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hydrophobic soil ? can it be fixed

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hydrophobic soil ? can it be fixed

budsofgeorgia 28 Replies 5,958 Views
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budsofgeorgia

budsofgeorgia

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#1
i have used hydrophobic soil will a good soak be enough ?
i left the soil outside in a tote for about a month and it dried out way to much
water just flows off starts to soak in after a min or 2
i have 12 plants in 1 gallon pots in the soil will just watering fix the issue
 
#2
Probably just have to water real slow! Little Water, let’s soak in, a little water, let’s soak in! With 12 pots that will probably be a pita! I would take one and poke some holes with a screwdriver 3/4 of the way down to the bottom and see if that speeds up the water accessing the center! Then, maybe look into adding more perlite into your soil mix to provide better drainage and dry back in the future!
 
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#3
Oldchucky said:
Probably just have to water real slow! Little Water, let’s soak in, a little water, let’s soak in! With 12 pots that will probably be a pita! I would take one and poke some holes with a screwdriver 3/4 of the way down to the bottom and see if that speeds up the water accessing the center! Then, maybe look into adding more perlite into your soil mix to provide better drainage and dry back in the future!
Click to expand...
i added 5 gallons of perlite to 12 gallons of media
 
#4
Sounds like that should be enough! Hopefully this this situation will correct. Once you get the soil soaked thoroughly! That might take a while. Sometimes just scuffing up the surface of the soil will allow the water to penetrate easier!
 
#5
What I do is I measure out exactly how much water I can pour onto my plants without the water touching the sides of the pots. When they are dry, the water just sits there ontop for about 15-30 seconds, then slowly seeps in. I wait 15 minutes, then I pour again, wait another 15 mins, etc etc. Since watering like that I haven't had any issues. To make things faster, I also try and find a measuring cup the exact size that each pour is, so all I have to do is dunk it in the bucket, no measuring, nice and quick lol.

If the soil is super super dry on your first soak, maybe when you have half the bucket left let them sit for 30 minutes instead of just 15. After their first soak I don't think you will have any problems.
Oldchucky said:
Sometimes just scuffing up the surface of the soil will allow the water to penetrate easier!
Click to expand...
Yep. This is the only thing that saved my girls in veg, I was having massive problems with hydrophobic soil. Since I scuffed the surface and kept to the 15 minute rule I haven't had a single issue. I also used a wood fork to make small punctures in the top soil, but I had to be careful not to damage big roots so it took about 10 minutes per plant 🤣 .
 
#6
Oldchucky said:
Sounds like that should be enough! Hopefully this this situation will correct. Once you get the soil soaked thoroughly! That might take a while. Sometimes just scuffing up the surface of the soil will allow the water to penetrate easier!
Click to expand...
no need to scuff up anything the soil was like bone dry , i mixed it up with perlite and dry amendments about a month ago , i left it sitting outside in a tote with a sheet over the tote to keep bugs out soil got to dry
IMG 20240902 181722759
 
#7
im talking about plants that are not even a week old
 
#8
i been using pro mix bales and on the package it says the bales weigh 40 lbs if i get 12 gallons out of 1 bale that would be about 3.33 lbs per gallon from the factory so to speak now would 3.33 be the proper weight of the soil if it was not too dry because 1 gallon of what i got is only 1.5 lb
 
#9
BudRanger1919 said:
What I do is I measure out exactly how much water I can pour onto my plants without the water touching the sides of the pots. When they are dry, the water just sits there ontop for about 15-30 seconds, then slowly seeps in. I wait 15 minutes, then I pour again, wait another 15 mins, etc etc. Since watering like that I haven't had any issues. To make things faster, I also try and find a measuring cup the exact size that each pour is, so all I have to do is dunk it in the bucket, no measuring, nice and quick lol.

If the soil is super super dry on your first soak, maybe when you have half the bucket left let them sit for 30 minutes instead of just 15. After their first soak I don't think you will have any problems.

Yep. This is the only thing that saved my girls in veg, I was having massive problems with hydrophobic soil. Since I scuffed the surface and kept to the 15 minute rule I haven't had a single issue. I also used a wood fork to make small punctures in the top soil, but I had to be careful not to damage big roots so it took about 10 minutes per plant 🤣 .
Click to expand...
i measure and i weigh every time i do anything
 
#10
budsofgeorgia said:
i have used hydrophobic soil will a good soak be enough ?
i left the soil outside in a tote for about a month and it dried out way to much
water just flows off starts to soak in after a min or 2
i have 12 plants in 1 gallon pots in the soil will just watering fix the issue
Click to expand...
Money is tight and I’m growing in some reused FF Ocean soil. It was waaaaAy dried out, in fabric bags. For a long time.

What I did was drench everything thing in tub. Really get in there and bust up the roots. The microbes appear to come alive. ✌️

I’m using reused soil in the one gal challenge 💨
IMG 5552
 
#11
BB22 said:
Money is tight and I’m growing in some reused FF Ocean soil. It was waaaaAy dried out, in fabric bags. For a long time.

What I did was drench everything thing in tub. Really get in there and bust up the roots. The microbes appear to come alive. ✌️

I’m using reused soil in the one gal challenge 💨
View attachment 2263373
Click to expand...
yea i was gonna join the one gallon challenge but i cant
 
#12
budsofgeorgia said:
i been using pro mix bales and on the package it says the bales weigh 40 lbs if i get 12 gallons out of 1 bale that would be about 3.33 lbs per gallon from the factory so to speak now would 3.33 be the proper weight of the soil if it was not too dry because 1 gallon of what i got is only 1.5 lb
Click to expand...
could someone tell me if my math is right or if i doing it all wrong
 
#13
I think I would just worry about getting Water to the immediate route zone area by watering slowly! Then, expand your watering as the plant starts moving! I wouldn’t worry about watering the whole pot yet! And as far as weight goes, you’re probably close to 40% perlite, which doesn’t weigh much of anything! And if you transplanted with the roots in a plug of soil, or whatever that will complicate things! Just gonna have to figure it out! And you can look into surfactants if you think that’s necessary!
 
#15
Use a sprayer to moisten the soil before watering. It may take some patience but it helps. And, as was mentioned, when you water use a low flow rate and give it a few sips at a time. When ready to fully water, take your time.

If I'm pressed for time, I water just the edge lightly and let the water run off. Once the edge is moistened, water is less likely to just run right off. Not fool proof and bit messy but it works.
 
#16
Let him sit there for 10 or 15 minutes per pot! Maybe it will teach him not to go off half cocked!
 
#19
i do not see what was so bad about me asking if my math was right
 
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