Watering frequency/amount - 15gallon Living Soil

Hey guys! So, im in 15 gallon fabric pots doing a living soil.. currently feeding 4 litres every other day , bottom feeding (too reduce fungus gnats) and nutrient teas etc via a chapin concrete sprayer but was wandering what other people do in similar set ups. Thanks

Hey Pacifier. Yeah, that bottom watering is dead easy, isn't it? I had some fantastic results doing it this way in living soil but I accidentally let the roots sit in standing water for too long and - well, you guessed it; root rot. Nowadays I use Blumat and love it. There's no need to even open the tent to water/feed and the soil is kept at optimum moisture level. The soil takes only the water it needs and the Blumat provides it. Using Canna base nutes with a light mix now as I didn't get on with watering in/adding amendments in addition to the pre-established watering cycle so works for me.

u growing indoors outdoors. because ive been dealing with fungus gnats for a while now and since I add sf to my soil it really has destroyed their population depends how bad your problem is. just don't let the roots sit In water.

Always confirm that the "fungus gnats" are not actually winged root aphids. They are a much bigger menace and harder to get rid of. With an advanced case of root aphids you will often see symptoms that resemble a magnesium deficiency. Only the advanced stage of them has wings and that means the population is significant.

Renfro said:

Always confirm that the "fungus gnats" are not actually winged root aphids. They are a much bigger menace and harder to get rid of. With an advanced case of root aphids you will often see symptoms that resemble a magnesium deficiency. Only the advanced stage of them has wings and that means the population is significant.

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Root Aphids are the fucking worst...I got them outdoor last year after bringing some regular plants home from a garden store. They make a russet mite infestation seem minor (which it is, if you are in veg) but RA's are the devil.

Fun Bunny said:

Hey Pacifier. Yeah, that bottom watering is dead easy, isn't it? I had some fantastic results doing it this way in living soil but I accidentally let the roots sit in standing water for too long and - well, you guessed it; root rot. Nowadays I use Blumat and love it. There's no need to even open the tent to water/feed and the soil is kept at optimum moisture level. The soil takes only the water it needs and the Blumat provides it. Using Canna base nutes with a light mix now as I didn't get on with watering in/adding amendments in addition to the pre-established watering cycle so works for me.

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Im thinking one full bottom watering can last your plant for a week minimum ?

waterproof808 said:

RA's are the devil.

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Yes, yes they are.

Fun Bunny said:

Hey Pacifier. Yeah, that bottom watering is dead easy, isn't it? I had some fantastic results doing it this way in living soil but I accidentally let the roots sit in standing water for too long and - well, you guessed it; root rot. Nowadays I use Blumat and love it. There's no need to even open the tent to water/feed and the soil is kept at optimum moisture level. The soil takes only the water it needs and the Blumat provides it. Using Canna base nutes with a light mix now as I didn't get on with watering in/adding amendments in addition to the pre-established watering cycle so works for me.

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Downside to those is they don't let the soil dry enough and that can cause issues like fungus gnats, root rot...

Renfro said:

Downside to those is they don't let the soil dry enough and that can cause issues like fungus gnats, root rot...

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I think a lot of people make the mistake of setting them up when the soil is piss wet, something I'm sure could create the ideal environment for gnats/rot as the soil will remain at this moisture level. Once I've transplanted to the final pot I wait until the pot is about one half to two thirds lighter, pop in the carrots then wait another hour or two to bleed the lines and set them up properly. This ensures a reasonable wet/dry cycle. It's a pity they don't explain this properly on their website though.

Fun Bunny said:

I think a lot of people make the mistake of setting them up when the soil is piss wet, something I'm sure could create the ideal environment for gnats/rot as the soil will remain at this moisture level. Once I've transplanted to the final pot I wait until the pot is about one half to two thirds lighter, pop in the carrots then wait another hour or two to bleed the lines and set them up properly. This ensures a reasonable wet/dry cycle. It's a pity they don't explain this properly on their website though.

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I agree wholeheartedly, sounds like you know your stuff, welcome aboard good to have you with us.

The key with them is understanding how they work, like you said, how to set them up and their inherent limitations like the run away carrot lol.

Carrot redundancy is also key if you have anything other than plain water going them. They can be a real hassle if you have a bottle feed happening. Much more suited to the organic soil grows, if you need to hit them with some feed due to soil exhaustion you can top feed them by hand. Salt build ups would become an issue as well if bottle feeding, therefore periodic flushing by hand would be required, more often if the feed is higher EC.