How much to water my plant? 9.5" tall and 5 gallon smart pot

jackm420

jackm420

Active Member
Ok so my plant is between 9 and 10" tall and just started showing pre flowers at the bud sites 3 days ago with white pistils starting to come out of those as of yesterday and she's 34 days old. She is in a 5 gallon smart pot. I would like to water 4 times a week 2 of those as feedings but just how much water do I use for that size plant in a 5 gallon smart pot? I know to water till there is run off but with these smart pots that's kinda hard as water starts leaking out the sides of them almost as soon as I start pouring.
 
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plaguedog

Active Member
There really is no set schedule to watering. Depends on a number of conditions, and basically the plant will tell you when it needs water by the weight of the pot. For instance, in the heavy flowering period after the stretch, you will notice how much more the plant want's to drink. Another example would be a plant that needs to be transplanted in veg when it dries out in a day... Also depends on what medium you are using.

Listen to what the plants are telling you, and go from there.
 
longarms90

longarms90

Well-Known Member
I've never used smart pots, but in a normal pot, once the pot is light to pick up I water until some comes out the bottom, then just a little more after that to wash out some of the salts. As long as ur medium has good drainage, this work very well. So for me, I find the set amount of water once I do a few waterings in the final pot. Happy growing!
 
jackm420

jackm420

Active Member
thank man i just gave them each 2 quarts (2 plants) just before lights out. I think 2 quarts of water per plant is probably minimum for 5 gallon pots but I will check her in 6 hours when the lights come back on and see how she likes that. Still trying to figure out exactly when to flower I'm thinking of giving her open sesamie at 53 days old then at 60 flippin the lights and starting her on tiger bloom then beastie bloomz, cha ching, and molasses down the road =D
 
longarms90

longarms90

Well-Known Member
jackm420 said:
Ok so my plant is between 9 and 10" tall and just started showing pre flowers at the bud sites 3 days ago with white pistils starting to come out of those as of yesterday and she's 34 days old. She is in a 5 gallon smart pot. I would like to water 4 times a week 2 of those as feedings but just how much water do I use for that size plant in a 5 gallon smart pot? I know to water till there is run off but with these smart pots that's kinda hard as water starts leaking out the sides of them almost as soon as I start pouring.
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you could try watering more central in the pot and it will wick to the outsides. If you water on the outer edge of the pot, it tends to stay on the outer edge all the way down. Just my .02
 
jackm420

jackm420

Active Member
longarms90 said:
I've never used smart pots, but in a normal pot, once the pot is light to pick up I water until some comes out the bottom, then just a little more after that to wash out some of the salts. As long as ur medium has good drainage, this work very well. So for me, I find the set amount of water once I do a few waterings in the final pot. Happy growing!
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yea i'm using about 85% ocean forest and 15% perlite since the ocean already has some in it and it seems to work nicely
 
longarms90

longarms90

Well-Known Member
Ya ocean forest is what I'm using and it drains well. You could always start with molasses now if you wanted. It's good all the way through the grow. As for the amount of water, you want there to be some runoff so you wash out the salts the mutes leave behind. If you bong let those wash away, you can start to get nuts lockouts. Let's see some pics!!
 
jackm420

jackm420

Active Member
pp.jpgppp.jpg there ya go lol they are 2 pics of the same plant don't have a picture of the other on me right now and that picture is 5 days old. I'll get some more pics soon and share!
 
jackm420

jackm420

Active Member
longarms90 said:
Ya ocean forest is what I'm using and it drains well. You could always start with molasses now if you wanted. It's good all the way through the grow. As for the amount of water, you want there to be some runoff so you wash out the salts the mutes leave behind. If you bong let those wash away, you can start to get nuts lockouts. Let's see some pics!!
Click to expand...
so like i said those white hairs have started coming out of the calyx but i'm kinda freaked that the nodes haven't started alternating yet.... o and the were purchased as dutch passion mazar fem seeds
 
longarms90

longarms90

Well-Known Member
The alternating nodes come later. I usually end up flowering before they start to alternate too much. I also LST all my plants. You can flower whenever you want though
 
jackm420

jackm420

Active Member
if I LST how long do i keep it tied down? till harvest? what about light reaching top cola? I'm using 400 watt air cooled mh for veg so my plants have always been 2" from light since it's air cooled and they love it. switching to eye hortilux hps on second week of flower. I may be using a high output 4ft t5 with 4 bulbs as extra lighting during flower if it doesn't cause high tems but im using it now for extra lighting no prob. I was reading that it may be to late for me to LST now that i'm on like day 36 and have so many leaf sets now like 7 nodes stem might break......
 
longarms90

longarms90

Well-Known Member
Not too late at all my friend! Just take the plant and slowly bend it to one side until it won't go anymore safely (don't snap it). You are trying to make the plant as horizontal as possible. Tie her with twine or shoelace or a hair tie. Anything really. It tricks her into thinking it doesn't have a head so it focuses on all the branches. Then when the main head starts to face the light and grow a bit more, tie again. Once all the branches are growing strong, flower at any point. You leave her tied all the way to harvest if you want.
 
longarms90

longarms90

Well-Known Member
And your 400w and fluoros should be fine for the whole grow, if the temps are good now, they should be fine through flower. And as for the 7 nodes, as long as you bend her slow (don't kink her or anything. It can be a curve) ALL those 14 branches (7 nodes x 2 branches per node) will start to turn into main colas like the original. Just get her a bit longer than usual. LST is SO worth the wait. I don't grow any plant that I have not LSTd. It ups harvest quite a bit if you are packet with it.
 
Cpappa27

Cpappa27

Well-Known Member
Im in 5 gallon buckets and when I can pick one up with one hand then its time to water. Its usually 10 days for me. 1 Gallon perfectly waters them with a little runoff when they are light to weight. I wouldn't water that often IMO and especially don't give nutes that often. Let them tell you when they need what they need and give them what they need when they need it to avoid over fertilizing my friend. Good Luck.
 
longarms90

longarms90

Well-Known Member
jackm420 said:
if I LST how long do i keep it tied down? till harvest? what about light reaching top cola? I'm using 400 watt air cooled mh for veg so my plants have always been 2" from light since it's air cooled and they love it. switching to eye hortilux hps on second week of flower. I may be using a high output 4ft t5 with 4 bulbs as extra lighting during flower if it doesn't cause high tems but im using it now for extra lighting no prob. I was reading that it may be to late for me to LST now that i'm on like day 36 and have so many leaf sets now like 7 nodes stem might break......
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By looking at your pics again, between ur 4th and 5th node is ur prime tie spot.
 
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little butch

Active Member
What cpapa27 said. In the five gallon pot I water one gallon every four days. That is a result of 46 years of experience. And making my share of mistakes. Works great for me, when I do soil these days. Peace & be kind
 
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