Should I water until runoff

quirk · Feb 5, 2021

30roll said:
'Got my big mixing container. It was the ticket..I just watered my 7gal bags with 4 liters each. Not a drop came out.. 4 Liters really eats up the nutrients tho.. The plants are eating it up.

Now you're talking.

Glassdub · Feb 7, 2021

Aqua Man said:
Imo keep soil 30-60% saturated. No need for runoff with organic amendment unless its been over fed.

I like to get run off pH & PPM reads though so I water to run off with ProMix BX water every 4 days in flower, trying organic next run.

trerevilo · Jan 18, 2022

Use the 10% Rule for organics. Water 10% of the container size.

kingdom_living · Aug 21, 2023

Aqua Man said:
That ok as long as you give a good dry back... with synthetic we wanna wash out some of the old nutes. This is because they are immediately available and can build up. That can happen with organic but much less likely. In soil with synthetic we water to runnoff for that reason but with organic we want to keep the soil in ideal moisture range for a more consistent o2 level as we generally don't need rinse nutrients from the soil.

So what should I do if I am growing in Happy Frog soil? I had a pretty bad salt build up that I flushed out last week, and I’m about to water with Recharge for the first time now along with some more nutes. I’m in week 6 of flower and would say I only have like 2 weeks left if that. Should I water til runoff or no? They say Happy Frog is organic soil but it’s not technically living soil, is it? And I know that out of the trio, their Big Bloom is the only true organic fertilizer IIRC.

LoveGrowingIt · Aug 21, 2023

kingdom_living said:
So what should I do if I am growing in Happy Frog soil? I had a pretty bad salt build up that I flushed out last week, and I’m about to water with Recharge for the first time now along with some more nutes. I’m in week 6 of flower and would say I only have like 2 weeks left if that. Should I water til runoff or no? They say Happy Frog is organic soil but it’s not technically living soil, is it? And I know that out of the trio, their Big Bloom is the only true organic fertilizer IIRC.

You'll get better help if you start a thread.

You should water till there's runoff, making sure the soil dries well between waterings.

Organic growing basically means nutrients feed microbes and microbes feed the plant. Contrast that with synthetic nutrients that feed the plant directly. Either can be used with Happy Frog soil. Recharge provides microbes for organic growing, but the soil still needs organic nutrients the microbes can use. The living part of living soil is the microbes in the soil.

DavidCarvajal · May 10, 2025

I’m a good grower I amend each grow bag with granular fertilizer compost vermiculite manure and peat moss I grow Autoflowers in 3 Gallon fabric bags, I water every 3 days during flower every 4 days during seedlings and early flower I use several types of Miracle Grows rain water and multiple nutrients CalMAG Silica Molasses Fox Farms granular flower food
Water then 3 days later nutrients….
MarzHydro TS1500 other blurple for under-lighting 1 intake fan 1big in the tent fan with charcoal filter just 12 inches light distance it works 3 Oz per plant usually

Bullmark69 · May 11, 2025

If you are growing organically, the larger the pot the better. I’m not a scientist or botanist, but I have had more success with organic grows when began using a little larger container.
I think U have a larger margin for error and the plant can store more reserves. I’ve had nice grows in 5 gal pots but if I’m trying to maximize yield, I’ll step up to 10-15gals.

Oldchucky · May 11, 2025

Bullmark69 said:
If you are growing organically, the larger the pot the better. I’m not a scientist or botanist, but I have had more success with organic grows when began using a little larger container.
I think U have a larger margin for error and the plant can store more reserves. I’ve had nice grows in 5 gal pots but if I’m trying to maximize yield, I’ll step up to 10-15gals.

I know this is an old thread! But it’s got a lot of good information about watering! And I agree with you 100% about pot size!

Ninjadogma · May 11, 2025

Bullmark69 said:
If you are growing organically, the larger the pot the better. I’m not a scientist or botanist, but I have had more success with organic grows when began using a little larger container.
I think U have a larger margin for error and the plant can store more reserves. I’ve had nice grows in 5 gal pots but if I’m trying to maximize yield, I’ll step up to 10-15gals.

