Watering till runoff - fabric pots

Dance_Instructor · Mar 12, 2023

Hey everyone,

I have a question about watering till runoff. Is it important to have runoff? And why it should not be going runoff if I'm giving them more than enough water?

My pots are 20 liters, plants are 5 weeks old, today I topped them, defoliated some leaves, and gave nutrients (Advanced Nutrients Jungle Juice) and B52. Media is Soil + added some coco coir and perlite.

The last time I watered them was a week ago, I was checking pot weight regularly and today I felt it was light and needed watering so I watered them with 6-7 liters, but still didn't get runoff. Should I give 1-2 more liters of water with nutrients to get the runoff, or should it be enough as the 6-7 liter is around 30+% of the total pot size?

Many thanks and I love this forum, got very useful advice.

Edit:
Temp 24-25C
Humidity: 50-60
Light: Mars Hydro TSW2000, 26-28 Inch height, 100% Dim

Cirroji · Mar 12, 2023

get those ladies off the direct floor - this is gonna immediately help with under airflow and bottom soil drying at a more similar speed to the rest of the pot

- over watering too quickly condenses soil removing air spots gradually
- with too much runoff if you paid for hot soil you're literally leaking what you paid for out the bottom
- you want the soil to be saturated not waterlogged, doing so slowly allows water to expand into the soil (think of a paper towel in water how it will reach out and absorb to other areas)

Dance_Instructor · Mar 12, 2023

Cirroji said:
get those ladies off the direct floor - this is gonna immediately help with under airflow and bottom soil drying at a more similar speed to the rest of the pot

- over watering too quickly condenses soil removing air spots gradually
- with too much runoff if you paid for hot soil you're literally leaking what you paid for out the bottom
- you want the soil to be saturated not waterlogged, doing so slowly allows water to expand into the soil (think of a paper towel in water how it will reach out and absorb to other areas)

Any recommendations on what I can put the plants, so they won't be on the direct floor? what practice do u use here?

Cirroji · Mar 12, 2023

i use these badboys, they're pretty low still but with the wheels i can move them for inspection/trimming super easy. when i grab them they always come with so i can have them mobile in or out of the tent. they also are an EXACT diamter size for my5 gallon fabric pots so it satisfies my OCD

Legalizeiteverywhere · Jun 25, 2023

Figured I’d ask this here to A) re-ignite the thread for OP and B) get my own question answered. I just watched a YT video earlier today where this guys that was using fabric pots says to water, he makes up his solution in a big bucket and then picks up each pot and submerses it up to where the dirt is at the top and leaves it for 8 seconds and then pulls it out and tilts it until the water stops streaming out of the bottom and then becomes a steady drip. Does this sound like anything anyone has ever heard of? I just transplanted into my first fabric pots and wanna know the best way to water them because it will obviously be different than the plastic pots I’ve always used. Thanks in advance

Eclipted · Jun 26, 2023

Legalizeiteverywhere said:
Figured I’d ask this here to A) re-ignite the thread for OP and B) get my own question answered. I just watched a YT video earlier today where this guys that was using fabric pots says to water, he makes up his solution in a big bucket and then picks up each pot and submerses it up to where the dirt is at the top and leaves it for 8 seconds and then pulls it out and tilts it until the water stops streaming out of the bottom and then becomes a steady drip. Does this sound like anything anyone has ever heard of? I just transplanted into my first fabric pots and wanna know the best way to water them because it will obviously be different than the plastic pots I’ve always used. Thanks in advance

I’m new to the grow scene so this may not be the best info but it’s my first time grow and I use fabric pots. My plants currently sit in a 3g pot and I use a little less than half a gallon of water per pot, with that I see decent amounts of run off and my plants seem to be really happy. I live in Texas so I’m worried about moisture so I do my best not to over water my plant. I think dunking them in water especially the same water could lead to disease transfer, overwatering, root rot etc. especially if you just transferred into the larger pot you don’t need to drown them. Give them enough water to make the roots stretch out in search of it. You want to create a strong root system and you’ll see how your plant starts to suck up more and more water. I water when the leaves start to kind of get Limp because I know then my soil is completely dry. Make sure your pots are elevated with some type of bottom that allows airflow. Best of luck! Again I could be completely wrong there is much more knowledgeable people on here

Harpua88 · Jun 26, 2023

Dance_Instructor said:
Hey everyone,

I have a question about watering till runoff. Is it important to have runoff? And why it should not be going runoff if I'm giving them more than enough water?

