Mistake?

[Gquebed]

So watered the other night. I put about a gallon and a half of water through my plants that are in 3.5 gallon buckets. All as usual. Usually takes about three and a half or 4 days for them to suck that up. But this time after watering I noticed that the level of the promix in the buckets was quite low and I could see Roots at the stalk. So I covered them up with a little bit of extra promix after I watered.

3 Days Later the pots are still very heavy when they should be lightening up from drinking and should almost be ready for more water today. But not even close.

Was it a mistake to top off the Pro mix after I watered? I wonder if that's top some of the operation that would come from the lights? I also wonder if that's going to suffocate The Roots in heavily watered Pro mix.

 

[macsnax]

It probably slowed evaporation. Hopefully it isn't suffocating your roots. I'm sure you will find out if that's the case. Maybe less water when it dries, then you can start to figure how much water is needed.

 

[chemphlegm]

dont water again until the bottoms are dryer than wet, before the plant wilts though. make sure you have adequate drains in the bottom, not restricting any drainage currently. poke some more even
add only 1/4th the soil volume -water. you have 3 gallons of soil? add 3/4 gallon of water each time the bottoms are light and drier.

 

[Gquebed]

dont water again until the bottoms are dryer than wet, before the plant wilts though. make sure you have adequate drains in the bottom, not restricting any drainage currently. poke some more even
add only 1/4th the soil volume -water. you have 3 gallons of soil? add 3/4 gallon of water each time the bottoms are light and drier.

Drainage is fine. Lots holes and hydroton rocks at the bottom.

Just had a brain fart. I knew the soil was a bit low from last watering and meant to add a bit BEFORE watering. When I realized I forgot I just threw some extra on there after I watered thinking it would wick up and evaporation would be fine.
Evidently not...

I wonder...maybe itd help to turn the dehumidifier down a bit to 35 or 40%...??

 

[macsnax]

Drainage is fine. Lots holes and hydroton rocks at the bottom.

Just had a brain fart. I knew the soil was a bit low from last watering and meant to add a bit BEFORE watering. When I realized I forgot I just threw some extra on there after I watered thinking it would wick up and evaporation would be fine.
Evidently not...

I wonder...maybe itd help to turn the dehumidifier down a bit to 35 or 40%...??

Probably a good idea. I live in such a dry climate that I rarely get over 40% humidity for an entire grow.

 

[Gquebed]

Probably a good idea. I live in such a dry climate that I rarely get over 40% humidity for an entire grow.

Me too. Right now my house is 26% rh.

But when i went to a 5x9 space and put 8 x 3.5 gal pots under by lights i have no prob hitting 80% rh now...lol.

Not sure why though because when i was in a 4x4 with 4 x 3.5 gal pots it was still a fight to get over 35%. Wierd...

It must be that the second light makes a big dif.

 

[hyroot]

For watering my rule of thumb is 16 oz of water per gallon of soil. 1 1/2 gallons is way too much for 3 gallons of soil

 

[chemphlegm]

I've never had an issue chucking more dry promix on roots I see in topsoil, probably over watered, now you have to wait.
flowering or veg?

 

[chemphlegm]

Me too. Right now my house is 26% rh.

1) 8 x 3.5 gal pots under by lights i have no prob hitting 80% rh now...lol.

2)4 x 3.5 gal pots it was still a fight to get over 35%. Wierd...

.

not so weird, twice as much water every week right

1) 12 gallons of water evaporating every week in one space 80% rh

2) vs 6 gallons of water evaporating in similar space 35% rh

 

[Gquebed]

not so weird, twice as much water every week right

1) 12 gallons of water evaporating every week in one space 80% rh

2) vs 6 gallons of water evaporating in similar space 35% rh

Well... sorta...
I mean 1 space was 5x9 and the other was a 4x4. So the proportions are the same ish. So should be the rh?

12 gals evaporating in a 5x9 with 2x1000w
6 gals evap in a 4x4 with 1x1000.

I could be wrong. Im no expert on humidity properties...lol

 

[Gquebed]

For watering my rule of thumb is 16 oz of water per gallon of soil. 1 1/2 gallons is way too much for 3 gallons of soil

After having suffered a few instances of salt lock out when i first started growing, I learned to water until there is a good bit of run off to avoid salt build up. And even with that i have to flush at least once in 3 months to avoid lock out.

So i found that in a 3.5 gal pot full of promix... 6 litres of water will have about 1 ltr of run off. Its always worked for me.

 

[Gquebed]

I've never had an issue chucking more dry promix on roots I see in topsoil, probably over watered, now you have to wait.
flowering or veg?

Ive done it lots too, but i would throw it on before watering. This is the first time i threw it on after so...not sure if i will have a problem or not yet.

As for overwatering... if you have good drainage... i have found that is more of an issue with frequency of watering than with the amount of water used. I mean... promix or soil can only get "so" wet... or rather it can only hold a certain amount of water.

