Using a water meter for cannabis

[Jmaes Mabley]

I agree with Grandpa. 99.999%.

The only thing I digress on, is that when the needle reaches 3.5. I water my plants. I dont let it go into dry, because it can sometimes concentrate the dissolved solids in the soil, and when rehydrated, may burn the plant, and it becomes even more likely if they get dry, and you also fertilize them again, so you chance getting top much concentrated fertilizer.

I grew my first plants outside in 1972, and bought the very first HID when they came out in 77-78. It was a 1000w Halide bulb used in Nuclear Subs to grow veggies. They often wouldnt come up for 6-9 months, and grew some of their own veggies. The bulb was super fragile, and they wouldnt guarantee it would survive shipping. So no Warranty if it was broken upon arrival. Then about 6 months later they came out with the Supernova 1000w Halide, and it was rugged, and would survive most shipping procedures. Then in the 90s I switched to the 1000w Hortilux HPS, because they were the first to start putting BLUE in their HPS lamps, and you need blue.

Now I use a combination of lamps.
10w Hortiilux HPS. 1000w Hortilux Blue for Mother Plants. 1150 Gavita DE HPS. Gavita 1700e, and the new Mammoth 880w Mint White Series, which I have 2 on order.

I start seedling under 1 of 3 lamps. 1000w Hortilux HPPS, 1150w Hortilux DE HPS, or the Gavita 1700e. I blast my seedlings from day one, and I always have since 1977, and I also have them on a 24/0 light schedule. And like Grandpa. I dont grow in a tent. I have 3 rooms I use. Which average about 20 x 15, and 10 foot ceilings. And Im lucky that I can supply a huge amount of fresh air exchange.

Actually its not at my place. I have a buddy Ive been doing this with since 1980. I supply all the lights, seeds, clones, soil, fertilizer, containers. And we split the electric bill.
He doesnt smoke anymore, and I get half of the weed, and then I get rid of his half for him, except for his sereval friends. But hes 71 years old, and doesnt smoke at the moment. He sometimes goes 3-4 years without smoking, and when he does smoke, its never more than 3 hits at a time. His wife smokes though. But not a lot. Maybe 2oz between harvests of every 60-80 days. Oz or so a month.

But thrs a number of ways to skin a cat. I use a meter, and I also use the lift the container method. I use both.

But the main thing is do what works for you. There is no 100% correct way.

 

[PipeCarver]

I'm a hobby grower. My first crop was in the 1980's and I've been using those meters for years ...

I don't purchase the ones with a battery. A battery will die and I don't trust their accuracy due to that. I use the ones with the bi-metalic stem. Yes, there will be a little variation between meter brands ... my preference are the ones that have a scale of 1-10 and we usually water when the meter is on about "2." Regardless, I guarantee that there's going to be less variation using a moisture meter over your own finger and the lift method is still too subjective without a scale. Allowing enough dry back after watering is essential for healthy plant production ...

Hey, I don't want to get into an argument about the water meter's but I think they're junk. I have one I bought because I read on here it was the thing.....Its easier for me to lift the pot than rely on a cheap meter. I saw a tutorial on the best cheap water meters and how they needed to be used & cleaned each time. I tried it a few times and now its sat for over a year without use.....

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

I agree with Grandpa. 99.999%.

The only thing I digress on, is that when the needle reaches 3.5. I water my plants. I dont let it go into dry, because it can sometimes concentrate the dissolved solids in the soil, and when rehydrated, may burn the plant, and it becomes even more likely if they get dry, and you also fertilize them again, so you chance getting top much concentrated fertilizer.

I grew my first plants outside in 1972, and bought the very first HID when they came out in 77-78. It was a 1000w Halide bulb used in Nuclear Subs to grow veggies. They often wouldnt come up for 6-9 months, and grew some of their own veggies. The bulb was super fragile, and they wouldnt guarantee it would survive shipping. So no Warranty if it was broken upon arrival. Then about 6 months later they came out with the Supernova 1000w Halide, and it was rugged, and would survive most shipping procedures. Then in the 90s I switched to the 1000w Hortilux HPS, because they were the first to start putting BLUE in their HPS lamps, and you need blue.

