Watering/oxygen and frequency questions.

[Belle]

1. When using compost teas, we oxygenate the water using an aquarium pump. Does it make sense to oxygenate plain water? Will the roots/plants gain any benefit from doing this?

2. I'm using organic living soil. I've read multiple times that you water your plants and then let them dry out so the roots grow searching for water. Once every 3 days. This can leave the soil hydrophobic. I've also read that people water their plants multiple times a day with very small doses to keep the soil even which benefits the plants. How do I know which is correct/best?

 

[Django_TO]

1. When using compost teas, we oxygenate the water using an aquarium pump. Does it make sense to oxygenate plain water? Will the roots/plants gain any benefit from doing this?

2. I'm using organic living soil. I've read multiple times that you water your plants and then let them dry out so the roots grow searching for water. Once every 3 days. This can leave the soil hydrophobic. I've also read that people water their plants multiple times a day with very small doses to keep the soil even which benefits the plants. How do I know which is correct/best?

Well i'm a first time grower and i'm using BioBizz light mix. What i learned here and with my girls reaction is: don´t worry too much about underwater, is much less damaging than overwatering. Tomorrrow will be my 7th week on soil and i give them around 2 liters each 3 days more or less. I wait until i have a dry soil before watering, and the girls seem to like it. The thing is, you'll have to find what works better for you. But try to avoid overwatering. Happy growing

 

[Iriee Vibez]

I agree that you want to stay away from overwatering, and it is far more common than underwatering. In a perfect world, you maintain the soil moisture between a target range, which means more frequent watering of lesser amounts. Microbes will die if left to dry out, and you will have to inoculate to get things going again, making nutrients available to the plant. Too drastic of a wet dry cycle may stress your plants, and probably will impact growth and yield.

 

[Builder0101]

Well i'm a first time grower and i'm using BioBizz light mix. What i learned here and with my girls reaction is: don´t worry too much about underwater, is much less damaging than overwatering. Tomorrrow will be my 7th week on soil and i give them around 2 liters each 3 days more or less. I wait until i have a dry soil before watering, and the girls seem to like it. The thing is, you'll have to find what works better for you. But try to avoid overwatering. Happy growing

Although I appreciate the spirit if the statement I am concerned about mixed signals. I dont worry about overwatering because I use a mix that is very difficult to overwater. That leaves under watering. I worry about under watering. If I can water every day or every other day but instead water every other day or every 3rd day that is a problem.
I water every day. I "could" water every other day and my plants will "grow". Obviously our seedlings dont get watered every day... (let's not get bogged down in semantics). Ok. So if I can be successful watering every day but an afraid and water every other day for a 90 day plant I water 45 times instead of 90? If everything else is dialed in what do you think my limiting factor is going to be.
You need to learn your medium. You need to learn to read your plants. You need to learn how to properly water each plant according to what it is telling you. 2 of my plants both the same age, same pots, etc. One is half its weight in 24 hours. One is 1/3 its weight in 24 hours. The 2and one would be an absolute monster (and it is by far my biggest plant yet) I just cant fit 2 waterings a day for that plant in my schedule.

Experienced growers duplicate everything over multiple grows. Same genetics, pots, medium, nutes... They learn how to best provide for a specific strain. They learn over time which genetics react in similar ways. For instance my Cream Auto from Growers Choice Seeds requires far more phosphorus than mu other plants. If I grow that strain again I will know to provide more P....

In summary dont loose your shit over under watering. Understand under watering is absolutely a limiting factor which should be addressed.

Oh and i aerate my plain water just because it volitolizes chlorine. If it adds a little O2 to my waterings (which it does) great. Dont know how much difference it makes to the plants. We aerate teas to feed and multiply the microbes. Obviously.

Just my opinions.

Peace my Sister

 

[bad dragon bzzz]

1.yes adding o2 to the water/feed is a good thing,roots like o2.check ph.
2.a soil....weight of the pot is my guide when to water.my cycle is usually 24 hours....(sometimes in summer its 12 hours/winter can be 48 hours) lift the pots up and down every day.are they as light or heavy as a pot with +/- 1,2,3L of feed ?
a drip system will keep the medium at a constant moistness...but thats automatic/on a timer.not easy done with hand watering.
wet dry cycle....hmm dry aint that good,it makes my leaves go crispy.or as long as its not dry for too long or sodden wet for too long.
good luck n keep er lit

 

[automan2]

I too use biobizz light mix and even though it drains well, you can definitely overwater. Light Mix will compress if ya water too fast.... As I use small pots, its easy to feel the weight but I still use a moisture meter. I do think its better to "fully" water when needed, rather than a little now and then. Drying out is how the plant grows cause the roots have to chase the water.