50 Gallon Pot SOIL STAYS DRY UNDER SURFACE

sippinslurpies

Active Member
You dont want it really getting dry at all, when i used to grow in soil, before I realised it was the shittest way you could possibly grow a plant, I'd have a saucer under each pot and when ever that dried up i'd re-water the plants.
 
You dont want it really getting dry at all, when i used to grow in soil, before I realised it was the shittest way you could possibly grow a plant, I'd have a saucer under each pot and when ever that dried up i'd re-water the plants.
whys it the shittiest? and how do you grow?
 

sippinslurpies

Active Member
I just found I never had success with soil, and couldn't control everything as much as i'd like to. I grow in rockwool in a satellite type system, top feeding every 3 hours for 5 minutes (indoors) or in a mix of 60% Perlite and 40% cactus mix for my outdoor grow.
 

gioua

Well-Known Member
The smaller pot also has a lot less surface area exposed for evaporation.
perhaps it's a 3-4 gallon pot.. what is there not to understand?

the larger pot (black is about 30-40 gals) it's a 60 gal drum the orange is a max 4 gal planter

I have seen people grow in 16 oz cups and others growing in ground who have smaller plants..

it's more then just about the planter size... soil is a factor -heat- humidity-caring for -planting zone and time etc..

the orange plant did not get the size it is due to the pot size alone.. (have others that are in bigger pots smaller then the one pictured.)

my point was only on the planter size not the amount of watering needed..
 

Vindicated

Well-Known Member
Sometimes I forget to water and the top layer dries up. Since I use my garden hose, I set the sprayer to the shower setting, water for 30-sec, wait about 5-min, then water again. I'll do this a few times until I'm satisfied the area is saturated.

Soap does help. I use Dawn but any brand that isn't to harsh, should be fine. If I'm going 100% organic, then I'll use Yucca extract, which isn't to expensive. An 8oz bottle usually runs about $7-$10 US.

If I'm going away and I'm worried about the soil drying out, I'll lay an extra thick mulch or I don't have that handy, a few layers of wet newspaper works pretty good in a pinch. It takes the beating of the sun, so the soil underneath remains cool & moist. If this happens a lot, I make sure the next year I amend the soil with more coir, shredded newspaper, and water storing crystals.

Another thing to look into is soaker hoses and drip irrigation set to a timer. The slower and longer flow of water prevents evaporation and water loss, while keeping the soil moist more consistently.
 
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