General advice needed on watering

OK, so i just finished my second grow and when i pulled the remaining roots out of the soil i noticed that the soil was super dry half way down and to the bottom of the fabric pots, i was using the 7 gallon ones, i grew autos ( purple haze) , i noticed the plants only grew to no more than 24inches tall, so obviously i was underwatering them, so can anyone tell me the correct amount of watering i need to be doing for these size pots, thanks in advance

pablohernandez said:

OK, so i just finished my second grow and when i pulled the remaining roots out of the soil i noticed that the soil was super dry half way down and to the bottom of the fabric pots, i was using the 7 gallon ones, i grew autos ( purple haze) , i noticed the plants only grew to no more than 24inches tall, so obviously i was underwatering them, so can anyone tell me the correct amount of watering i need to be doing for these size pots, thanks in advance

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7 gallon I’d go with 1-1/2 gallons. Also do not be afraid to pierce the medium repeatedly and regularly. Bamboo skewers are perfect. You will not harm roots. This helps aerate and get oxygen to roots and to assure your water doesn’t just go around your medium.

Water follows the path of least resistance.

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I grow in 7 gal fabric pots, I use 2 gal of water per pot and get a bit of runoff. Just enough to be sure the whole root ball is wet.

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I like to add a couple of drops of natural dish soap on the first watering. Acts as a wetting agent and prevents those dry spots. I use a brand called Seventh Generation from Amazon.

i allways have a watering deep tray so i can give them a good soaking every so offten. it will sort your problem out

and i do mean a good soaking. i fill it over the top of the soil with water and give it time to soak through

Hobbes said:

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I grow in 7 gal fabric pots, I use 2 gal of water per pot and get a bit of runoff. Just enough to be sure the whole root ball is wet.

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how often do you use 2 gal of water??

Thanks for the feedback everyone it's much appreciated

pablohernandez said:

how often do you use 2 gal of water??

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Every 3rd day - if I water on Monday I'll need to again on Thursday, then again on Sunday.

It takes a few weeks for roots to fill your pot after up potting, there will be more runoff until then.

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pablohernandez said:

how often do you use 2 gal of water??

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I have four plants that go through 5 gallons of nutrients a day. That's in coco though so not a fair comparison.

To make sure my pots are thoroughly soaked I start with a little bit of water evenly distributed. I do this a few times to ensure the bottom of the pot is getting even coverage. Then I give it more of a flood to get upper pot coverage.

If you water slow, water will slowly head towards the bottom. If you water fast it tends to go out laterally vs going down. Makes a difference in cloth pots.

My 10 gallons went through 2 gallons of water to ensure all soil got fully wet. That offered about 20% runoff.

Gotta keep in mind if the ground is warmer than the air the bottom of the soil will have a hard time staying as wet as the middle.