My pots are 20 liters, plants are 5 weeks old, today I topped them, defoliated some leaves, and gave nutrients (Advanced Nutrients Jungle Juice) and B52. Media is Soil + added some coco coir and perlite.

The last time I watered them was a week ago, I was checking pot weight regularly and today I felt it was light and needed watering so I watered them with 6-7 liters, but still didn't get runoff. Should I give 1-2 more liters of water with nutrients to get the runoff, or should it be enough as the 6-7 liter is around 30+% of the total pot size?

Many thanks and I love this forum, got very useful advice.

Edit:
Temp 24-25C
Humidity: 50-60
Light: Mars Hydro TSW2000, 26-28 Inch height, 100% Dim

I use soil, not that much different than your approach. I also use 40 liter pots......there are a lot of factors that go into how much water you give. You're right to wait until thr soil dries out......to a point, don't let it get bone dry with wilting. But all I can say is my plants are about 2ft tall, flowering for about a month......I water about 4 liters.....slowly. That's enough to get the soil thoroughly moist, not too much, and no runoff. I don't go for runoff. To me that just means overwatering, or watered too fast. That doesn't mean a little won't dribble out the bottom sometimes. Just a little. But my goal is no runoff.

Harpua88 · Jun 26, 2023

Eclipted said:
I’m new to the grow scene so this may not be the best info but it’s my first time grow and I use fabric pots. My plants currently sit in a 3g pot and I use a little less than half a gallon of water per pot, with that I see decent amounts of run off and my plants seem to be really happy. I live in Texas so I’m worried about moisture so I do my best not to over water my plant. I think dunking them in water especially the same water could lead to disease transfer, overwatering, root rot etc. especially if you just transferred into the larger pot you don’t need to drown them. Give them enough water to make the roots stretch out in search of it. You want to create a strong root system and you’ll see how your plant starts to suck up more and more water. I water when the leaves start to kind of get Limp because I know then my soil is completely dry. Make sure your pots are elevated with some type of bottom that allows airflow. Best of luck!

That's not a terrible strategy, really.......but if you actually let them wilt, that's unnecessary stress. If you can get them just before that, that's good timing. Letting the roots search for water is fine........if the roots aren't hitting dry pockets, or the soil is so dry it has trouble soaking up water. Roots need air, but the soil deeper down should be moist. You might be flirting with underwatering. I like your approach.......but try to hit 'em a little earlier than that and I think you'll see better, more even growth.

Ponky · Jun 26, 2023

A 5 gallon pot is designed to use the entire contents of a 2 gallon watering can.

mdterpz532 · Jun 26, 2023

With my 6 girls, I mix up 5 gallons of my chosen mix, and I feed slowly. not too slowly, but I don't dump it in. I like a longer spout, 1 gal watering jug. and I also apply plain tap water, thru a pressurized pump and spray jug, that has Sat out at least 24 hr. to gas off any chlorine, I'll spray the plain water on the topmost layer of soil just to pre dampen the area, i think it helps to spread out the feed mix, and not run directlyto the sode of my fabric pots and out the fabric.. , then mix my feed, then pour a half gal into the watering can,and proceed to give each plant .5 gal until I make it thru all six, then I'll give a quarter gal to each until I see run off acquiring into the bottom pans that I have. Which are just cheap plastic things I got from home depot to collect any runoff and help keep tent clean. I can post a better picture if needed. But you are all smart enough.

