How to water small plants in big pots of coco?

Stblazed

Member
I have X3 3 week old seedlings in 3 gallon smart pots. How do I water them? I've read you have to water until run off but this will mean giving them 1L of water a day which is way to much!
Any advise would be good
 

Cold$moke

Well-Known Member
When they're small you gota let that root system take off . In my exp its nice to let them dry a bit before hitting them again.

When i ran coco id thoroughly wet the pot but you dont have to drown them when they are young..... when they start dring that pot out every day thats when you worry about watering to runoff .

Just my 2 im not a botanist lol
 

Stblazed

Member
When they're small you gota let that root system take off . In my exp its nice to let them dry a bit before hitting them again.

When i ran coco id thoroughly wet the pot but you dont have to drown them when they are young..... when they start dring that pot out every day thats when you worry about watering to runoff .

Just my 2 im not a botanist lol
It makes sense. Thanks for your help!
 

upnsmoke13

Well-Known Member
He's right. Until the roots are established, I'd water around the plant letting the coco pull moisture to it. It'll help the roots explore the media, a lot better than soaking & drowning them. You can cut slits in a solo cup & start your girls in those. It's easier to manage your moisture!
 

bigsteve

Well-Known Member
Three week old seedlings in 3 gallon pots means you will spend extra time waiting for veg cycle to start. Seedlings just going into dirt spend most of their energy building up a rootball that will support the plant. As a result the plant will sgow little growth above grade until the roots are able to reach the inside walls of the pot. That is why most of us first put s'lings into smaller pots so that the roots are quicker to reach the pot walls. I put new seedlings into solo cups until the largest leaves reach the pot rim. I then transplant into 3/4 gallon berry pots for a couple weeks until the final TP puts them in 3 gallon pots to finish. I'm guessing you may have been able to speed up the seedling to veg stage by 7-10 days. Works for me.

Good luck, BigSteve.
 

brox11

Active Member
I have X3 3 week old seedlings in 3 gallon smart pots. How do I water them? I've read you have to water until run off but this will mean giving them 1L of water a day which is way to much!
Any advise would be good
I plant seedlings in large pots right off the bat using ProMix HP for medium. After germination, I plant the seedlings at a 45 degree angle with point on the down end and the slit facing up. The tap root curls around the back of the seed pod as the plant comes out the other end and reaches for the sky. Putting the slit facing up just helps get rid of the pod as the plant pushes through the soil. I plant the seedlings with 15 mls of water and then cover with syran wrap just enough for condensation on the plastic but not cutting off air. I have my 400W HPS vertical at 16 inches away on a 19-5 schedule at this point and the room is 70 degrees.Once the seedlings pop out of soil, I remove the plastic and turn on low fans directly on the seedlings to prevent stem stretch. No water. Once the first leaves pop (the ones after the cotyledons), and if the soil is dry, I give 20 mls of water in a circle on the furthest point of the leaves (no water too near the stem). After that its basically 20-40 mls of water every two days with the circle growing larger as the leaves grow larger and adding 10 mls or so for every centimeter the circle grows. Also, once the plant gets its second set of leaves, I turn the lights horizontal at about 16 inches and go 20-4. Once the plant is about 6" tall (2-3 weeks), then its veg time and good doses of nutes. This has worked good for me and I don't really lose any veg time. Transplanting is always the way to go, but I'm lazy. :)
 
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