New Simplified Way to Water

[Tremojem]

Grateful to community for this one!!!

My first ever grow was in a 7 gallon plastic pot. I was literally forced to drill inspection holes for my moisture probes, which are from Amazon as well.

TBH, I kinda felt like an idiot. But it worked.
And now I get to read this thread and feel okay about myself.

Amazing how KISS really works.

Incidentally, I never had a reason to repeat this, as I discarded the plastic pot and switched to fabric and the next two grows were without Incident.

But, now I do have a problem. This thread reminded me of that first grow and now I will make this a regular feature of my data collection methods to accurately provide correct watering practices.

Or at least help in the process.

Thanks all!

Oh, Aqua Man...is that video of the auto watering sprinkler system yours? Whomever owns it is blessed. I could seriously get stoned and just watch that for awhile...freaking lovely!!!

Best to you.

 

[Aqua Man]

Grateful to community for this one!!!

My first ever grow was in a 7 gallon plastic pot. I was literally forced to drill inspection holes for my moisture probes, which are from Amazon as well.

TBH, I kinda felt like an idiot. But it worked.
And now I get to read this thread and feel okay about myself.

Amazing how KISS really works.

Incidentally, I never had a reason to repeat this, as I discarded the plastic pot and switched to fabric and the next two grows were without Incident.

But, now I do have a problem. This thread reminded me of that first grow and now I will make this a regular feature of my data collection methods to accurately provide correct watering practices.

Or at least help in the process.

Thanks all!

Oh, Aqua Man...is that video of the auto watering sprinkler system yours? Whomever owns it is blessed. I could seriously get stoned and just watch that for awhile...freaking lovely!!!

Best to you.

Yeah that was my autofeed and drain system for coco. I just mixed up the nutrients in the res and it fed them and pumped the runoff doen the drain. lowest maintenance ever. Just mixed a res every few days and that was it

 

[Tremojem]

Nice.

I am still getting my feet wet (hahaha) with only four grows.

I am of the mindset to move into Coco or even a Coco hybrid as it just seems better.
But I tend to take baby steps.

I am also of the mindset that I should first become proficient with one methodology at a time. And then move on, taking into account all of my successes and failures. Its just fun too. Being retired is convenient in being available at all times to be there for them.

Having said that, I appreciate automation with reliability and flexibility. I love data and the benefits of it. I digress.

Back to the point. I love it and am jealous. Do you not continue to use this now?

I am newly active and am just going through as much of the contributions here, as I can...at least until I catch up. I was just browsing the top threads and found many that are so relevant now.

But, anyway...it is really nice Brother.

Best to you.

 

[Tremojem]

I actually have some questions regarding the mixing of nutrients in a tank, used for automatic watering. I will search here and if I am unable to find my answer, I will ask here, thanks.

Best to you.

 

[Aqua Man]

Nice.

I am still getting my feet wet (hahaha) with only four grows.

I am of the mindset to move into Coco or even a Coco hybrid as it just seems better.
But I tend to take baby steps.

I am also of the mindset that I should first become proficient with one methodology at a time. And then move on, taking into account all of my successes and failures. Its just fun too. Being retired is convenient in being available at all times to be there for them.

Having said that, I appreciate automation with reliability and flexibility. I love data and the benefits of it. I digress.

Back to the point. I love it and am jealous. Do you not continue to use this now?

I am newly active and am just going through as much of the contributions here, as I can...at least until I catch up. I was just browsing the top threads and found many that are so relevant now.

But, anyway...it is really nice Brother.

Best to you.

Nope last grow i went back to hydro and ill be starting another soon but im thinking aeroponic this time

 

[Tremojem]

Okay, cool. Thank you for sharing.

Best to you.

 

[Tremojem]

Aqua Man, I wish I had half your experience and knowledge. Damn, this is cool. I have NEVER heard of this. It actually seems less scary...and sustainable, with regard to water usage in comparison to Hydro.

All I can say is that the journey to acquire half your experience and knowledge will be fun!

Thanks for yet another lesson. Damn!!!

From the world of Google..."The biggest advantage of aeroponics is that roots are exposed to air, thus there is never an issue of insufficient oxygen. Its disadvantages are high initial construction costs, high maintenance of the system, and high level of technical knowledge required."

Best to you.

 

[Tremojem]

Thanks go out to Aqua Man, ComfortablyNumb, and quirk for the information regarding watering and metering.

I inserted a moisture probe into my fabric pot at three locations equidistant from one another, while disregarding the top two inches and bottom two inches of the fabric pot.

Upon completing the first inspection, the middle location was wet, while the two other locations (top & bottom holes) were moist. I continued to check each location at regular intervals and all three locations moved closer and closer to a dryer reading. Ultimately, the top and bottom locations measured close to dry, while the middle location read moist. Then finally when the middle location read close to dry, I watered.