 

[chemphlegm]

I avoid that salt lock out by avoiding salt ferts lol, and aim for one drop of run off each watering.
the heat of the lamps affects rate of evaporation, but twice as much water is twice as much humidity aye?

one room gets 8 gallons to evap and another gets 4 gallons to evap in the same time .which will have a higher rh from this evaporation? I'm sticking with the space that has twice the water evaporating.

 

[Gquebed]

I avoid that salt lock out by avoiding salt ferts lol, and aim for one drop of run off each watering.
the heat of the lamps affects rate of evaporation, but twice as much water is twice as much humidity aye?

one room gets 8 gallons to evap and another gets 4 gallons to evap in the same time .which will have a higher rh from this evaporation? I'm sticking with the space that has twice the water evaporating.

Well...yes...but also twice the space and twice the light...

But not twice the heat. The ambient temp is the same. So maybe thats it?

But aside from that and I'm just thinking out loud here... the issue with over-watering is that once the roots suck up the oxygen in the water then whatever water that is left behind is just stagnant and useless for the plant really... and the roots soak in that and start to rot.

So... wouldn't the solution be to water again with freshly oxygenated water? I wouldnt dare try it...lol

But How would that be different from roots that sit in water 24/7? Like in dwc?

Oh... I forgot to say that I just flipped to flower about 3 days ago

 

[Tx-Peanutt]

not so weird, twice as much water every week right

1) 12 gallons of water evaporating every week in one space 80% rh

2) vs 6 gallons of water evaporating in similar space 35% rh

Do u have to put soil over roots if they are showing?? Also can u leave them exposed if not why???

 

[chemphlegm]

the roots dont suck up the 02 like that. billions of fugal webs and beneficial organisms count on the oxygen more than your roots. when those organisms die off , with the lack of 02, the environment becomes anaerobic and bad bacteria flourish and those bacteria coupled with the lack of fungal messages, break down of organic matter etc ph drastically changes disallowing the roots to uptake any thing. (lock out)
in dwc massive aeration is necessary to keep anaerobic bacteria from flourishing ideally.
I cover my roots, but also have roots sticking up out of the ground on trees and veggies too, so who cares right? roots dont like light, I want myine to be as happy as possible inside

Well...yes...but also twice the space and twice the light...

But not twice the heat. The ambient temp is the same. So maybe thats it?

But aside from that and I'm just thinking out loud here... the issue with over-watering is that once the roots suck up the oxygen in the water then whatever water that is left behind is just stagnant and useless for the plant really... and the roots soak in that and start to rot.

So... wouldn't the solution be to water again with freshly oxygenated water? I wouldnt dare try it...lol

But How would that be different from roots that sit in water 24/7? Like in dwc?

Oh... I forgot to say that I just flipped to flower about 3 days ago

 

[Kerovan]

Do u have to put soil over roots if they are showing?? Also can u leave them exposed if not why???

You don't have to cover exposed roots at the top, but they will die out if you don't. I would make sure they are covered myself. But you need to ask yourself why they were uncovered in the first place. Do you pour the water on too vigorously? Are they outgrowing the pot with nowhere else to go?

 

[hyroot]

Ive done it lots too, but i would throw it on before watering. This is the first time i threw it on after so...not sure if i will have a problem or not yet.

As for overwatering... if you have good drainage... i have found that is more of an issue with frequency of watering than with the amount of water used. I mean... promix or soil can only get "so" wet... or rather it can only hold a certain amount of water.

If you're getting nute lock then cut back on the nutes. It should take a whole year for salts to build up that much. You should be startibg at 1/4 strength then up to half strength. Never run full strength of what the directions say. Maybe you should try the rain fall method. Plain water ecery other feeding to prevent over feeding.


Even big ag does crop burings only once a year to burn off the salts. They should switch to probiotic sustainable practices though. The run off from the big ag farms creates algae blooms and destroys eco systems. Like the Salton Sea

 

[Gquebed]

You don't have to cover exposed roots at the top, but they will die out if you don't. I would make sure they are covered myself. But you need to ask yourself why they were uncovered in the first place. Do you pour the water on too vigorously? Are they outgrowing the pot with nowhere else to go?

No...it was just settling from transplant. I didnt pat it down as firmly as usual it seems and once i worked up to the full amount water it packed down a bit is all...

 

[Gquebed]

the roots dont suck up the 02 like that. billions of fugal webs and beneficial organisms count on the oxygen more than your roots. when those organisms die off , with the lack of 02, the environment becomes anaerobic and bad bacteria flourish and those bacteria coupled with the lack of fungal messages, break down of organic matter etc ph drastically changes disallowing the roots to uptake any thing. (lock out)
in dwc massive aeration is necessary to keep anaerobic bacteria from flourishing ideally.
I cover my roots, but also have roots sticking up out of the ground on trees and veggies too, so who cares right? roots dont like light, I want myine to be as happy as possible inside

So isnt promix (peat) sterile? I thought it was baked at 600 degrees or something? So...no microbes?

And what about synthetic nutes? Arent they sterile as well?