Watering question for flowering girl….

Hello all,
I wanted to see what the thoughts were on watering this plant of mine.
Specs:
- Medium is KokoBop (by Fox Farms) amended with various dry organics…..too dressed periodically. 10 gallon pot
- strain is White Truffle x Okie, photoperiod grown from seed.
- Lights are 2 HLG LEDs, 470W total
-Space is a 2’x6’ closet w/ 8’ ceiling.
- Temps and humidity are fairly dialed in. Staying in a range of 77-80F & 48-52%rh (lights on) and 70-72F & 45-47%rh (lights off).
- Plant is on day 19 since flipping.
It’s not my first rodeo, I have several dozen runs under my belt and generally I’m in tune with what’s going on.
But I’ve never grown indoors in a pot as large as this…10 gal. I’ve always used 5 gal for the final phase and have gotten used to the watering needs.
My issue is the bottom 1/3rd of the medium is still very moist, while the top 2/3rds is dry enough to need water. The top 3” or so is bone dry.
So, should I give it a light watering, like a gallon or so, to hydrate the top or wait it out a few days until I see the bottom getting drier???
I’ve been giving it about a gal every 4 days, which alleviates the dry top half or so, but the bottom 4-5” never really dries back. My leaves have those ridges, some call them speed bumps, which I’ve been told is from over watering. Thoughts and advice??
Perhaps the plant would benefit from a total dry back ???

I’d personally let it dry back. If you don’t get the roots to expand you’ll be fighting this for awhile.
I won’t preach about plant size vs. pot size since you’ve been around the block a bit. Good luck.

Are you using plastic pots? Maybe add more drainage holes around the bottom so it dries more evenly?

Ii

The answer is simple, think about what your actually trying to do. The goal is to not drown the roots and let oxygen inside the soil. If your soil can take water without immediately running off the roots have had air and can be watered again. Don't water so frequently they stay soaked but you can certainly water if you can put in gallons without run off

The pot is pictured above…..i drilled holes all over the sides and bottom. Originally, i planned on the plant being a lot larger. Long story but it went outside too early and started flowering. I didn’t want that so I moved it into my garage under a shop light every night for more light. When it didn’t reveg fast enough for my liking, I got the bright idea of removing the bud sites……bad move.
It then sat for about 3 weeks and didn’t change at all. Finally it started to reveg and after a few weeks of weird growth it started growing normal looking leaves.
I moved it inside, after a couple of sprays with Dr Zymes, because here in Va, the harvest season is very unpredictable……
So it’s a bit smaller than I thought or I would have used a 5 gal.

I would not hesitate to drill more/larger holes on the bottom and an inch or so up the sides. Even with the plant still in there when you do it, it'll be fine.

With organics, constant and even soil moisture is better than allowing it to dry back. When it dries out all the way the soil can get hydrophobic and be difficult to rehydrate. You might be better off giving a smaller amount of water every day or two, vs every 4...

weedstoner420 said:

I would not hesitate to drill more/larger holes on the bottom and an inch or so up the sides. Even with the plant still in there when you do it, it'll be fine.

With organics, constant and even soil moisture is better than allowing it to dry back. When it dries out all the way the soil can get hydrophobic and be difficult to rehydrate. You might be better off giving a smaller amount of water every day or two, vs every 4...

Click to expand...

That’s what I’ve always thought with an organic grow……I guess I could drill more holes in the sides, but the bottom has about as much hole as bottom….
I was wondering about the ridges on the leaves…..the “speed bumps”…..
Is there any truth to speed bumps being an indicator of overwatering??

Put some kind of mulch on the top may help keep the moisture up top some more, but i’d let it dry out one good time shouldn’t take long 4 days at most i’d say. It should be drinking alot with all those flower sites. You can also run a fan on the pot you’ve got plenty of holes it should take a little air.

SBNDB said:

Put some kind of mulch on the top may help keep the moisture up top some more, but i’d let it dry out one good time shouldn’t take long 4 days at most i’d say. It should be drinking alot with all those flower sites. You can also run a fan on the pot you’ve got plenty of holes it should take a little air.

Click to expand...

What do u suggest for mulch??

Perlite, lava rock, rocks, rice hulls, coco, plastic or cardboard hell anything thats pretty much neutral.