This data tells me the following things.

1) Location of water table. Most important information you can have, to accurately assess watering needs.
2) The data proves the theory, that Aqua Man referred to in his post. Additionally, seeing the data over time is reassuring that you have good data, as the correlation between test sites remains consistent throughout the data collection period.
3) I now have a proven methodology for accurate watering in soil. Additionally, it serves as a tool for identifying problems. Before this I would make assumptions regarding problems with the grow and would be chasing my tail, if under/over watering was the root cause, because I did not really know if my plant was properly watered. I can better troubleshoot now with accurate data of the state of my plants soil moisture content.
4) I have been watering incorrectly during all of my four grows. I am lucky to have had any success with the first three, and am now moving towards recovery for my current, fourth, grow. As long as all else is good, she should bounce back for me. Really struggled with this one...lol.

One of the biggest misconceptions new growers like me have, is that you are watering correctly. I have seen this on the web, more than anything else, and it is closely followed by nutrient feeding.

Just another lesson learned, and I thank you all.

As a side note, my probe is about six to eight inches long, maybe even ten inches. Suffice to say, inserting it from the top of the soil and down into the substrate is useless when compared to this methodology. The data collected from this approach does not in any way provide the useful information nor does it match the data collected by inserting it, correctly, into the water table, once you have identified it's location.

Every grow moving forward will benefit from this methodology.

Best to you.

 

[growpuppy]

I’ll vouch for it. Tried it and it works. Very useful on 20 gallon and larger pots. I was dumping four or 5 gallons on a 25 gallon pot and was shocked to find out how little of it was getting much past halfway down. Great idea!

hi new here, i think watering from bottom let water soak up and a good heavy mist from above, stops damping off,bugs etc

 

[RootsRuler]

hi new here, i think watering from bottom let water soak up and a good heavy mist from above, stops damping off,bugs etc

I like bottom watering for the same reasons but most of all because it completely saturates the media which is harder to do when you top feed.

 

[cannafarmer420]

The other day I had an idea and after testing, it works great.

To know if you need to water, get yourself a soil meter.
Poke or drill 4 holes in your pot 1/4 way up from the bottom spaced around the pot.
Insert the meter probe into the hole and test for moisture. If its dry, then water SLOWLY until it reads on the meter.
Stop when the meter reads the water. It's full.

I wait until the plant tells me it needs water all of them have a tell. 2 runs ago a couple fans would droop when it was about to be thirsty. Just learn your girls

 

[rodney2509]

The other day I had an idea and after testing, it works great.

To know if you need to water, get yourself a soil meter.
Poke or drill 4 holes in your pot 1/4 way up from the bottom spaced around the pot.
Insert the meter probe into the hole and test for moisture. If its dry, then water SLOWLY until it reads on the meter.
Stop when the meter reads the water. It's full.

DollarUpload - Access Denied

 

[Captspaulding]

DollarUpload - Access Denied

Say man, quit spamming links

 

[GerryOfDankzville]

Blumat has a potentiometer for about 90 I think.. definitely worth it's weight in gold
Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with blumat inc. in any way shape or form

 

[Oldchucky]

I use this method with a long, single probe, cheapo moisture meter! Can go in through the sides of the pots and get a vague idea of what is going on in the bottom third of 40 gallon cloth pots! And you can watch it as your watering to know when the water has reached the bottom of the pot without leaching by putting too much water in!

 

[GerryOfDankzville]

Yeah I wouldn't pay 90 either for one unless I wasn't a completely imperfect perfectionist

 

[GerryOfDankzville]

Watering is the most important and hardest thing to get right so anything I can get to help I'm all over it

 

[GerryOfDankzville]

If you listen to kis organics podcast at all whenever they have a grower or breeder come on they all pretty much say the same.. that getting watering right is the most crucial part of their operation. Large/small scale all the same

 

[Oldchucky]

I found it if you can get them to 4 feet with a decent amount of roots they can handle pretty much anything you throw at them in the way of watering as long as you let them dry back every once in a while! Really crucial while they are smaller!

 

[Mikedin]

If you listen to kis organics podcast at all whenever they have a grower or breeder come on they all pretty much say the same.. that getting watering right is the most crucial part of their operation. Large/small scale all the same

Hardest thing to master in growing anything no doubt, plants will fade one way or the other before dying if it’s due to neutrient uptake or light, but mess up their water… and they’ll be on the dirt dead by morning especially during that first month I do 12 hour checks

Learn pot weights I can open the tent in the dark at 4am and pick up a pot or even a seedling container and know if they need water without ever seeing them or the soil