How Much Water to Give To Your Plant

Watering your marijuana plants is one of many vital things when growing cannabis. Like all plants, cannabis plants require water to perform their primary function. If your plant doesn’t receive enough water, it will die a slow, painful death. However, watering cannabis plants isn’t always as simple as spraying your garden with a hose at night. There isn’t a precise scientific method for watering weed plants. Also, the climate will often fluctuate as the plant grows.

With that said, here are some essential tips for watering cannabis plants:

How Often Should You Water Cannabis Plants?

Many cannabis growers overwater their cannabis plants. However, you must give your plants a cycle of wet and dry to ensure healthy roots and a deeper reach into the soil. In addition, the plant will struggle to use oxygen efficiently—which can kill the plant—if the soil is too wet.

Here are some estimates of how often you should water your cannabis plants:

Germination stages: every four to seven days
Seedling: every three to seven days
Vegetative: every two to four days
Flowering: every two to three days

3 Signs That You Should Water Your Cannabis Plants

Sometimes, the above estimates may be wrong—especially if you’re in a hot climate like Southern California. As a result, you should look out for the following:

Check whether the soil is wet: Stick one finger around 1 to 2 inches into the soil to determine whether it’s wet. If it’s dry, you should water the plant. If it’s still wet, you should wait a day or two.
Feel the plant weight: Although this may take some experience, feeling the weight of a plant pot is an excellent way to gauge whether you need to water the plant. Ensure you constantly lift the plant pot to learn how heavy the plant should be.
Unhealthy appearance: Another sign your plant needs water asap is a floppy and weak appearance. It may have brown or yellow leaves, making the leaves loom feeble and lifeless. With some experience, it will be straightforward to notice this. However, the leaves may appear dark green and curled if you’ve overwatered your plant. You should allow the plant to dry if you spot these symptoms.

How Much Water Should You Give Your Plants?

So, how do you measure the amount of water required? It depends on various factors, including the plant’s size, the outside temperature, the plant’s overall health, and the stage of the plant’s growth.

Ideally, you should water the plant enough to soak all the soil in the pot. You don’t need to flood the cannabis plant pot, but it should look wet. Water should pool on the surface and come out of the drainage holes at the bottom. Your soil is too damp if the water sits on the surface.

However, water will run straight through the soil if the plant is too dry. You should water for approximately 15 to 20 minutes if this happens. Then, water it again until the soil begins to absorb the water.

The roots will require more water as your plants grow. Therefore, you should water the area around the plant’s stalk to help guide the roots to the pot’s edge to find nutrients. However, don’t water too far away from the roots because this can create root rot, pest issues, and mold.

Outdoor vs. Indoor Growth

Your watering process can differ depending on whether you grow your cannabis outdoors or indoors. If you’re growing your cannabis outside, you must consider drought and rainfall when deciding how much to water your cannabis plants. Continuously monitor the climate and change your watering process in response.

In contrast, indoor growers have far more leverage over the environment. However, you must never forget to water your plants because there’s no rainfall indoors. Also, don’t overwater your plants because there may not be enough heat to dry the soil.

How To Find the Best Water for Cannabis Plants

You must have clean water to ensure healthy cannabis plants. Still, there are two prevalent misconceptions surrounding water:

If you can drink it, it’s safe for plants to consume.
All water is the same.

In both cases, it’s not necessarily true. Water can—and often does—contain harmful contaminants that may cause significant health issues for your cannabis plants.

Here’s what to look out for:

Your water’s PH level is significant. Cannabis prefers its water PH level to be around the 6-7 PH range, which is optimal for nutrient uptake. Another critical factor is the water’s PPM, which measures the number of contaminants in the water. Common contaminants include chlorine, sand, bacteria, and uranium.

Where To Find the Best Water?

Many cannabis growers are strict on where they source their water. However, you must factor in the total cost, overall water quality, labor required to bring the water in, and the availability of the water.

Here are some typical options:

Unfiltered tap water: It’s possible to use unfiltered tap water for your cannabis plants, but it depends on the water’s quality. Tap water is affordable, there’s no labor involved, and it’s easy to source. However, some cities have limits on tap water consumption. There could also be health and safety concerns.
Bottled water: Using bottled water is one of the safest options. It doesn’t have many contaminants and doesn’t need extra filtration. Still, bottled water may become expensive over time, hurts the environment, and there may be logistical issues.
RO systems: If you grow large amounts of cannabis, you should consider sourcing your water from RO systems. They ensure excellent water filtration, and the supply is endless. However, the initial costs are expensive, there’s a high barrier to entry, and RO systems can waste tonnes of water.

How To Flush Cannabis Plants

Flushing your cannabis plants is essential, depending on how you grow the plants. Flushing helps remove nutrients built up in a plant during its life. It can prevent a nutrient imbalance when your plant becomes overloaded with nutrients and struggles to absorb new ones.

You should flush them one week before you cut down your plants for harvesting. Ideally, water your plants as much as usual—but only use water because it will force the plant to use the nutrients stored within it.

Here are some flushing time frames:

Soil: 7 to 10 days
Coco and Rockwool: 7 days
Hydroponics: 5 to 7 days

You shouldn’t flush your plants if you’re growing them in organic soil because it already has excellent nutrients. By flushing them out, you risk depriving the plant of vital nutrients before harvest. However, ensure you don’t let your plants become too dry or too wet before harvesting.