Watering till run-off, but soil VERY dry

I'm fairly new to growing cannabis, and I'm having trouble understanding how to water my plants. Many people say with super soil, you don't want to water until you get runoff, but even if I put 1/4 a gallon in my 5 gallon pot, I will IMMEDIATELY get run off. If I left that runoff sit, it will get soaked up by the bottom of the pot because the soil is still very dry.

It seems to me like the first couple of seconds watering the soil almost always flow right out of the bottom of the pot until the soil gets sufficiently saturated, then it starts to hold the water.

Does anybody else notice this as well?

Your soil is too compacted, it needs more structure. Without structure the water makes channel and it fastracks into those with very little absorption.

Soil has become hydrophobic, water slowly into it so it can hydrate more evenly. Also can add a wetting agent .

Budzbuddha said:

Soil has become hydrophobic, water slowly into it so it can hydrate more evenly. Also can add a wetting agent .

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Yeah give it a small drink, then come back in five and do the same.

A drop or two of ivory dish soap or plant friendly soap or as mentioned above a wetting agent will help bring the moisture retention back to the peat in your mix

Awesome, I'm going to try a wetting agent out!

Yucca Extract will fix that for you

oswizzle said:

Yucca Extract will fix that for you

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Ya, yucca, aloe, or both.

Probably what's happening is when your soil dries out, the sides retract leaving an empty space from top to bottom allowing the water to flow out. Do what everyone has suggested. I like to take my time when watering, slower the better!

It can help to water from the bottom especially in fabric sided pots but you’ll need to put a tray or something under them to do this. Adding some perlite and vermiculite to your mix can help reduce compaction and retain moisture. In living soil grows it’s better to water less and more often than it is to drown them every few days. In the summer I have even watered daily with a large wand sprayer; nearly impossible to overwater this way.
At first I thought that the constant drip of water from my blumat system would cause overwatering and root rot but as it turns out the plants thrive on moist soil. Try not to let the root ball dry out to the point that it runs off the sides when you water. Keep the medium as moist as a wrung out towel.

if you are getting run off when putting 1/4 gallon of water in your pot then it's probably over saturated. from what you have said i just can't understand how your soil can be very dry if you watered them? have you got any pics?

I'll use a sprayer of some sort and apply little bits every few minutes till I'm convinced it's all evenly moisturized. Keep most of it as close to the stem as possible.

Hey when using aloe as a wetting agent for hydrophiobic peat is there a certain amount or way? I have fresh aloe but also powder And wanted to try the powder first before cutting my aloe plants haha. I was just going to mix a little in some water and try that?

Make sure the water doesnt go on the sides but my first thought was that this is all they take... Dude i do an almost coots mix i have em in 7.5 gal pots with 3 gals perlite, and they wont take more than 1300ml per 4-5 days. So make sure the water dont slip on the sides and water in 2 turns like the guys say above

As of lately I've been including yucca meal in my soil mix hoping that each watering it's like adding yucca extract - without having to remember.

NewGrower2011 said:

As of lately I've been including yucca meal in my soil mix hoping that each watering it's like adding yucca extract - without having to remember.

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I just grabbed some of this Yucca Meal on a drunken ordering binge, and don't know what to do with it or if I even need it. But the directions read 1 teaspoon to a 7 gallon pot of soil...that sound right? And probably best premixed into the soil or is top dressing Ok?

I might venture to guess that as a top dressing it would likely seep down through your soil over time. But, if you have plenty then I'd use some in the soil initially and then keep some for top-dressing over the course of the grow.

I think I read somewhere that the microbes or the mycorrhizae/fungi will feed on it - so it may have that added benefit.

Week4@inCharge said:

I just grabbed some of this Yucca Meal on a drunken ordering binge, and don't know what to do with it or if I even need it. But the directions read 1 teaspoon to a 7 gallon pot of soil...that sound right? And probably best premixed into the soil or is top dressing Ok?

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That stuff looks kinda cool. That'll work best mixed into the soil though. Maybe grab some yucca extract and mix it with water. That's what I use.

I use a pressure sprayer to wet the top layers of my soil when I run into this problem. Works like a charm. I also use aloe as a wetting agent to make the water wetter.

Reap911 said:

I use a pressure sprayer to wet the top layers of my soil when I run into this problem. Works like a charm. I also use aloe as a wetting agent to make the water wetter.

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I noticed huge difference with just a pinch of aloe when foliar spraying. I've tried couple different mulch layers and straw seems to be working out good for me at keeping the top layer moist between waterings.