Watering Question

If its bone dry not good. water the sides. but lightly. Let the water seap into the main part over the course of a day. I also spray down my sides when I grow in fabric pots as they dry out so dam fast. I think I am done with fabric planters, I'll put little holes in plastic to aerate the roots but not this stuff again. bitch to clean and cost more.

should have said "can" fill at the end.. a smal 1-2sq ft seedling area can supply enough plants for 50 sq ft, so it can definitely handle a 4x4 or 5x5 tent too.

There's no easy way to water a small plant in a huge pot. You are better off starting with a smaller size that doesn't require some risk-elevating method of irrigation. first, don't just give 200mL, or any number you pull out of the ether. It may not cause an immediate problem, but over time and the effects.. just not optimal in numerous ways. It's good that you thought to only water a smaller diamter around the plant. This is correct relative to context, but Make sure it gets wet all the way down to the bottom. Roots turn toward greater moisture. It's a physical mechanism directly from how they grow. if you only watr the top half or quarter, the roots won't drive down. they'll stay in that tiny zone of moist substrate. you'll get more superficial rooting because the deeper stuff stays wetter longer, i.e. roots drive down not up as pot dries / is drunk between irrigations. Water roughly the diameter of the canopy. the water will spread out like a cone in the substrate below that point. Wait for top 1" or so to dry and repeat. continueing to increase diameter of your irrigation -- over time the canopy size as well as how long it takes between irrigations is a guide to how to adjust the amount of water you give -- via diameter.. always give enough to get it wet near bottom. This is all assuming soill. if soilless, you need 10% runoff, religiously and fertigating each time. It's better that a opt doesn't remain sopping wet (the small plant can't drink fast enough) for 9-10+ days.. even less is a problem if consistently doing it for a prolonged time. Just asking for weird microbial shit to grow in your substrate. Often the first cycle after a transplant can take 3-5-7 days but that quickly shortens. A tiny plant in a big pot takes forever before you get on a healthy watering schedule. transplants help save money too. you start with little seedling pots and can use a tiny light and small 1-2sq ft area even for a number of plant sthat will later fill 50sq ft. By not jumping to large pots, you can have an intermediary size that still allows to to compact the growing space and use less watts for high DLI. Watering is easier and faster.. safer and promotes healthier outcomes down the road. always better to water entire pot, then wait for top 1" to dry and repeat. that sholdn't taek mor ethan 3-5 days the first cycle after transplant and should reduce a bit from there. In soilless, always get 10% runoff. Different cater capacity substrates may need a different trigger than " 1" deep" being dry. Feeling the weight of the pot is an indicator that will travel. now what a low water-volume feels like and it's going to be the case in other contexts too.