watering. the net would not be so bad if you had learned the weight thing first. after you get the feel, you can just barely lift on the bag with a finger at the handle. even with the net, if she needs water you can stick one finger on the handle or under the edge and push up, and know it is light enough. if you dont feel it light like sawdust then dont water.
none of the experienced farmers here would say use a meter! they measure one space, a very small space. so unless you stick it all over you dont know that your meter isnt in some roots with little to no dirt to touch the sensor. or right above the water table (not the right wording, but youd know what i mean if you had read Aqua's post on watering).
i have said this many times, but i personally think you would actually learn if you went about it a bit differently. you are on a first grow, you should worry over water and lights and environment (heat, cool, humidity...) and not jump on every little fad or thing that you hear about. nets, lst, fimming, topping, and all the messing about with ph runoff in soil without reading about it and learning. you are trying to do too much, and normally that leads to frustration, doing too much and being new often leads to frustration and then defeat. your net isnt even doing anything for them! well, i guess it is, it is stopping you from tending them properly.
at this point you have used lots of techniques and methods and manners of things... but because of that, you wont learn any one of them well.
just try what they are saying... dont water till pot is light, get rid of the net, and a picture of the brown spots would help