watering from top or bottom? advice needed please...

[UKgrow]

Hi, I am growing in 20 litre pots, indoors in soil, 600w HPS etc. Up until now I have watered from the base of the pots (once the roots are established) however, a few friends have said in soil they water from the top of the pot. Any ideas people? Thanks

 

[justsomeguy]

water top down. its way more efficient and flushes salts and plant waste out. letting the plants wick from the bottom works fine but you could run into buildups if you're feeding nutrients.

 

[UKgrow]

Thanks JSG

 

[LexLuthor]

Yeap, the salts will build up and it is very inefficient compared to top feed. Also, it usually doesn't saturate the entire medium evenly which will result in wet and dry spots and that could damage the roots. I just don't see any benefit with bottom feeding in pots with soil, unless there tiny rapid rooters or something like that then it will work, but actual pots should be top fed. Good luck.

 

[UKgrow]

Thanks Lex

 

[half baked]

i grow with soil and feed from the top, just to make sure all the soil gets a good soaking tbh, now i grow organic so dont have any run off whatsoever, at first 20s hold about 4 ltrs per watering till the roots are developed then ya can fit bout 5ltr per watering without any runoff, what nutes ya gonna be using?

 

[soserthc1]

soil grower same set up as you 600watt 5 gal pots always water from top to bottom , just feel that the entire soil gets a good watering/feeding instead of dry spots on the top - if watering from bottom up only roots are getting watered/fed and could possible not get enough JMHO.... peace SoSer

 

[LexLuthor]

i grow with soil and feed from the top, just to make sure all the soil gets a good soaking tbh, now i grow organic so dont have any run off whatsoever, at first 20s hold about 4 ltrs per watering till the roots are developed then ya can fit bout 5ltr per watering without any runoff, what nutes ya gonna be using?

I understand you don't need runoff to reduce salt buildup because you use organics, but you should still water to a little (about 5-10%) runoff just to make sure your entire medium gets evenly saturated. If there is no runoff then you could possibly have dry spots towards the bottom of your buckets and the roots within the dry spots will eventually die off. Just some friendly advice bro.

 

[Seamaiden]

Hi, I am growing in 20 litre pots, indoors in soil, 600w HPS etc. Up until now I have watered from the base of the pots (once the roots are established) however, a few friends have said in soil they water from the top of the pot. Any ideas people? Thanks

I do it both ways, but I actually prefer to water from the bottom by sitting the pot in a saucer. It's MUCH easier, and if you're not overfeeding, or are growing organically you don't have to concern yourself with salt build-ups. It works just fine, and in my opinion bottom watering makes best use of the soil's capillary action which leads to evenly moist soil.

 

[half baked]

I understand you don't need runoff to reduce salt buildup because you use organics, but you should still water to a little (about 5-10%) runoff just to make sure your entire medium gets evenly saturated. If there is no runoff then you could possibly have dry spots towards the bottom of your buckets and the roots within the dry spots will eventually die off. Just some friendly advice bro.

no i water my plants fully bro ;) , if ya use the amounts i stated it does runoff bout 10% then slowly drinks it back up, saves ya gettin em in and out to get rid of the run-off, just my stoner ass not explaining proper, thanks tho man

hb

 

[LexLuthor]

no i water my plants fully bro ;) , if ya use the amounts i stated it does runoff bout 10% then slowly drinks it back up, saves ya gettin em in and out to get rid of the run-off, just my stoner ass not explaining proper, thanks tho man

hb

Oh, so you do get runoff, I actually do that sometimes too, I let the little bit of water sit there and get soaked back up, but only with plain water and supersoil. I also think some of it evaporates from my HID lighting.

 

[LexLuthor]

I do it both ways, but I actually prefer to water from the bottom by sitting the pot in a saucer. It's MUCH easier, and if you're not overfeeding, or are growing organically you don't have to concern yourself with salt build-ups. It works just fine, and in my opinion bottom watering makes best use of the soil's capillary action which leads to evenly moist soil.

I don't understand how its easier, he's using 5 gallon pots so he would need a saucer big and deep enough to hold about a gallon of water plus his 5 gallon pot, which IMO it would be easier to pour water and top and let gravity do its job. Also, I don't see how it would evenly moisten the soil better then top feeding because gravity will pull the water down, but bottom feeding you will need more water and it will take longer because its going against the natural forces of gravity. I also think it will saturate the bottom more then the top when using a deep 5 gallon bucket because thats a long way for water to travel up and it naturally flows down much easier. Thats just my opinion based on 5 gallon pots, but if your using small 1 gallon pots then maybe all of that doesn't apply the same and its just as good as top feeding?? IDK, maybe I'm wrong, but do you think the size and depth of the pot has alot to do with it??

 

[UKgrow]

cheers guys all taken onboard. I am using HESI nutes.

 

[Seamaiden]

I don't understand how its easier, he's using 5 gallon pots so he would need a saucer big and deep enough to hold about a gallon of water plus his 5 gallon pot, which IMO it would be easier to pour water and top and let gravity do its job. Also, I don't see how it would evenly moisten the soil better then top feeding because gravity will pull the water down, but bottom feeding you will need more water and it will take longer because its going against the natural forces of gravity. I also think it will saturate the bottom more then the top when using a deep 5 gallon bucket because thats a long way for water to travel up and it naturally flows down much easier. Thats just my opinion based on 5 gallon pots, but if your using small 1 gallon pots then maybe all of that doesn't apply the same and its just as good as top feeding?? IDK, maybe I'm wrong, but do you think the size and depth of the pot has alot to do with it??

