When growing a cannabis plant at home, one of the most important things you need to do is provide it with water. Without the right amount of water, especially without enough of it, a cannabis plant simply cannot survive.
Marijuana plants are fairly thirsty, which means they require a good deal of water, but you also need to avoid over watering your cannabis plants. Over watering cannabis plants can lead to root rot, fungus issues, and much more. However, not providing your cannabis plants with enough water is also an issue.
In order to have healthy plants, you need to give them just the right amount of water. However, there are also other things to consider here, such as the amount of nutrients that you give your plants with their water so that they do not suffer from nutrient deficiencies.
Today, we’re going to talk about everything there is to know about watering your cannabis plant at home.
This ultimate guide on watering your cannabis plants will provide you with detailed information about an ideal schedule for watering, nutrient ratios, and everything else in between when it comes to growing cannabis and its watering needs. It’s all about avoiding overwatered weed plants!
Understanding the Needs of Your Cannabis Plant
When growing cannabis, you need to be aware of the strain itself. Different strains of cannabis will have different requirements, so we recommend doing some research into the specific strain in question before you start cannabis cultivation.
Cannabis growers everywhere know that it is important to be familiar with the strain they are growing before starting.
You also need to realize that the stage of growth of the plant is in, the size of the container, humidity levels, and more, all affect how much water your cannabis plant needs, and how often you need to give it water. This way, you can avoid both overwatered marijuana plants and underwatered cannabis plants.
Using the Right Water Cannabis Plants
Using the right kind of water is also very important. Weed plants have fairly specific needs, especially when it comes to the pH level. The pH level of the water is extremely important, because cannabis plants require the soil and the water to have specific acidity levels.
If the pH level of the water and the nutrients you give your plants is not ideal, then the root system will suffer.
If the root system does not have the proper pH level, it will not be able to absorb nutrients properly. You always need to use water that features a pH level between 6.0 and 6.5.
Providing your cannabis plants with a steady supply of high-quality water with the proper pH level will help the plant absorb the essential nutrients it needs to survive throughout the growth process. Your plant’s health and overall condition all starts with the right kind of water.
On that note, water quality is also very important, both in terms of the overall growth process and the final yield of your cannabis plant.
If you plan on using regular tap water, we recommend letting it sit out for about a day, and this will allow chlorine to dissipate. You really don’t want your cannabis plants having too much chlorine in the soil, or else this can lead to problems as well.
When to Water Cannabis Plants
You then also need to determine when to water your cannabis plants. Many people have issues determining when the proper watering time is, but what it really all comes down to is how dry or moist the growing medium is.
Of course, many people are worried about not providing their plants with adequate water levels. Many people are afraid of drying their plants out, which is of course not good. However, even worse is overwatering your cannabis plants.
Overwatered marijuana plants will quickly start to develop root rot, which results in them being unable to absorb a essential nutrients, and eventually will it lead to the death of the plant.
The easiest way to tell if your cannabis plants need water is to stick your finger about an inch deep into the soil. If it feels excessively dry, then it is time to provide your plants with some water. However, if the soil still sticks to your fingers, then it is best to wait with watering to avoid excess hydration.
Use the Right Watering Technique
Using the right watering techniques is also very important. One of the biggest mistakes that you can do when watering cannabis plants is to water your plants from the top. Many people think that it may be beneficial to provide the leaves with excess moisture during the watering process, however this is really not the case.
If you water the plants when there is light shining on the leaves, and you get the leaves wet, it will cause them to burn. Therefore, when you water your plants, water the soil directly. Watering the soil directly will avoid the rest of the plant from getting wet, and will therefore avoid the leaves from getting burned due to light being magnified by the water droplets.
Every time you water your cannabis plant, you also want to ensure that you let the water saturate the entire root zone. Just make sure that the cannabis pots or containers you are using have proper drainage holes, or else excess water will build up, and this may lead to overwatered plants.
Ensuring Propper Drainage and Water Retention
We really can’t stress enough how over watering weed plants is probably the worst thing that you can do. Therefore, as mentioned above, you need to make sure that there are adequate drainage holes in your growing containers, as this is the only way to really let excess water drain away.
However, drainage holes often won’t be enough because even high-quality potting soil may hold on to too much water. No matter how thirsty plants are, there is always a point where they’ve had too much. Therefore, using the right kind of growing medium is also essential, and this means using more than just high-quality potting soil.
It is recommended that you also use a combination of perlite and vermiculite mixed in with your soil. Perlite helps to provide proper drainage for the root systems, plus it also helps aerate the soil.
Perlite is perhaps one of the best solutions to an over watering problem. Vermiculite on the other hand actually hold on to a bit of moisture, therefore allowing for a slow release of water for your cannabis plants.
Adding these two substances in your growing soil is one of the best ways for novice growers to normalize their watering frequency, and it helps to avoid both underwatered plants and overwatered plants.
No matter the watering techniques you use, the most important aspect here is to provide your cannabis plants with adequate water, which means not too much and not too little.
Just on the note of drainage, this is also very important in order to get rid of stagnant water. If there is too much stagnant water sitting on top or underneath the soil, it can lead to the rotting of the root system and the development of harmful bacteria and fungus.
