i need your expert opinion xD 1st time grower

Look like happy babies to me! Just be sure to saturate the whole pot when you water, then don't water again for several days, until the pot is light again... My seedlings are just a couple days older than yours, they went a week between waterings, since they don't drink much at this stage. Waterings will become more frequent as they grow and need more water.

TSD said:

Look like happy babies to me! Just be sure to saturate the whole pot when you water, then don't water again for several days, until the pot is light again... My seedlings are just a couple days older than yours, they went a week between waterings, since they don't drink much at this stage. Waterings will become more frequent as they grow and need more water.

Click to expand...

I use a spray bottle and spray them a cople times a day to keep the soil moist, this good?

paranoidperson said:

I use a spray bottle and spray them a cople times a day to keep the soil moist, this good?

Click to expand...

Only spraying is not really good enough.. if you can keep a extra pot of dry dirt the same size as your pot and just water completely thoroughly when the plant is as light as the dry soil pot.. water until lots is coming out the drainage

paranoidperson said:

I use a spray bottle and spray them a cople times a day to keep the soil moist, this good?

Click to expand...

No, you need to water till saturation and runoff, then not again for several days until the pot is light again. Spray bottle is only wetting the top layer, you'd have to spray for hours to water enough, no spray bottles. I watered my babies at planting and then not again for a week, I'm in 3/4 gallon pots, looks like you're in bigger pots so maybe longer. The only way to know is the lift test because environmental factors effect how often you need to water, as does the size and health of your plant. Get a feel for how heavy dry soil is and how heavy saturated soil, actually weigh it if you want, then saturate the entirety of the soil till runoff and no touchy again till pot is light.

TSD said:

No, you need to water till saturation and runoff, then not again for several days until the pot is light again. Spray bottle is only wetting the top layer, you'd have to spray for hours to water enough, no spray bottles. I watered my babies at planting and then not again for a week, I'm in 3/4 gallon pots, looks like you're in bigger pots so maybe longer. The only way to know is the lift test because environmental factors effect how often you need to water, as does the size and health of your plant. Get a feel for how heavy dry soil is and how heavy saturated soil, actually weigh it if you want, then saturate the entirety of the soil till runoff and no touchy again till pot is light.

Click to expand...

i saw a post that they suggested doing this for the first 10 days, only spray the top then switch to normal watering, and i was to switch to do what you suggested, btw they are a bit less than 3 gallon plastic pots, they have holes on the bottom side, i even tapd small holes whit a nail on the bottom for aereation, so okay, im going to stop and do as you guys suggested, thx alot xD

paranoidperson said:

i saw a post that they suggested doing this for the first 10 days, only spray the top then switch to normal watering, and i was to switch to do what you suggested, btw they are a bit less than 3 gallon plastic pots, they have holes on the bottom side, i even tapd small holes whit a nail on the bottom for aereation, so okay, im going to stop and do as you guys suggested, thx alot xD

Click to expand...

In a pot that size and your babies so young, do not water until run-off. If you do, it will take a couple of weeks to dry out enough to water again. You'll see problems related to over-watering while you're waiting for the pot to dry out enough to water again. In the plant's early days, most of it's energy is devoted to the root structure. Once the roots have good development, then you can water to run-off.

I realize my instructions contradict what others have stated. It's the pot size that makes watering to run-off a no-no at this point. If your new sprout was in a solo cup, I still wouldn't water until run-off until a week to 10 days later. This is critical because saturated soil smothers roots and causes leaves to droop and turn brown ... You'll slow its growth down considerably.

MIGrampaUSA said:

In a pot that size and your babies so young, do not water until run-off. If you do, it will take a couple of weeks to dry out enough to water again. You'll see problems related to over-watering while you're waiting for the pot to dry out enough to water again. In the plant's early days, most of it's energy is devoted to the root structure. Once the roots have good development, then you can water to run-off.

I realize my instructions contradict what others have stated. It's the pot size that makes watering to run-off a no-no at this point. If your new sprout was in a solo cup, I still wouldn't water until run-off until a week to 10 days later. This is critical because saturated soil smothers roots and causes leaves to droop and turn brown ... You'll slow its growth down considerably.

Click to expand...

that is what i saw and why i use a spray bottle, but i also saw that doing what i do doesnt let water to go deep and so the root stops growing downwards because the dry soil, stunning the plant
im really confused on what to do and how much water and how to water my plants

You should water the soil close to but not directly on the stem. As the plant grows larger, make your water circle larger and have it cover more area. Obviously, you'll be increasing water amounts as it grows. Yes, eventually you will water to run-off ... but not until your plants have a good root structure. I don't grow autos so specifically "how much" water to give a 2"- 3" seedling in a 3 gallon pot isn't something I can easily answer. It's not going to be enough to wet the entire pot to run-off.

One thing I've heard of people doing is bottom feeding. In your seedling's case, it would only be water. Simply put a couple of inches of water in a bucket/pale/storage tote and set the pot in it. Water will wick through the lower part of the soil. There are people here who regularly grow autos and can give you a better answer on how to water a small autoflower seedling in a big pot.

