Am I overwatering my plants?

Whattup RIU! So I am trying to figure out if I have been overwatering my plants. Quick background..... I have a 3 light grow with plants in 10 gal fabric pots in organic soil. I flipped about 1 week ago. They are between 3-5ft each. I transplanted them from 1 gal about 5 weeks ago. After I transplanted i began to give them one gallon waterings each and slowly increased to 2 gallons because I would never see runoff nor signs of overwatering. After I flipped I notice the pots werent drying out(they really weren't before). I have been watering every 3-4 days since transplant however i have stopped watering completely for 7 DAYS! They still look fine. I checked the pots yesterday and they mostly were still heavy. My room temps get to 79 within 45 mins to an hour of lights coming on. My night time temp however has been getting very low(55) so I decided to stick a space heater in there to warm it up during lights out. I'm pretty sure I'm going to water tonite(only 1 gallon)...but im really confused because I though they get really thirsty during flowering(my first grow). Its leading me to believe im screwing up somewhere. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Peace and safe growing!

That's an awfully large jump from 1gal to 10gal. That should slow your watering because the plant has to grow *massive* to to take up that much water in the same amount of time.

I go 1gal to 3gal.

I vegged them for almost 4 months because of some difficult living circumstances. They have doubled in size since. A few are 5 ft and all are very bushy. Should i go back to one gal and monitor? And when should i water again? They are still heavy but im scared they are going a long time without watering. My roommate reminded me they will tell me when they need it. And they havent looked like they needed water at all. Thanx for the quick reply!

FamMan said:

I vegged them for almost 4 months because of some difficult living circumstances. They have doubled in size since. A few are 5 ft and all are very bushy. Should i go back to one gal and monitor? And when should i water again?

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I get 4ft in 3gal containers. I don't know what to recommend. I don't think repotting into smaller containers will work. Probably cause hermies. I think your only risk is overwatering. As long as it feels heavy with moisture it should be ok. If you don't let it dry between waterings you'll have problems. If you let it dry, it will encourage the roots to grow out and use water more quickly in the future (my theory).

I think you have to ride it out. You'll know if it needs water if the leaves droop and the container is unusually light. Reach that point once to learn what it feels like to heft the container. The leaves will bounce back 30 minutes after watering.

That's my thoughts. I've never grown in anything larger than 3gal. Never done organic either. Maybe it's different.

Thanx i appreciate it. I think i will hold off on watering til they lighten up.

I was thinking about this a little more. What is the grow space like? Do you have air exchange (exhaust)? Air circulation? That will help transpiration and move water from the soil into the air.

You could also use a 1/4" rod (sharpened to a point) to aerate your soil which would help it dry. (But, that won't fix stale air if you have that condition.).

I have a 6 inch intake and 8 inch exhausting. They are in a 11x22 room with 3 1000w. It wasnt coming on much cuz temps got pretty cold outside but i took off the glass from my reflector and temp have gone up thus my fans have been coming on more frequently.

It is very common to not have to water for many days after transplant. As the roots/plant grows, you will have to water more frequently. Let them dry out even if it takes a week or more. Transplanting back into smaller containers would be a huge mistake

Don't let your plants droop. It's important to keep the main root ball wet after transplant because that part will use water faster. Don't over water it draws in bugs. Dig your finger in, does it feel dry? Lift it, has it lost weight?

Top layer still feels a little moist. I lifted them and all but one seem to be getting lighter. Im going to check tom when lights come on and possibly give them a gallon.