Fabric Pots and Watering

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Monsoon14

Member
Hey all. I am a first time grower and i looked for the answer to my question but since I am so new at plants in general i feel more comfortable just asking so i dont murder my plants. Basically i have my month old plants in 3 gallon fabric pots in trays. I have them in a mushroom compost and black gold soil mixture. I know overwatering can be an easy problem to get but i have read so many warnings that i fear i may be underwatering. I am just wondering if anyone was/is in a similar situation and if so, how often/how much were you watering? Oh i also have a 1000w led on them. Sorry for the novel thanks for the help.
TL;DR how often/how much do you water your plants in 3 gal fabric pots in soil medium
 
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Serty97

Well-Known Member
Feel the soil, feel by weight of the pot. Also the plants will tell you. If stems and leaves droop straight down, water more. If stems are straight and just the tips of the leaves droop, overwatering.
Best to just learn as you go since everyone’s set up and plants are different.
 
S

Serty97

Well-Known Member
Monsoon14 said:
Hey all. I am a first time grower and i looked for the answer to my question but since I am so new at plants in general i feel more comfortable just asking so i dont murder my plants. Basically i have my month old plants in 3 gallon fabric pots in trays. I have them in a mushroom compost and black gold soil mixture. I know overwatering can be an easy problem to get but i have read so many warnings that i fear i may be underwatering. I am just wondering if anyone was/is in a similar situation and if so, how often/how much were you watering? Oh i also have a 1000w led on them. Sorry for the novel thanks for the help.
TL;DR how often/how much do you water your plants in 3 gal fabric pots in soil medium
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Picture always helps too
 
S

Serty97

Well-Known Member
Ya nice set up. They look good. What’s your soil and are you feeding? I see the tips look a little burnt? Or maybe that’s just the picture.
 
S

Serty97

Well-Known Member
Also don’t worry too much about underwatering. Young plants like these don’t drink very much.
 
M

Monsoon14

Member
I believe they got a little burnt but i moved them down and they already seem a tad bity more spry. I appreciate the insight. I am super new to all this and there are so many different answrs to similar questions but i wanted to be a little more sure.
 
S

Serty97

Well-Known Member
Totally get it. Live and learn mostly. Everyone thinks they’re just a weed but really they’re an annual and need lots of care!

Don’t feed them either for a bit if they’re in nute rich soil.

you’re doing good though. If they all keep growing you’ll need a bigger space lol
 
M

Monsoon14

Member
Serty97 said:
Totally get it. Live and learn mostly. Everyone thinks they’re just a weed but really they’re an annual and need lots of care!

Don’t feed them either for a bit if they’re in nute rich soil.

you’re doing good though. If they all keep growing you’ll need a bigger space lol
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I have come to this realization lol i can make another cube for like 85 bucks though
 
NukaKola

NukaKola

Well-Known Member
You can't really give a specific answer on how much to water since it is all dependent on the size of the root mass. How dense or porous the soil is also plays a role in how much moisture it can retain. The most accurate way is to lift the pot right after watering, wait until the soil is dry and the plants begin to droop and then pick the pot up again to compare the weight difference.
 
JMystery

JMystery

Active Member
I was feeding my white widow auto every week or so during veg stage but when flowering started it soon ramped up to a litre every two days. I noticed too that during preflowering I sometimes saw leaves droop when it got close to lights off for the plant, especially on the day of being fed but next morning was business as usual. I've also struggled with whether I over or under fed but you get more adjusted to it. I now think for me, itll always be trial and error.
 
Budzbuddha

Budzbuddha

Well-Known Member
A little hard to overwater fabric ..... most of the time the biggest issue you will come across is medium is Hydrophobic ( water runs straight thru without much saturation. At times I would “ circle “ pots slowly to ensure even moisture saturation. Fabric have the ability to aerate a bit faster than say hard closed plastic containers that will retain water longer.

And as stated , a weight difference will be noted when hydrated.

I usually water on first day , then wait say , 2-3 days to judge how quickly water is drying off and being used.
THEN I monitor how many days plant “ actually “ drinks BETWEEN days and go from there. Your grow environment/ conditions will play into this too . Not really an issue to figure when to water.
 
M

Monsoon14

Member
quirk said:
At minimum your 19 plants will require 56 sq.ft. and 1800 actual watts. If you can do that for $85, I'll kiss your ass and bark like a fox.
Best of luck.
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Well my box is already 64 sq ft, i built it from 5 1"x.5"x8' pieces I got for $1.50 each...so $7.50


1.5 rolls of dollar store aluminum foil....$1.50

The light is $76 on Amazon. I already have the excess screws, a spare fan, and smart pots. No tax included that is $85.

So....what does the fox say? Lolol

Also i dont plan on keeping all of these plants going. I am not prepared for that many haha.
 
M

Monsoon14

Member
Budzbuddha said:
A little hard to overwater fabric ..... most of the time the biggest issue you will come across is medium is Hydrophobic ( water runs straight thru without much saturation. At times I would “ circle “ pots slowly to ensure even moisture saturation. Fabric have the ability to aerate a bit faster than say hard closed plastic containers that will retain water longer.

And as stated , a weight difference will be noted when hydrated.

I usually water on first day , then wait say , 2-3 days to judge how quickly water is drying off and being used.
THEN I monitor how many days plant “ actually “ drinks BETWEEN days and go from there. Your grow environment/ conditions will play into this too . Not really an issue to figure when to water.
Click to expand...
Thank you, i am actually on day two of them in their new pots and i gave tuem a feel today. The soil was excellent :)
 
Verrice

Verrice

Active Member
Monsoon14 said:
They seem satisfied?
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If you're planning on going all the way through veg, and worse in to flower, with that light, they will become very dissatisfied as they get bigger, and hungrier. The 1000w spec is, unfortunately, as useless as it is common with LED lights. It's about the power it actually draws at the wall. You do have some time, but if you can, try to start yourself a nice full-spectrum light fund. Maybe an HLG, or Spider Farmer. I use Mars Hydro with good success as well (they just might not last as long as the other two I mentioned).
 
JMystery

JMystery

Active Member
Verrice said:
If you're planning on going all the way through veg, and worse in to flower, with that light, they will become very dissatisfied as they get bigger, and hungrier. The 1000w spec is, unfortunately, as useless as it is common with LED lights. It's about the power it actually draws at the wall. You do have some time, but if you can, try to start yourself a nice full-spectrum light fund. Maybe an HLG, or Spider Farmer. I use Mars Hydro with good success as well (they just might not last as long as the other two I mentioned).
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Could you please clarify this a bit. I was just looking here at the mars hydro LEDs and the one that seems it would be most appropriate for my tiny 60 x 60 x 140 tent is a 600 watt LED. I use a cheap 1000 watt LED just now (not a branded one and albeit it looks physically half the size). are you saying the Mars Hydro is better quality? Should their TS-600 be enough to grow one plant in a tent this size, all the way through the life cycle of the plant? Or are you saying i'd need to change out for a non-LED light at bloom?
 
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