Those seedlings are behind the power curve for 11 days old. This auto mandarin haze is 12 days from sprout in a 5 gal. airpot. Using 16oz. condiment bottles, I water in a circular fashion radiating out from the center, watering very slowly letting the medium fully absorb the moisture while avoiding pooling. I stop at the first drop of runoff. With my medium and grow environment that's between 3-4 pints or almost 4 lbs. That added weight is easy to feel when it's gone and time to water again.
For a first time grower you're doing fine and it will only get better as you get dialed in.

quirk said:

Those seedlings are behind the power curve for 11 days old. This auto mandarin haze is 12 days from sprout in a 5 gal. airpot. Using 16oz. condiment bottles, I water in a circular fashion radiating out from the center, watering very slowly letting the medium fully absorb the moisture while avoiding pooling. I stop at the first drop of runoff. With my medium and grow environment that's between 3-4 pints or almost 4 lbs. That added weight is easy to feel when it's gone and time to water again.
For a first time grower you're doing fine and it will only get better as you get dialed in.

Click to expand...

mine are really this back? man i didn't think that they were so much behind, can you tell me more about what can cause slow growth? my temps range from 20-22 celsius at night and max at 26-27 at light on, humidity might be on low side at 49 to 60% my lamp is a viparspectra p1000 at 55% light power, 20/4 light cycle, soil as i said, biobizz allmix

paranoidperson said:

mine are really this back? man i didn't think that they were so much behind, can you tell me more about what can cause slow growth? my temps range from 20-22 celsius at night and max at 26-27 at light on, humidity might be on low side at 49 to 60% my lamp is a viparspectra p1000 at 55% light power, 20/4 light cycle, soil as i said, biobizz allmix

Click to expand...

It sounds to me like improper watering. You are at the hardest part to get the watering right. Not enough water = slow growth. Too much water = slow growth. At 2 to 3 inches tall, watering a 3 gallon pot to run-off is way too much. You can continue to mist the plant at this point, but also add about 500 ml of water around the stem (not on it) and you'll likely see faster growth. As it grows, it will need more water. That 1/2 liter will soon not be enough so pay attention to that. After a couple more weeks of good watering practices, you should see good root development. Once you have reached that stage, you can water to run-off.

MIGrampaUSA said:

It sounds to me like improper watering. You are at the hardest part to get the watering right. Not enough water = slow growth. Too much water = slow growth. At 2 to 3 inches tall, watering a 3 gallon pot to run-off is way too much. You can continue to mist the plant at this point, but also add about 500 ml of water around the stem (not on it) and you'll likely see faster growth. As it grows, it will need more water. That 1/2 liter will soon not be enough so pay attention to that. After a couple more weeks of good watering practices, you should see good root development. Once you have reached that stage, you can water to run-off.

Click to expand...

just watered them, I poured about 250 ml of water because yes I'm too scared for overwatering, but as you said, watered around the plant slowly so it didn't form a pool of water, ill wait at least 2 days, and then I'm going to grab a half-liter bottle, make a hole on the top and use that to water, sounds good?

I have another suggestion for you. I've been growing for a number of years now and my wife (my wife does most of the work) and I use a moisture meter to determine when to water. We think of it as an "SOP" ... a standard operating procedure. We use one of these. Here in the USA they run roughly $10.00.

MIGrampaUSA said:

I have another suggestion for you. I've been growing for a number of years now and my wife (my wife does most of the work) and I use a moisture meter to determine when to water. We think of it as an "SOP" ... a standard operating procedure. We use one of these. Here in the USA they run roughly $10.00.

View attachment 1233773

Click to expand...

I saw them like they even come whit thermometer and moisture reading also, do they work well? i wasn't sure
*edit
even with ph readings on it

I have a couple of those analog moisture meters. Mine are pretty accurate when you compare them to each other. I use a separate digital pH meter. I also have a digital moisture meter that is supposed to measure pH/temp/light and probably some other stuff ... I don't use it though. I don't think it's as accurate as my calibrated Blue Labs pH pen.

paranoidperson said:

I saw them like they even come whit thermometer and moisture reading also, do they work well? i wasn't sure
*edit
even with ph readings on it

Click to expand...

It's a good insurance policy, but those break easily and can be unreliable, best to learn how to water properly by weight and the look of the plants.

I'm not sure I completely agree. For the first few years, we used the wet pot/dry pot lift method. When we started using the moisture probe, we were also using the wet pot/dry pot method to compare. There were many times where I probably would have watered but the probe said differently. What I found is if I relied 100% on my judgement, there would be times I watered too soon.

Now, all I have to do is look at the garden and I have a very good idea when I'll be watering ... but I still use the probe.

MIGrampaUSA said:

I'm not sure I completely agree. For the first few years, we used the wet pot/dry pot lift method. When we started using the moisture probe, we were also using the wet pot/dry pot method to compare. There were many times where I probably would have watered but the probe said differently. What I found is if I relied 100% on my judgement, there would be times I watered too soon.

Now, all I have to do is look at the garden and I have a very good idea when I'll be watering ... but I still use the probe.

Click to expand...

Oh they can be a great tool for sure, but I wouldn't rely solely on a cheap meter... we know things aren't meant to last forever.

TSD said:

Oh they can be a great tool for sure, but I wouldn't rely solely on a cheap meter... we know things aren't meant to last forever.

Click to expand...

I've got several, and for what they cost I'm likely to buy more at some time. I consider it a cheap investment and part of my tool kit.