I’m a beginner and currently am at the beginning of my first grow. I’m growing a Zkittles Autoflower plant in a 5 gallon pot using fox farm happy frog soils with a small amount of ocean forest at the bottom… the problem I’m having is getting a good water schedule down and how much. Up until now I have been adjusting the ph of my water then spraying with a small spray bottle at the base of the plant like twice a day. The seed was planted on December 27th so I’m a few weeks in I will post a few pics so you have a idea of where the plants are at currently. If you could offers up and advise on watering and lighting. I have a Diablo 200 currently. I would greatly appreciate it because I am feeling lees than confident in this grow. Thanks for your time it’s much appreciated
@Strummer77
For now I would take a solo cup and place it over the plant and take another solo cup (full of water phed to 6.5) and water around the cup you placed over the plant so the roots have to reach out for the water and grow
Each time you water after that go a little farther out watering each time probably every 3 days to start then increasing watering each time
You shouldn’t need to solo cup over the plant after the first watering
Listen to Spanky!!! He taught me the same thing when I started!
Definitely excellent advice! That little rascal can grow some big buds! Heed the water ‘around’ the plant advice
With planting in a bigger pot I’ve read and heard from more experienced growers that the roots will go straight down whereas if you water around the edges and slowly work out it gets them to go out towards the edges and get to more soil, more soil = more nutes = more food = more girth…and who doesn’t love a girthy plant
By moving the watering ring out every so often you’re building a super strong root system and it’ll pay off
First of all thank you all very much for this awesome info, Very appreciated. My only other question right now is would I be increasing the circumference of the water ring every 3 days or is there another time and place for that? And at any point will the water amount increase? Once The water ring has reached the planter wall, does the process start over? Thank you so much for everyone’s patience with these questions…I’m really trying to gain as much expertise as I can this first time round.
Thanks everyone 
Its less of a time thing… everyone gets so caught up with timing and schedules…
When we should be adjusting according to the plant. Give her that amount until she’s bigger and needs more to drink.
I personally wet soil before I pop seeds. Said soil doesnt need rewetting for 7-14 days. Then its only spray bottle amounts. Eventually ill water in rings, then as she gets bigger and roots have had a chance to develop properly, ill increase the amount she receives.
Now im not saying thats right for u. I live on thr gulf coast and huniditys pretty high so ee water a bit less
No use keeping soil soggy that roots cant even touch. Or constantly washing out all the goodies amended ibto soils like FFOF and Happy Frog…
You’re about the right size for 2 week , zkittles tend to be on the smaller size but big buds as for light Start using DLI look at this for how much light to give them. I find winter to be the WORST time of year to grow pot , it’s incredibly difficult to keep humidity above 60% which leads to smaller plants( though certain desert varieties prefer the dryness slightly) so don’t be discouraged if they’re not the absolute best plants you’ve seen
Yeah these guys got ya! The reason her leaves look like that is you probably got them wet. Water on leaves can cause burning and if there’s nutes in the water it can cause discoloration and spots.
Hey so sorry to bug you I was just curious if you saw my follow up post yesterday that you helped me with. Just seeing if I could get some of these answers . Thank you again you have been a ton of help. Have a great day
First of all thank you all very much for this awesome info, Very appreciated. My only other question right now is would I be increasing the circumference of the water ring every 3 days or is there another time and place for that? And at any point will the water amount increase? Once The water ring has reached the planter wall, does the process start over? Thank you so much for everyone’s patience with these questions…I’m really trying to gain as much expertise as I can this first time round.
I believe this is a good answer to your question
What everyone already said! I start at about an 1/8 or less of a cup and water daily around leaf edges and slowly increase the amount of water. By 3 weeks it’s time to water the whole pot
@Strummer77
Everyone is giving good advice I’ll add this: before your next watering start lifting the pot and see how heavy or light it is you will get a feel for when it’s dry by the light weight of the pot check again after watering and you will feel the difference after 1 more watering I would water until you get some runoff into the pan (water slowly all the way around the entire bag) once you get some water out the bottom stop adding (don’t leave the bag sitting in water make sure you have plant risers) and empty the pan Feel how heavy the pot is
Don’t water again until the pot is light probably about 5-7 days depending on your conditions
Once you get more roots and the plant gets bigger you will have to water/feed more often keep checking the weight of the pot when it gets light time to water again fully from here on out until you get 10-20% runoff into the pan this helps keep the salts from building up in the root zone
Any questions just give me a tag I’ll respond when I can or ask several people to get more than one idea we are all here to learn and share best we can
Good luck
Greetings and thank you for your time,
Nailed it, and it stops the marks on your leaves 
from spots. They are coming along nice.
Take care grow on
Just like playing an instrument or driving blindfolded, it’s important to get that muscle memory for what a pot that needs water feels like and what a pot that is full of water feels like, this has been a huge learning experience for me and I find it super easy to keep my girls on a “schedule” that way, water em till 20% runoff, and let em enjoy that till you feel it’s light again, it’ll be very obvious, you’re in great hands with the people giving info on this thread
…whoops, Spanky already said all that and way better than I could
Have you tried a bacillus root inoculant to boost root growth and keep the root rot away? Not sure what you would want to use with Happy Frog soil but I use HYDROGUARD for my hydroponics system. Really boost your root growth and keeps them healthy.
Botanicare Hydroguard Bacillus Root Inoculant, Quart https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IGFH25M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_WADQDK4XM7W0HDFC635H?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Also check your vapor pressure deficit VPD to keep your humidity and heat in sync with the stage your plant is in.
Hello. I also have a question guys. Is Fox farm good for auto’s. First time for growing auto’s. Thank you.
Greetings and thank you for your time,
Yes I use the FoxFarm soils and some of their nutrients. I can’t get the grow shops to carry the full line of products, but I have been very successful with the main big three on my first grow. I only have grown auto’s up to this point. Pics of my present grow using Foxfarm. These are Granddaddy purple auto’s.
Thanks for your time.
Oh yeah. They look great. Thank you for the advice. I ordered the nutrients from ILGM. Just checking for something as good but cheaper. I have not received shipment yet. I’m in my first auto grow. They are doing great so far. I know they will need nutrients soon. I’m growing White window.
