Watering, how media, pot size/shape and environment affect it

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Aqua Man

Aqua Man

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@Aqua Man How's it going eh? i was reading what you wrote here, and i'm still confused. I use fox farm ocean forest soil mix. so what would my water table be in a 5 gallon fabric pot? good stuff you got here bud.
Just take a clear plastic cup with holes drilled in it. Add soil some of the soil to it and water it. Let it drain for maybe an hr and you will see the waterline. Thats the perched water table height
 
Aqua Man

Aqua Man

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I add big rocks to the bottom of my 5gal buckets; about 4 too 5" up from bottom for organic soil to sit on top of, the rocks create air gaps for air exchange and drainage, I also drill out 3/8th inch holes along sides of my bucket half way up for the same purpose. Excellent drainage and air flow. Still having some slight issues idk, maybe I am not and not just bothered by a yellow leaf here and there lol
imo you dont want to add rocks, perlite or other to the bottom of the pot. It essentially make the pot smaller and raises the water table.
 
Tremojem

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Aqua Man, thank you. New member here, or at least "newly active" digging into all the great information to be had here.

Truly a great and timeless thread of very useful information here.

Your contribution is very much appreciated.

Now it's time to go visit the ladies and keep them happy by tilting the 10 gallon pot of FFOF on a 45 degree angle.

Lol. You can almost always identify what a member is dealing with by simply knowing what posts they are frequenting, I guess maybe... somehow, or other or whatever.

This older thread came in handy for me today.

Best to you.
 
Aqua Man

Aqua Man

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Aqua Man, thank you. New member here, or at least "newly active" digging into all the great information to be had here.

Truly a great and timeless thread of very useful information here.

Your contribution is very much appreciated.

Now it's time to go visit the ladies and keep them happy by tilting the 10 gallon pot of FFOF on a 45 degree angle.

Lol. You can almost always identify what a member is dealing with by simply knowing what posts they are frequenting, I guess maybe... somehow, or other or whatever.

This older thread came in handy for me today.

Best to you.
Hope it helps with your goals. Thanks for the kind words
 
Tremojem

Tremojem

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Tipping fabric pot as we speak.

Well deserved recognition, good on you!

I appreciate your approach to knowledge sharing. It is easily understandable and easy to retain and put into practice.

Seems everyone in this community really care and share!

Best to you.
 
DoobieBro462

DoobieBro462

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Tipping fabric pot as we speak.

Well deserved recognition, good on you!

I appreciate your approach to knowledge sharing. It is easily understandable and easy to retain and put into practice.

Seems everyone in this community really care and share!

Best to you.
I too do this. Tilt to the side let it flow for a minute.
 
Zen_Seeker

Zen_Seeker

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@Aqua Man

First off; Thank you for taking the time to write this. It’s appreciated.

I read this through a while back and recalled the pot shape making a difference.

I had picked up two more cloth pots a while back and only needed them now. After transplanting the clones I observed that even though all three are 7 gallon two are a few inches taller and skinnier than the third.

I knew from past watering the older shorter pot takes about 10L, over an hour or two, so gave the taller two the same. Shorter pot had maybe 400ml runoff 6+ hrs later. Taller two had at least a litre!

Not much to me other than interesting and informative, will apply it to future needs and that’s about it. However to a business...

So thanks for helping me save a few bucks, make better choices, and grow better. I’ll be reading again and sharing.

Zen
 
Zen_Seeker

Zen_Seeker

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imo you dont want to add rocks, perlite or other to the bottom of the pot. It essentially make the pot smaller and raises the water table.
I use gravel one layer deep. Just to hold soil in and let drain for other than soft/air pots. I don’t remove if I transplant to larger soft pot but it’s not more than a handful at most.

I have added a layer of perlite on top for clay pots/out door containers. Otherwise it’s just mixed into the medium.

Bad habits or good practice? 🤷‍♂️
 
Aqua Man

Aqua Man

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I use gravel one layer deep. Just to hold soil in and let drain for other than soft/air pots. I don’t remove if I transplant to larger soft pot but it’s not more than a handful at most.

I have added a layer of perlite on top for clay pots/out door containers. Otherwise it’s just mixed into the medium.

Bad habits or good practice? 🤷‍♂️
Bad habbits bro if im reading this correctly … adding a layer to the bottom will not help with drainage the way your thinking… it will instead raise the height of the water table. Essentially you make the pot smaller with a higher water table and less air holding capacity.

A better practice is to add more perlite to the mix
 
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Zen_Seeker

Zen_Seeker

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Bad habbits bro if im reading this correctly … adding a layer to the bottom will not help with drainage the way your thinking… it will instead raise the height of the water table. Essentially you make the pot smaller with a higher water table and less air holding capacity.

A better practice is to add more perlite to the mix
1679735683834

This is what I meant and is acceptable. Just stops soil from running out pot holes. Should have posted the pic first time.

Thanks for PM AM.
 
Timbo0716

Timbo0716

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The best system is SIP. Allows you to grow trees in soil just as big if not bigger than coco/hydroponics. No over watering ever.
 
Aqua Man

Aqua Man

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Timbo0716

Timbo0716

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You have not tried it yet? And not a fan? One could say the same of the plant we are growing. Too many as your self keep a closed mind. But I understand your statement about when you are trying to reinvent the wheel. I recently took the plunge and I am amazed by it. It's very simple and works. You can grow trees and not have to ph your water and using only one fert. I will never go back to watering from mainly top. I water about once a week from above, just a little.
 
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