What does it matter how big the thing the pot's set into is? Doesn't matter if it's a saucer or one of those cement mixing trays you get from Home De Pot. For me it's easier because I know that there's this neat little feature of soil physics called "capillary action." It defies gravity. By allowing capillary action to do its thing, the soil that's already saturated/moist won't draw more in, nor can you force more into it. However, the dry soil (assuming it hasn't been allowed to dry out, and if you always keep some water in the tray or saucer then that doesn't occur) WILL draw moisture into it.

What happens when you water from the top? Does it all spread out evenly, and only goes into the soil slowly and evenly, only saturating the driest portions of the soil? If so, I want to know how you achieve that, because I can't. Sometimes my pots get dry, and then when I go back to water you wanna know what happens? The water runs out the sides because the soil has pulled away. Would you like to know the best way to prevent that? Keep a saucer underneath and always keep water in the saucer.

I don't just grow cannabis, and I haven't stayed at a Holiday Inn.

Seriously, try it before you say it doesn't work. I'm going to guess you've never tried it.

 

[Kyle mccall]

What does it matter how big the thing the pot's set into is? Doesn't matter if it's a saucer or one of those cement mixing trays you get from Home De Pot. For me it's easier because I know that there's this neat little feature of soil physics called "capillary action." It defies gravity. By allowing capillary action to do its thing, the soil that's already saturated/moist won't draw more in, nor can you force more into it. However, the dry soil (assuming it hasn't been allowed to dry out, and if you always keep some water in the tray or saucer then that doesn't occur) WILL draw moisture into it.

What happens when you water from the top? Does it all spread out evenly, and only goes into the soil slowly and evenly, only saturating the driest portions of the soil? If so, I want to know how you achieve that, because I can't. Sometimes my pots get dry, and then when I go back to water you wanna know what happens? The water runs out the sides because the soil has pulled away. Would you like to know the best way to prevent that? Keep a saucer underneath and always keep water in the saucer.

I don't just grow cannabis, and I haven't stayed at a Holiday Inn.

Seriously, try it before you say it doesn't work. I'm going to guess you've never tried it.

Debate over lol :D well said :D

 

[Jalisco Kid]

I just read an article in the horttech mag on this.Aug issue I believe. In coir I use different mediums to create different micro environment at different layers. Why do you think everything has to be the same moisture level.JK

 

[Seamaiden]

Ah, well, if you're culturing microbes keeping the soil evenly moist is important. Also, if you go back and read some of Blaze's posts, he's found that if you keep it moist the roots *will* grow. Big roots are good, yes? They are in my world, at least. Therefore, if moist soil means happy microbes, and happy microbes mean happy roots, and happy roots mean big roots, then my plants perform that much better. And all without me having to be overly concerned with balancing nutrition, only water.

I thought I already adequately explained why it's simply easier to keep potted plants at a more even moisture level. Plus, for me, it's just easier to get water into the saucer and use that to monitor and maintain moisture levels than working it the other way around. This is specific to my potted plants, I don't water the stuff in beds and in the ground from the bottom up, those are on timed irrigation.

 

[Jalisco Kid]

Keeping things from drying out and dying and worrying about having an even moisture level throughout the medium is another thing. JK
Not all roots in the root zone are created equal, some parts of the root like it dryer. Some like it more airier. You can see the difference in the roots around my bioball bags in my root zone.

 

[LexLuthor]

What does it matter how big the thing the pot's set into is? Doesn't matter if it's a saucer or one of those cement mixing trays you get from Home De Pot. For me it's easier because I know that there's this neat little feature of soil physics called "capillary action." It defies gravity. By allowing capillary action to do its thing, the soil that's already saturated/moist won't draw more in, nor can you force more into it. However, the dry soil (assuming it hasn't been allowed to dry out, and if you always keep some water in the tray or saucer then that doesn't occur) WILL draw moisture into it.

What happens when you water from the top? Does it all spread out evenly, and only goes into the soil slowly and evenly, only saturating the driest portions of the soil? If so, I want to know how you achieve that, because I can't. Sometimes my pots get dry, and then when I go back to water you wanna know what happens? The water runs out the sides because the soil has pulled away. Would you like to know the best way to prevent that? Keep a saucer underneath and always keep water in the saucer.

I don't just grow cannabis, and I haven't stayed at a Holiday Inn.

Seriously, try it before you say it doesn't work. I'm going to guess you've never tried it.

Ok, so capillary action works both ways, correct?? So you say when you top feed you cannot get the soil slowly and evenly saturated, but then you said through capillary action the soil will pull in moisture from the surrounding area. Capillary action will work for bottom and top feeding, so I have no idea why your soil doesn't get evenly saturated through top feed.

I said I could be wrong about bottom feeding not working as good as top when used in big pots, but you proved that through capillary action it will work just fine. I still think its easier for most people to top feed instead of refilling the saucer over and over, thats just my opinion, but its probably safer because leaving water in the saucer 24/7 could promote mold and mildew growth under certain conditions.

Oh yeah, you also asked how I can achieve the water slowly saturating my soil evenly because you can't, well, when I water I slowly pour it over the entire surface of the soil and I never allow my soil to dry out too much. Thats how I get my soil evenly saturated through top feeding, but its very important to water slowly and cover the entire surface of the top soil. Then capillary action and gravity takes care of the rest.

There is a reason the majority of growers top feed, not saying bottom won't work, but IMO its too much of a hassle refilling saucers multiple times a day and its quicker to top feed once then done til next watering is necessary, but we all have our opinions.

 

[LexLuthor]

Debate over lol :D well said :D

This is not a debate because I said I "could be wrong" about bottom feeding working as good as top in big pots, so there is no argument there. She thinks its easier to bottom feed and I think its easier to top feed and there is no "better" way, its simply opinion because both watering methods will evenly saturate the soil if done properly.