Thats because when you're growing in organic soil you're not just throwing together a medium with nutrients. You're providing an ecosystem in the soil that is going to feed the plant, and you need enough volume for that ecosystem to be self balanced enough for the microbes to generate the food supply for the plant at a fast enough rate that it's being consumed.

Elvis7733 · Sep 17, 2025

trerevilo said:
Use the 10% Rule for organics. Water 10% of the container size.

I see people telling others to use
Half of the size of your pot. So if your pot is 5 gallons they're saying to use 2.5 gallons of water. Do you think thats too much?
I don't use that much myself because it seems like excess.

Elvis7733 · Sep 17, 2025

DavidCarvajal said:
I’m a good grower I amend each grow bag with granular fertilizer compost vermiculite manure and peat moss I grow Autoflowers in 3 Gallon fabric bags, I water every 3 days during flower every 4 days during seedlings and early flower I use several types of Miracle Grows rain water and multiple nutrients CalMAG Silica Molasses Fox Farms granular flower food
Water then 3 days later nutrients….
MarzHydro TS1500 other blurple for under-lighting 1 intake fan 1big in the tent fan with charcoal filter just 12 inches light distance it works 3 Oz per plant usually

12 inch light distance???
When? Flower,Veg or both?
That's too close, man!
I'm growing with almost the exact same regimen except I use a 1000watt Boost grow led and I make my own lighting combos with the knobs.
24 inches is as close as I'll go my brother!

LoveGrowingIt · Sep 19, 2025

Elvis7733 said:
I see people telling others to use
Half of the size of your pot. So if your pot is 5 gallons they're saying to use 2.5 gallons of water. Do you think thats too much?
I don't use that much myself because it seems like excess.

Yes. I think that's too much.

I use 5-gallon pots and 1-gallon watering cans. I usually don't use a whole gallon of water, though. However, it's important to keep in mind that growing conditions differ for every grower, every climate, every type of soil, every plant, and each stage of growth. I let the soil dry during vegetation so the roots will go deep seeking moisture when the perched water table that's deep. During flowering, I water more often, mostly because large plants transpire more. Defoliation affects how much water a plant needs, as well, because there are fewer leaves that transpire.

Understanding the perched water table is helpful. It's a point in the soil at which two forces meet. The force of gravity is pulling the water downward. The force of capillary action (or diffusion) is pulling the water upward. The perched water table is where the two forces are equal. The level of the table changes depending on how much water is in the soil, the porosity of the soil, and how much organic matter is in the soil.

Tezz · Nov 5, 2025

I was using Fox Farms, 5-7 gallon felt pots, Lotus nutes at about 80% of dosage and watering just a little less than runoff but (figured out) too often. Another problem is a lot of that water just evaporates and makes the tent too humid unless you're in a really dry climate and need the humidity (and lower the nutes to prevent build up). Use a moisture meter, wait until the top couple inches are dry, most is normal and it it only reads wet in the bottom inch or few.

MrBerryDinglelol · Nov 6, 2025

GardenWeasel77 said:
I am a first time grower. I am growing in ffof. As of late my plants have become nutrient deficient. I a have been topdressing with down to earth dry fertilizer.

My question is, should I be watering until runoff or is that just flushing all my fertilizer out?

Yes especially if you add anything to the watering like nutrients if the water with nutrients "stops" say 2/3 the way to the bottom of the pot that is where you are going to start getting salt crystals that build up in the soil. I do my plants in there veg cycle in 10gal fabric pots 1 gal of water about each to make sure you get runoff also make sure to test your run off . We're you growing ? Im in raleigh nc just watch the humidity it can ruin a harvest real quick if it gets to high. Good luck hit me up if u got any other questions.

Should I water until runoff

Should I water until runoff

quirk

Glassdub

trerevilo

kingdom_living

LoveGrowingIt

DavidCarvajal

Bullmark69

Oldchucky

Ninjadogma

Elvis7733

Elvis7733

LoveGrowingIt

Tezz

MrBerryDinglelol

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