Chat
Recommended

Cloth pots and watering

Johnm123
Johnm123started grow question 4mo ago
With cloth pots is it typical that you would need to water every other day? When watering I also feel like its going straight through the cloth and not retaining any water which I am guessing is the purpose of cloth pots but it makes it hard to go more then a day without watering
Solved
Week 2
likes
Ultraviolet
Ultravioletanswered grow question 4mo ago
CEC is important for understanding how to irrigate different soils. Soils with low CEC need frequent, short irrigation, while soils with high CEC need less frequent, longer irrigation. Organic matter has a very high CEC ranging from 250 to 400 meq/100 g. Because a higher CEC usually indicates more clay and organic matter is present in the soil, high CEC soils generally have greater water holding capacity than low CEC soils. Coco is around on average 80-100meq/100g Vermiculite or waterbeads for a simple solutions. Charged Biochar for the nuclear option. But do your homework if you do. Use biochar to increase water-holding capacity, prevent nutrient losses from fertilizers, and provide structure for the build-up of beneficial soil microorganisms. Again make sure to do homework before using tho as it can drastically alter ph if not charged prior to use. Good luck.
1 like
Complain
Selected By The Grower
sunshinegroww
sunshinegrowwanswered grow question 4mo ago
I found fabric pot are best i would concentrate of giving them same amount of water every other day like 1-2L depends on size and stage ,and then roots will just suck it up in no time ,hope thats help
1 like
Complain
Scrubbyjimbob
Scrubbyjimbobanswered grow question 4mo ago
A few factors at play with your watering frequency. Type of substrate and it's consistency play a role. Environment matters, aka a dry environment increases evaporation. The size and demands of the plant matter too. As others have said, watering in more slowly helps with escape from the sides. If growing in coco, increasing watering frequency helps too. Coco absorbs and moves water better when it's still wet and becomes hydrophobic if it dries too much.
1 like
Complain
00110001001001111O
00110001001001111Oanswered grow question 4mo ago
More about size of plant and it's rate of drinking... You'll get slightly more evaporation with a cloth pot, but it shouldn't be too signficant. is it too fluffy/airy? You can go too far. High water capacity substrate only needs 50% perlite or similar. Coco only needs 33%. If you have too much, it increases frequency of fertigation unnecessarily. Well, not all the time.. it's a way to dial in frequent fertigation methods to ensure enough dryback can occur to warrant 3-4x/day fertigation. I've never had an issue with water coming out the sides. If that's happening, water more slowly. Let it absorb without creating a pool of standing water on top. Next time tamp it down a bit more and that can help with even water absorption, too. When i fill my pots for a transplant, it's on the dry side so it's impossible to compress it. I just make sure there are no gaps and evenly tamped down. Water will take path of least resistance if it exists. A quick getaway out the side could be as simple as that... a crevice that exists or after the fact eroded to exist. Also are you fully watering or just giving some volume you whimsically choose. Always ensure tthe entire volume is saturated. Dry pockets are the devil!
2 likes
Complain
oldskoolkool
oldskoolkoolanswered grow question 4mo ago
12-15ltr pots with a half decent sized plant will use 2ltr every other day which is what mine get in 15lts,4 gal.They say its best to do it every other day as opposed to 1ltr daily as the dry periods encourage the roots to explore.
2 likes
Complain
AsNoriu
AsNoriuanswered grow question 4mo ago
Same advice as Hashy. Till plant leaves didn't touched verged of pot - amounts should be adequate for plant to last 3-4 days. Water outer circle around plant and a bit under stemp. Divide amount into 4-5 parts, give 5-10 mins before adding next part. Wet/dry cycle is a must in soil. Ph is essential in soil. Collect run off and throw it out, font let pot to reabsorb it back...
2 likes
Complain
Hashy
Hashyanswered grow question 4mo ago
Try watering in smaller increments with a gap between, that way the water has time to be absorbed by the grow medium. You will find then that the whole pot gets filled rather then running out the sides and bottom straight away.
2 likes
Complain