I have an autoflower in happy frog soil, in 5 gallon fabric pot. I water it a gallon at a time, and within 24 hours the top layer of soil is dry and within 48 hours it’s completely dry and I water again. So I’m going a gallon every other day. Should I be giving it more? It sure does drink a lot
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I’d say as long as you’re not seeing droopy leaves, she’s good. They will drink a lot during flower.
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If the first inch or so of soil is dry but it’s moist deeper down, should I wait to water again?
Yes. Go by the weight of your pot. If its heavy, hold off. If its light, water.
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Definitely go with the lift the pot method. If it’s light like bread it gets fed…that’s my motto lol
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At the most productive stage of flower my gal was drinking about 2gals of water every day or 2. Then the last 2 weeks it was drinking maybe a gallon every 3 to 4.
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Drench to drought for soil Growmie, the drought period is critical to supply the roots oxygen. This method works best from veg to harvest growing in soil 
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5 gallon pots require 2 gallons per feed to run off adequately at 15% to 20%
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Plant growth stage considered Sis, more or less depending on this. I’ve never gone off a specific amount just what ever it takes to get liberal run off
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Not only does it depend on the strain of cannabis, pheno, stage of growth, etc., it also depends on the drainage factor of your medium and whether you’re growing organic (no runoff) or with synthetic nutes (15 - 20% runoff). 
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I grow autos only and also use HF… personally I run 3 gallon containers, but that’s just my preference… As previously stated, go by weight of the container., and yes they drink a lot during flower, however as the cycle starts to near its end that will slow down.
Feel free to ask questions, that’s what we’re here for 
I promise somebody in here will have an answer to whatever you may need to know
I’ve found that feeling the weight is key, but I’ve also found that when the roots grow out, they get heavier, so I also feel the bottom of the pot and water when I just barely feel moisture.
I third that!
And second that about the roots getting heavier. Got a couple going right now - one’s a monster and the other average. The average one always feels like it’s still a little heavy but shows other signs of being thirsty, fools me everytime. And when I water em, the average one always takes more than the monster.
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Best method for 5-gal and smaller. Lift and judge weight “Heavy or Not”.
My reason, beyond old age, is since hernia repair #1, I try not to lift 10gallon bags.
AC-Infinity has some bases I use to catch runoff for measuring.
5-gallon bags fit with no overhang. *Not sure if the version is XL or not.
Then I transfer the bag plant back to tent.
If you are watching, you can allow plant “leaf wilt” to show the need for water.
I can confuse “end of day leaf droop” with dry soil leaf wilt.
The difference is learnable (visually and with watering routine).
The lift the bag method will train you probably resulting in SWAG watering.
Good growing to you.
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Morning farmers. Watering can be alittle tricky at times to get down. For me growing organic might be alittle different than some. I water the garden when the plants tell me to. It can be different day by day. This is due to temps, humidity, plant size and also evaporation rate.
When the plants are at a younger smaller age I would think I water about 5 gallons every other day. The plants would survive with only a gallon or two dumped directly on the root zone but this is not the correct way.
I water the root zone (where the roots currently are located) but than I also water were the roots aren’t located yet. Think about… roots want to travel and grow in moist locations, not bone dry. So if I never water around the perimeter of the pot the roots truly won’t ‘want’ to expand to that are. They chase the water.
With organic im feeding the soil basically, the plant simply falls into line.
Once the plants get larger they require a lot more water. This helping support above ground growth and bellow. Yo will find if you under water your plant you will see some nasty effect. One being an overall lack of plant growth.
If you over water your plant you will also see some negative effects. Mostly causing the soil to turn to liquid dirt and the roots will simply drowned, rot and dye.
But during this phase as you can see the plants producing shade above the soil helping with evaporation. This really helps with water retention in the hot months.
Later in life we hit the chunky bus stage. Some days I would give each plant 15 gallon of fresh water. That’s not to say sometimes 10 gallons of that was freshly brewed tea.
If your plants don’t get enough water during the flowering stage the buds sometimes will never plump up.
This is the locomotive section of the grow. Full steam shared with no backing off.
Remember!! You are managing and maintaining the proper growing environment for the plant. This allowing the plant to thrive and grow. You will never be able to tell the plant what to do, only guide it and help it get there. 
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