If you ever notice that there is any stagnant water around, then you need to provide your plants with better drainage to allow for proper root development and root health. Poor drainage is perhaps one of the biggest enemies of your cannabis plant.
On that note, you may try using fabric pots to grow your cannabis, as these are very breathable and feature proper drainage. Fabric pots allow water to easily drain away, therefore avoiding you creating an overwatered marijuana plant, plus it also allows for great oxygen intake. Air pots are another great option to consider here.
An important note for outdoor grows is that you of course won’t be using air pots, fabric pots, or anything else of the sort. However, it is therefore important that you use the right kind of soil with substances such as perlite and vermiculite mixed in.
Even more important is that you put something like gravel or relatively large rocks a few feet under the soil. Putting gravel under the soil will act as a drainage system to allow excess water to drain away from the soil.
Keep Humidity Levels in Mind
The next important point to keep in mind when it comes to water and cannabis plants is the humidity levels. Environmental factors such as relative humidity levels will determine how often you need to water your cannabis plants, and how much water you need to give them.
If the humidity level in the air is very high, such as over 60%, then your cannabis plants won’t need quite as much water. Weed plants enjoy a good bit of water, but there if there is too much humidity in their air, then they won’t need as much water coming from the soil.
If you don’t take humidity levels into account when watering your marijuana plants, it can quickly lead to you over watering cannabis plants.
Of course, as we have discussed several times now, overwatered marijuana plants will quickly start to rot right inside of their growing medium. With a bit of practice, you’ll be able to determine how often you need to water your specific marijuana plants based on the humidity levels and other surrounding environmental factors.
Keep in mind that the relative humidity level for weed plants should be between 50% and 70% for the vegetative stage, and between 40% and 60% for the flowering stage. This brings us to our next point, taking the various growth stages of the cannabis plant into account.
Adjust Watering Schedule for Various Growth Stages
What it really comes down to here is that a small plant requires less water than a large plant. Simply put, a seedling requires very little water, a plant in its vegetative stage requires a little more, and a cannabis plant in its flowering stage requires the most.
This is something you will notice as you go on, that you’ll engage in more watering the further your plant gets along its growth stage.
Smaller plants always need less water than bigger plants. No matter what growth stage the cannabis plant is in, whether the flowering stage or otherwise, make sure that you do not overwater them.
Different sizes of weed plants have different water uptake rates, and if you aren’t careful, they can all start to suffer from root rot. Flowering plants may need more water than others, but there is a limit, so always pay attention to the key signs of overwatering.
Using the Right NPK Nutrients
when it comes to watering your cannabis plants, avoiding excessive dry soil is of course very important, but what is also just as important is providing your cannabis plants with the proper nutrients.
Cannabis plants need three main nutrients to grow and survive, which are nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus, otherwise known as the NPK nutrients.
However, cannabis plants in various growth stages also have different nutrient requirements. More than anything else, cannabis plants in their vegetative stage require more nitrogen than the other two nutrients, and a flowering cannabis plant requires more potassium and phosphorus than nitrogen.
It is therefore recommended that you do some more research on the right NPK levels for your nutrient solution.
Having the right amount of nutrients is very important for a wide variety of reasons, with allowing your plant to develop roots for nutrient uptake being just one of them. A nutrient deficiency is also one of the worst things for a cannabis plant, so this also needs to be avoided at all costs.
Using the right nutrient ratios will also allow for maximum oxygen intake and water uptake. We also can’t stress enough just how important it is to always test your nutrient solution for the pH level. If your nutrient solution does not have the right pH level, it can lead to stunted growth and many other problems as well.
Make Adjustments as Necessary
The only thing left for you to do here is to pay attention to your plant and make all adjustments as necessary. If you see the soil is dry, adjust the feeding schedule accordingly.
If you see that the soil is too wet, then decrease the amount of water you provide your cannabis plants. Knowing if your cannabis plants have too much water is therefore very important.
There are various signs of overwatering plants to look out for. Overwatered cannabis plants will exhibit signs such as drooping leaves, powdery mildew, and may also begin to yellow and suffer from stunted growth. Overwatered weed plants will quickly begin to display droopy leaves, and before you know it, it may be too late for them.
This is because once root rot starts to take hold, it may already be too late. Therefore, paying attention to your plant’s leaves is very important. The leaves of your cannabis plant are one of the first indications to look out for to determine whether you are overwatering cannabis plants or underwatering the cannabis plants.
Look for signs of an overwatered weed plant is something you should always be doing, and if you stick your finger in the growing medium and it feels like mud, then you certainly have an overwatered plant.
Remember however, although overwatering is a common issue, underwatered cannabis plants also wont fare well. Underwatered plants will start to dry out, and if they don’t enough liquid and nutrients, may also lead to nutrient deficiencies.
Conclusion
Remember, the most important thing you can do here is to look for signs of overwatering such as drooping leaves.
If you have an overwatered plant, try to keep the soil dry until all excess moisture has dissipated, and then reevaluate the your watering system. Cannabis cultivation doesn’t have to be difficult if you know what you are doing!
