and vermiculite, but most of the pot is with the current soil mix.

Best way to deal with it?
Thanks

It all depends on what's in the feed and medium? 40/60 perlite to coir is a good mix to start out with. We need more info. Water volume is not the only important part, it's what's in it! With plain water your plants will die of starvation since your medium is inert and contains very little to no fertilizer.

I am feeding with advance nutritions grow a+b + calmag + zym

I had some issues maybe this is why

I'm betting your peat is hydrophobic and the water is just running through it. You should try adding a surfactant like Yucca or aloe or even a drop of plain Dawn dishwashing soap. It will help along with doing the watering slowly and then repeating a second lesser watering after a short time to really help it soak up the water. Missing a couple of waterings in peat will make it harder for the water to soak in.

FirstCavApache64 said:

I'm betting your peat is hydrophobic and the water is just running through it. You should try adding a surfactant like Yucca or aloe or even a drop of plain Dawn dishwashing soap. It will help along with doing the watering slowly and then repeating a second lesser watering after a short time to really help it soak up the water. Missing a couple of waterings in peat will make it harder for the water to soak in.

Click to expand...

No, its a soil mix, peat, some coco fibers, some perlite and vermiculate. Ready from the hydro store.
Always worked for me.

I always added more perlite and vermiculate myself, probably added too much perlite this time?
I will transplant it to 11 litter in few days, I will add only soil mix without adding perlite and vermiculate.

About youcca or aloe.. how do you add it? is it a product?

WeedLover487 said:

No, its a soil mix, peat, some coco fibers, some perlite and vermiculate. Ready from the hydro store.
Always worked for me.

I always added more perlite and vermiculate myself, probably added too much perlite this time?
I will transplant it to 11 litter in few days, I will add only soil mix without adding perlite and vermiculate.

About youcca or aloe.. how do you add it? is it a product?

Click to expand...

Yes it is. I add about a 1/4 tsp. to a gallon.

Too much runoff, it could cause the plant to not get everything it needs. I use a shower head watering can or wand and move from plant to plant in a rotation until I see a little water come out of the bottom then quit. You will get a feel for it. If your using dripper/autofeed then your not going to be able to dial it in the same unless you have adjustable flow on each plant.

Water until the plant shows a little runoff, don't just dump 2.5 liters into the pot and let it wash through. This method will prevent you from needing special additives.

As others have said, yucca and other surfactants can help ensure water isn't just blasting straight through the grow medium.

If I was you, I'd feed them 2 or 3 times daily with just a lil run off each time. You'll run into issues feeding once, especially with so much runoff

Lkmaryfla said:

If I was you, I'd feed them 2 or 3 times daily with just a lil run off each time. You'll run into issues feeding once, especially with so much runoff

Click to expand...

Its was my bad
I added too much perlite and vermiculite as I do for regular soil...
The soil mix is 30% peat, 30% perlite, and 30% vermiculite and some coco fibers
I didn't know the numbers, just asked yesterday at the store.



Now transplanted with only the soil mix, will be OK.