Eclipted · Jun 26, 2023

Harpua88 said:
That's not a terrible strategy, really.......but if you actually let them wilt, that's unnecessary stress. If you can get them just before that, that's good timing. Letting the roots search for water is fine........if the roots aren't hitting dry pockets, or the soil is so dry it has trouble soaking up water. Roots need air, but the soil deeper down should be moist. You might be flirting with underwatering. I like your approach.......but try to hit 'em a little earlier than that and I think you'll see better, more even growth.

yeah I don’t let them get like completely dry the rootball will still be holding a little moisture when I look at the plants the smaller leaves closest to my base stem will sag a little bit, not necessarily like my big fan leaves or anything like that. It’s kind of like I look for the very first sign of droop then water her up, my only thought process behind that was it’s allowing the roots to dry out hopefully avoiding gnats/root rot. But whatever harp says pay attention this dude is a plant guru he can get you right

Boo1965 · Jun 26, 2023

Cirroji said:
get those ladies off the direct floor - this is gonna immediately help with under airflow and bottom soil drying at a more similar speed to the rest of the pot

- over watering too quickly condenses soil removing air spots gradually
- with too much runoff if you paid for hot soil you're literally leaking what you paid for out the bottom
- you want the soil to be saturated not waterlogged, doing so slowly allows water to expand into the soil (think of a paper towel in water how it will reach out and absorb to other areas)

Like the idea of raising off the floor. That I shall try. Thanks

Dub_City405 · Jun 26, 2023

You want to put those fabric pots in a saucer or like a tray to catch the water or runoff. That way you keep the tent clean.

Also. With my experience. I let the pot dry back alot if I am watering with that amount. Usually I'll just hook them up to drippers and I'll drip 4 to 5 times a day when the lights are on.

You want your plants roots to not get suffocated or shocked by feeding.

Eledin · Jun 26, 2023

I have 20 liter pots to, I water with 6 liters more or less, if I get some runoff is very little and because sometimes I use more than 6 liters just in case there's a dry pocket down there, I let the water leak a bit and the pot reabsorbs it in a few minutes. That said I dont have them lifted from the ground because Im still buying stuff little by little, is not terrible but yes ideally if theyre not touching the bottom you wont have more moisture accumulating on the bottom at it will be more uniform, I think its better to do that and lose a bit of nuted water but as also said before, if you go always for runoff youre gonna slowly deplete your soil with whats in there or the ammendments you used, I wouldnt go for runoff every time I water but some people prefeer it that way, I guess for coco is totally fine. I do runoff when I flush the soil, I like to keep it more or less clean for the next run since Ill be adding more ammendments and the plants take the nutes from the leaves anyway. I do 1 flush only, but I use a lot of water, usually 1 week before or a little more so it has time to dry, they dont drink much in the last week.
EDIT: forgot to mention, I always water them in parts, I think this is specially helpful for textile pots. I give 2 liters go to the next, 2 liters and so on til they have their 6 liters, that way the soil absorbs like a papel towel like other user mentioned before, much better than dumping all the water in there and having leaks and dry pockets.

DonnyO · Jun 26, 2023

I use these with a plastic saucer.

Plant Riser

They are like $2-3 each at the local grow store.

I'm in 7 Gal fabric and I water 1 1/2 gal every 2-3 days. Only have 1 right now, 36", starting week 4 of flower. In fabric pots they tend to get a space between the sides where the water will run right down and out. After a while I add soil and pack it around the edges a bit higher a make a bowl shape. Water a little at a time all around the stalk, let it soak in, repeat several times. Some runoff but they get soaked in pretty well. Depends on your soil drainage on how well it retains it.