Now I use a combination of lamps.
10w Hortiilux HPS. 100w Hortilux Blue for Mother Plants. 1150 Gavita DE HPS. Gavita 1700e, and the new Mammoth 880w Mint White Series, which I have 2 on order.

I start seedling under 1 of 3 lamps. 1000w Hortilux HPPS, 1150w Hortilux DE HPS, or the Gavita 1700e.I blast my seedlings from say one, and I always have since 1977, and I also have them on a 24/0 light schedule. And like Grandpa. I dont grow in a tent. I have 3 rooms I use. Which average about 20 x 15, and 10 foot ceilings. And Im lucky that I can supply a huge amount of fresh air exchange.

Actually its not at my place. I have a buddy Ive been doing this with since 1980. I supply all the lights, seeds, clones, soil, fertilizer, containers. And we split the electric bill.
He doesnt smoke anymore, and I get half of the weed, and then I get rid of his half for him, except for his sereval friends. But hes 71 years old, and doesnt soke at the moment. He sometimes goes 3-4 years without smoking, and when he does smoke, its never more than 3 hits at a time. His wife smokes though. But not a lot. Maybe 2oz between harvests of every 60-80 days. Oz or so a month.

You water at the point you do based on experience with your particular meter. For me, the low point is "2" but I will water at 3 instead of waiting another day. The real point is you use one ... the one you're familiar with in a way that is consistent so that you know your plants are getting what they need consistently at the same level of dryness every feeding.

 

[Jmaes Mabley]

You water at the point you do based on experience with your particular meter. For me, the low point is "2" but I will water at 3 instead of waiting another day. The real point is you use one ... the one you're familiar with in a way that is consistent so that you know your plants are getting what they need consistently at the same level of dryness every feeding.

Yep. Works for me. And has for more than 40 years. Dont fix it if it aint broken. One mans junk, is another mans treasure.

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

Hey, I don't want to get into an argument about the water meter's but I think they're junk. I have one I bought because I read on here it was the thing.....Its easier for me to lift the pot than rely on a cheap meter. I saw a tutorial on the best cheap water meters and how they needed to be used & cleaned each time. I tried it a few times and now its sat for over a year without use.....

What kind did you buy? The ones that use a battery or measure more than just moisture are not the ones I will use. I guess to him/her their own on the experience with these meters ... personally, I've been using 1 kind for years. I've tried others and don't trust them.

 

[BigBlonde]

I don't think of my moisture meters as the only means of making the decision about whether to water or not. It's just useful information. I also pay attention to the number of days since the last watering. Most importantly, I assess how the plant is doing. If I know it has been several days since the last water, I watch for wilting--and I read the meter more intently. The ability to read the plants is an acquired skill. So is knowing when to water. The more data the better. So, use the calendar, the weight of the pot, the reading of the meter, the appearance of the plant and whatever else might be available to decide to add water. Be kind to the plants.

 

[Oldchucky]

Not everybody can lift their pots. Some people like them and some people don’t obviously. Doesn’t make anybody right or wrong. Beautiful plants, Jojo! Now would be a great time to start a thread detailing your grow all summer. I for one could learn a lot from it. Have a good one. looks kind of like Trinity County.

 

[PahPahCee]

Not a fan of the meters. I’ve tried a couple and they weren’t very reliable. I had two that were giving me different readings so I tossed them all. Too much fiddling about. Less gadgets the better.

I’m a fan of lifting the pot. If I use 1 gallon pots I like to gently kick them when I walk by to gauge the weight.

If I were going to buy a meter I would probably look into the ones by sustainable village. I’ve heard they’re reliable.

 

[BigBlonde]

I use a meter as sop in my rockwool. It's wireless and works really well once calibrated. This one works in soil as well. Since I don't check daily all the time these are good.

What's cool about the one I just posted is it can connect to a wireless weather station and you can see from your phone from anywhere when you need to water. My pumps are wifi too so I remotely water.

