[R2Grow]

I'm new to growing and I'm curious as to how many times a day or week young plants about 7 no more than 10 inches in height, need to be watered. A few of the leaves are turning yellow on one stem but the rest of leaves the plant is green. Is this normal? I don't think I need to add nutrients to their water yet.

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[CannaConnoisseur]

It depends on your lights, heat, temps, etc as to how often to water, but I typically water mine every 2 to 3 days. A good way to tell is to stick your finger into the soil. If it's completely dry on the top inch or two of the soil then it's time to water. As to how much water, give enough so that some but not a lot of water comes out the bottom. For a 1 gallon pot, I give 2.5 cups of water and for a 3 gallon pot I give 6 cups to a 1/2 gallon and for a 5 gallon I give a 1/2 gallon. Also, if they are 10" in height, you can start giving them nutes, just make sure to start at about 1/4 the recommended strength on the bottle and slowly work your way up so you don't give your ladies nute burn. Are they clones? If they're clones then you definitely want to start giving them nutrients at that height because they've been starving for a while. If they're from seed then now is about the time to start nutes, so either way I'd start them. Be sure to monitor your pH too, so you don't get lockout and have to flush. To answer your question, I sometimes notice my very bottom leaf from a clone will start to yellow, like yours did, but not necessarily that much. You'd probably be safe to pull that leaf in a day or two if it continues to die.

[R2Grow]

Thank you for your reply. The plants are clones and are in 5 gallon pots which each plant receives about 1/2 a gallon each (give or take). I've measured and are approx. 7 inches in height. I just added some nuts to their next water feeding container (min dosage recommended on bottle). I will be watering within the next day or so.

My next question is when to water? Can I leave the lights on or should I water during their "resting" period to which I have the lights off? I have them under lights for about 16-18hr/day and a "resting" period of about 5-6hrs/day.

- Thank you

[CannaConnoisseur]

R2Grow, on 12 July 2011 - 12:00 PM, said:

Thank you for your reply. The plants are clones and are in 5 gallon pots which each plant receives about 1/2 a gallon each (give or take). I've measured and are approx. 7 inches in height. I just added some nuts to their next water feeding container (min dosage recommended on bottle). I will be watering within the next day or so.

My next question is when to water? Can I leave the lights on or should I water during their "resting" period to which I have the lights off? I have them under lights for about 16-18hr/day and a "resting" period of about 5-6hrs/day.

- Thank you

I water early in their "daytime." Ideally, you don't want to water close to when the lights go off, because the plant can't uptake water/nutrients when it's sleeping (in its nighttme). Also, I heard you say you added the minimum nutes recommended on the bottle. As I said before, you want to do about 1/4 strength of that recommended dosage. If the MINIMUM recommended dosage is say 2 tsp/gallon and you haven't given the plant nutes yet, then give it 1/2 tsp/gallon and GRADUALLY move up in dosage until you reach the normal recommended dose. Also, just out of curiosity, what brand of nutrients are you using? Organic or synthetic? Good luck to you and happy growing!

[Oldschoolgrower]

Water is important but too much of a good thing is for sure not what you need. Make sure that you have proper drainage (holes in the pot bottoms) an let them dry out a bit between your waterings. Plant roots need fresh air an it can't get in in the soil is always wet. Keep in mind too that all you need is a like four days of soaked roots to have a root die-back than can take you weeks to recover from.

[roldgoldrlg]

Listen to Canna and Oldschool, took the words right out of my mouth they are ON POINT with the info they gave you.
I know your garden will flourish, stay up.

[Proppa Gator]

R2Grow, on 11 July 2011 - 01:23 AM, said:

I'm new to growing and I'm curious as to how many times a day or week young plants about 7 no more than 10 inches in height, need to be watered. A few of the leaves are turning yellow on one stem but the rest of leaves the plant is green. Is this normal? I don't think I need to add nutrients to their water yet.

This is why I like containers with wicks and reservoirs or container garden grows with capillary style (earthbox as example), as long as the reservoir doesn't run dry, you can't really screw up. The plants seek out what they need and barrier screens keep the roots from getting down to where rot might be a problem. Unless it's really hot and dry and the plants are mature, you can go away for a few days and not worry. Only rule is don't let reservoir go dry. That stops the flow of nutients in the direction you want, even if your plants or medium don't completely dry out. And if you need to get away for longer, they make auto-watering set ups for these things.