Page 60 - Daggabay Magazine Issue 3
P. 60

HOW  MUCH  SHOULD  YOU  WATER
     CANNABIS?
     The water and nutrient requirements of
     your  plants  will  change  as  they  grow
     and develop. A young seedling will take
     up  much  less  water  than  a  vigorous
     flowering plant with a large root system.
     This could mean that you water a small
     plant every 2–3 days, as opposed to once
     per day with a rapidly maturing plant.                         SIZE OF CONTAINER
                                                                    The dimensions of your container will

     GROWING MEDIUM                                                 also affect the overall balance between
     The  type  of  growing  medium  you  use                       moisture retention and drainage. If you
     largely determines how much water the                          have  a  tiny  plant  in  a  huge  pot,
     soil can hold, and drainage plays a huge                       drenching the whole substrate is going
     role in how often/how much you water                           to drown the poor thing before it gets a
     your plants. Cannabis likes rich yet airy                      chance to flourish. Similarly, you might
     and “fluffy” types of soils that are well-                     experience  the  opposite  issue  with
     draining.  As  another  consideration,  the                    huge  root-bound  plants  stuck  in
     growing  containers  themselves  must                          minuscule pots. This is also the reason
     have  holes  punctured  in  the  bottom  to                    that  growers  normally  start  seedlings
     allow the water to escape. More compact                        in smaller pots, then up-pot them later
     soil  mixes  will  hold  moisture  much                        as the plant grows. A small seedling pot
     longer,  so  they  require  less  frequent                     makes it much easier not to over water
     watering as a result. Moisture can linger                      the sensitive seedling.
     in the soil for some time, which can lead
     to  nutrient  deficiencies,  root  rot  and                    OUTSIDE         TEMPS         AND       LIGHT
     fungus,  pests,  and  a  whole  lot  of  other                 INTENSITY
     problems.                                                      Cannabis  plants  don’t  always  grow  at
                                                                    the  same  pace.  A  plant  in  a  cooler
     Here  is  a  quick  way  to  check  if  your                   environment,  for  example,  will  grow

     water  is  draining  properly:  If  it  takes                  much  slower  than  one  under  warmer
     several minutes for water to drain after                       conditions.      Light     intensity      plays
     drenching  the  soil,  and/or  if  it  takes                   another  big  role  here.  Plants  that
     longer than 3–4 days for your soil to dry                      receive more heat and light are bound
     out, it’s  likely  that you  have  a  drainage                 to  have  higher  water  and  nutrient
     issue.                                                         requirements  than  those  with  meagre
                                                                    light and chilly temps.
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