Thanks for posting about the Ecowitt meter! I like this type of technology. I'll be looking into it.

 

[BigBlonde]

If I use 1 gallon pots I like to gently kick them when I walk by to gauge the weight.

Ah, well... It's hard to walk by plants in a tent. So much depends on how we grow. What works well in a greenhouse or a farm might not work as well in a 2x2 tent.

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

Ah, well... It's hard to walk by plants in a tent. So much depends on how we grow. What works well in a greenhouse or a farm might not work as well in a 2x2 tent.

I for one, will say that there's a huge difference between growing indoors and outdoors. I don't approach the grows the same way. There's SOP's for both and they don't always coincide ... For example, organics for me works best outside. Inside? Synthetics ....

 

[The_word]

I'd go down like 6 inches. These work well to train you into watering correctly. Once you get the hang of it you won't need it. It just depends on the size of your container but you don't water until it's hitting the red. Lift the pot when it says its low to get a feel of the pot. Then lift it when it says its saturated. then you will know your range.

This

 

[The_word]

I for one, will say that there's a huge difference between growing indoors and outdoors. I don't approach the grows the same way. There's SOP's for both and they don't always coincide ... For example, organics for me works best outside. Inside? Synthetics ....

I always use organics, I am a hobby grower and don't like the idea of smoking synthetics. But each to their own

 

[PipeCarver]

I always use organics, I am a hobby grower and don't like the idea of smoking synthetics. But each to their own

You do know that plants can't tell the difference between organic & synthetic, an ion is an ion is an ion whether it comes from organic or synthetic its all the same....

 

[PahPahCee]

Ah, well... It's hard to walk by plants in a tent. So much depends on how we grow. What works well in a greenhouse or a farm might not work as well in a 2x2 tent.

Just like pick up the tent and water by weight…


Honesty for my indoor stuff my environment is so locked in that I know during flower I need to water every 3 days like clock work.

I have my plants on an elevated surface so I can see when water begins to run out. I water real slow and keep adding water until I see minor minor run off.

with automatic irrigation I like to run a timer and dial it in that way.

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

Just like pick up the tent and water by weight…


Honesty for my indoor stuff my environment is so locked in that I know during flower I need to water every 3 days like clock work.

I have my plants on an elevated surface so I can see when water begins to run out. I water real slow and keep adding water until I see minor minor run off.

with automatic irrigation I like to run a timer and dial it in that way.

This is a bit off topic but I'm experimenting with AC Infinity's Self Watering Fabric Pot Base in the greenhouse auto-flowers right now. So far, I like what they're doing. They may change the whole way I water cannabis.

 

[PahPahCee]

This is a bit off topic but I'm experimenting with AC Infinity's Self Watering Fabric Pot Base in the greenhouse auto-flowers right now. So far, I like what they're doing. They may change the whole way I water cannabis.

My issue with bottom fed watering is I’m usually top dressing so it isn’t the best solution. I can see autos with nice soil a great set up on those wicking systems.

My wife enjoys watering the garden. So it’s her domain outdoors. She all about being as natural and involved with her plants as she can. She doesn’t care about growing cannabis but her flower garden is always going off.

 

[BigBlonde]

You do know that plants can't tell the difference between organic & synthetic

The plant may not know, but the farmer does.

 

[BigBlonde]

Just like pick up the tent and water by weight…

Ha! Ha! No, I'm not going to weigh the tent.

Out of curiosity, I tried weighing seedling pots for a while. That rapidly became tediously predictable. It was a learning experience, though. I was weighing three pots and found it interesting that the three reduced weight by nearly the same amount every day. I weighed them three hours after the lights came on. So, I tried to be somewhat scientific. My experiment lasted several weeks. The day-to-day variance was less than two milligrams. I weighed the water added and the pots before and after watering, and then did the math. I cannot attest to the accuracy of the scale, however.

 

[The_word]

You do know that plants can't tell the difference between organic & synthetic, an ion is an ion is an ion whether it comes from organic or synthetic its all the same....

It is not the plants I am worried about lol