DonnyO · Jun 26, 2023

Legalizeiteverywhere said:
Figured I’d ask this here to A) re-ignite the thread for OP and B) get my own question answered. I just watched a YT video earlier today where this guys that was using fabric pots says to water, he makes up his solution in a big bucket and then picks up each pot and submerses it up to where the dirt is at the top and leaves it for 8 seconds and then pulls it out and tilts it until the water stops streaming out of the bottom and then becomes a steady drip. Does this sound like anything anyone has ever heard of? I just transplanted into my first fabric pots and wanna know the best way to water them because it will obviously be different than the plastic pots I’ve always used. Thanks in advance

Wow, that's some serious flushing right there. It's ok if they get to dry out in between but as others have said your washing away all the good stuff. Fabric pots do dry out fast with the added airflow all around. Water "slowly" till runoff but saturating like that seems too much risk of root rot, but it is hard(er) to get root rot in fabric pots.

Harpua88 · Jun 27, 2023

Ponky said:
A 5 gallon pot is designed to use the entire contents of a 2 gallon watering can.

I just don't agree with that one. Maybe if the 5gallons was all sponge......but that's going to be overwatered with runoff. I have 11gallon pots and anything more than 5 quarts is pushing it. That's more tyan enough to thoroughly soak the soil, and if it isn't, I've probably let the soil (and roots) dry out too much.

Harpua88 · Jun 27, 2023

DonnyO said:
I use these with a plastic saucer.

Plant Riser

They are like $2-3 each at the local grow store.

I'm in 7 Gal fabric and I water 1 1/2 gal every 2-3 days. Only have 1 right now, 36", starting week 4 of flower. In fabric pots they tend to get a space between the sides where the water will run right down and out. After a while I add soil and pack it around the edges a bit higher a make a bowl shape. Water a little at a time all around the stalk, let it soak in, repeat several times. Some runoff but they get soaked in pretty well. Depends on your soil drainage on how well it retains it.

This might be a bit more than I would water, but not much. I agree with your approach. It all also depends on how big the plants are, how established their roots are, how dry the air is......whether you have a fan or dehumidifier pointing right at the pots......if you have big, established plants and the soil has dried out very well, if you water slowly, like over a full day......that first quart or so may be drunk up by the time you finish with the last quart. So there are so many variables. But yeah, if you're watering and cups of runoff start dripping out the bottom, filling trays with runoff........you're just flooding/stripping the soil and probably leaving an over-soaked pot.

Harpua88 · Jun 27, 2023

mdterpz532 said:
With my 6 girls, I mix up 5 gallons of my chosen mix, and I feed slowly. not too slowly, but I don't dump it in. I like a longer spout, 1 gal watering jug. and I also apply plain tap water, thru a pressurized pump and spray jug, that has Sat out at least 24 hr. to gas off any chlorine, I'll spray the plain water on the topmost layer of soil just to pre dampen the area, i think it helps to spread out the feed mix, and not run directlyto the sode of my fabric pots and out the fabric.. , then mix my feed, then pour a half gal into the watering can,and proceed to give each plant .5 gal until I make it thru all six, then I'll give a quarter gal to each until I see run off acquiring into the bottom pans that I have. Which are just cheap plastic things I got from home depot to collect any runoff and help keep tent clean. I can post a better picture if needed. But you are all smart enough.

Very good. Watering is not tossing water into a pot......it's a process. When it rains (properly) out, a 1" sheet doesnt drop from the sky at once......it's hours of slow soaking.

Harpua88 · Jun 27, 2023

Boo1965 said:
Like the idea of raising off the floor. That I shall try. Thanks

I bought my 11gallon flexible bit strong plastic pots with handles......they may not even necessarily be designed for plants......I then literally took a drill and drilled about 25 holes in the bottoms and bottom sides for air flow underneath and all around. Just big enough holes that no soil comes out. Maybe 1/4" holes? But many of them. I then placed each pot on its own wheely cart so I can roll them around with ease. Fully watered they can be a bit heavy. I should weigh them but maybe 20 pounds each? The wheely carts lift the pots maybe 4 or 5 inches off the floor and the wheely cart platforms are grates, they're not solid platforms, but they are strong. So all of the pots' holes in the bottom are unobstructed and get air.

Watering till runoff - fabric pots

Watering till runoff - fabric pots

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Watering till runoff - fabric pots

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