Booomer242,
I have a 6 inch RW drip to waste system I just started.
How often and for how long do you water? I have looked all over and cant find any info for RW. Right now I water 3 times a night for 3 min each time. Each plant gets 2 liters per watering. But 65% of that goes to waste.
Would appreciate your thoughts.
good eyes. i actually never really covered it in this thread. i appreciate u reaidn everything before asking. but watering times for me IMO depend on lots of variables; photoperiod, growth timeline, plants general health, etc. the concept i like to think of for my waterings is u want to keep the rhizosphere damp. not dry or soaked. RW takes experience. everything i read about RW is always sumones opinion stating its for experienced growers. i would agree to a point but also like to point out this is my second indoor grow. i grew outdoors in soil once so doesnt count much. point is RW has a learning curve to be prepared to change gears.
so u can see as an example of my waterings to help answer ur question... and i will document it for myself (later) and others viewing;
My watering schedule;
Flower week 1-4 typically 4 waterings for 30secs each.
Flower Week 5-7 about 4-6 waterings as needed for 45-60secs
Final Weeks 8-10 varies depending on wat experimental feeding i am doing.
I am using drip to waste via 1/4" spaghetti tubing connected to circle drippers i made.
I dont wnt anyone to think this is correct or the best watering. im not here to claim that. i am providing details that produced the results seen in this current grow.
Sumthing i picked up on was monitoring ur runoff. i check PH/PPM/temps/etc daily... i check runoff whenever i see a change in the plant (good or bad) so i can mentally record it and ponder what did wat, and also document it in my notes for next crops. The runoff tells u a lot. for example; ur point about 65% being waste. i dont know wat i would say my % is but i usually judge the runoff rez level and see wat the plant is drinking up. when the plants are their healthiest strongest they will drink the most. RW will remain moist but dries out fast if u have a strong rhizosphere. so make sure u lift the cubes up daily til u get an idea of the weight. just like anything done with repetition, ull be able to recall the weight and see if u need to increase ur waterings. thats the best advise i can give. if u have weak plants with poor root systems, those cubes will stay wet longer and cause potential problems. i had pathogen attacks on my first crop. mostly due to my rez temps tho. anyways hope this helps u and others.
:joint:
