A Fundamental Guide on Watering Cannabis Plants

If you are a cannabis grower, you must know that they require a lot of water. No matter what kind of water you are using, you must ensure that you have plenty of it to water the plants whenever needed. Just like water is essential for every plant out there, it’s essential for marijuana too. Water acts as the carrier for dissolved minerals and nutrients. It’s absorbed through the roots of the plants, sometimes from the leaves too. When it’s distributed throughout the plant, the water distributes essential nutrients and minerals as well. Besides that, water has an important role to play in the cooling process. Needless to mention, it’s required for photosynthesis.

Therefore, providing the right amount of water to your cannabis plant is of paramount importance. The water requirement depends on the structure and quality of the soil and the development stage of the plant. Let’s go through the guide given below to understand how to water a cannabis plant in detail. 

When to Water a cannabis plant? 

Right from the beginning, proper watering is extension important. Even before the seeds have germinated into a seedling, regulating proper water balance is essential. Since, seeds don’t have any roots, without water, they would dry out. However, overwatering will also drown them. 

When it comes to watering cannabis plants, some factors are depending on which you must water your plants. Some of them are: 

• Size of the plants
• Current Growth stage
• Size of the container they are growing in 
• The root level 
• The temperature of the environment
• Humidity levels
• The canopy 
• The drainage qualities of the soil they are growing in 

Now, if you are unsure when to water the plants again, there’s a rule to help you. Look for the status of the soil. Make sure the soil is dry. Once it has started to drain out water, water the soil enough so that it remains moist until the next watering schedule. However, don’t let it become excessively dry. 

How to figure out if you are overwatering the plants? The leaves will slightly droop. Also, the leaves will appear dark green with a curled tip. If this happens, reduce the amount of water you are giving. 

Note down when and how much water are you providing to your plants. It’s important to bring your plants to a routine. Water them around the same time daily. When the seedling stage finishes, reduce the frequency of watering to three days a week maximum. 

However remember that the bigger the plants grow, the more will their water requirement. In the later stages, you ought to increase the frequency of watering. 

How much should you water marijuana plants?

We have already listed some important factors that affect the quantity of water you must provide to your cannabis plants. Keep them in mind and water accordingly. 

There are other things that you should also know. Firstly, the plants must remain in moist soil throughout. Water should collect on the surface of the container when you are watering. Make sure the container has drainage holes to allow the water to come out slowly and not remain stagnant in the container. If the water sits on the surface of the soil, it indicates that the soil is moist and it doesn’t require any more watering. 

If your cannabis plant is dry, you will notice water running straight through the soil, the moment you water it. It will come out immediately from the drainage holes. If this happens, water it some more till the water is retained by the soil particles. Next, water it again after 20 minutes. Repeat doing this for the third time. Doing this will allow the soil to gradually absorb the water until every particle becomes thoroughly wet. 

Remember that the roots of these plants are constantly looking for water. As the plants get bigger, the water radius must also increase. Doing this will enable the cannabis plant roots to the corners of the pot while they absorb water and nutrients from the soil.

Remember that establishing the right balance between overwatering and underwatering is the key to making cannabis plants thrive. Therefore, work towards finding that right balance. 

Is your container the right size?

To facilitate the growth of the cannabis plant, placing it in the right container is important. The size of the container must be big enough to allow the roots to spread with time. However, for the initial stage of development, a large-sized container isn’t required. In that case, the roots wouldn’t be able to reach the bottom of the soil and therefore wouldn’t receive the necessary water required. If it’s unable to absorb water, water will sit in the soil and take time to evaporate, leading to root rot and unwanted growth of fungus and insects. 

Again, if the container is too small, the roots would find it difficult to stretch out which will prevent the plant from growing in size. Therefore people are advised to plant seeds in a small container and shift the plant to a larger sized container when it’s growing bigger. 

What is flushing?

While talking about watering marijuana plants, we must discuss flushing. It’s an important aspect of the cannabis development process. Flushing is when you stop giving nutrients to the plants and give them water only. Flushing is done to flush out all nutrients that may have built inside the plant during its growth. 

Now, when is the right time to flush? Well, you must follow flushing before a week of harvesting. Start flushing the nutrients at the end of the flowering stage when the buds are ready to be cut down. 

When the plant is already overloaded with nutrients, it refuses to absorb new ones. Therefore it’s necessary to flush out whatever nutrient imbalance existed. 

How to flush weed plants? 

Starting from the end of the flowering stage to a week before harvest, flushing should continue. The final flushing period should stretch for a week before the plants are finally ready to be cut down for harvesting. Don’t overwater the plants. Water them as you do normally. Don’t provide any fertilizer, only water the plants. This will force the plant to utilize whatever nutrient is present inside it to sustain itself. This stage is important because if the built-up nutrients aren’t used up by the plant, it will affect the quality of the harvested buds. 

Oftentimes people wonder how they would understand if a plant is ready to be flushed. Look at the trichomes on the marijuana plant. If they start turning milky, it’s time to begin the flushing. Now the flushing period is different for different growing mediums. 

• Hydroponics: 5-7 days
• Rockwool and coco: 7 days
• Soil: 7-10 days

If you used organic soil to grow cannabis, people are advised not to flush the plants in that soil. That’s because the soil is already full of nutrients and minerals that plants require to sustain themselves. If you continuously water that soil, you would only damage the complex ecosystem that you have developed so far. 

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How to understand whether or not your cannabis plants are under watered or over watered?

By now you have understood there’s a lot to consider while watering cannabis plants. Sometimes, beginners make mistakes and end up water the plants more than they require. Some end up watering so less that the plants dry out. To avoid these, we have listed some signs that will help you understand what to do. 

• Drooping Leaves

The biggest indication for an under-watered weed plant is drooping leaves. If you notice that your plant leaves are drooping, you must pay immediate attention and water the plants sufficiently, at regular intervals. Besides drooping, the cannabis plants will also appear lifeless, show weak stem and branches, and fall over.

If you continue to underwater them continuously, the plants will die with time. The longer you delay addressing the issue, the tougher it will be to make the plants survive. 

• Curling or Clawing Leaves

This issue occurs because of nutrient toxicity, probably that of nitrogen. However, over-watering cannabis plants can also cause curling or clawing leaves. If you have been watering the plants excessively, stop right away. 

• Yellowing Leaves

The next sign that indicates nutrient deficiency is the yellowing of leaves. When the leaves turn yellowish, it can be either because of a lack of nutrients or overwatering. Stop watering the plants excessively as it will block the roots, not allowing them to breathe freely.

• Brown Leaf Edges

The last symptom that indicates under watering is leaf edges turning brown. This occurs when the salt builds up in the medium. Salt accumulation can also result in other problems like: 

• Rapid dehydration
• Excess nutrient levels
• High pH imbalance

Conclusion

From the above guide, it’s clear how essential water is for the healthy growth and development of cannabis plants. Cannabis plants are extremely sensitive and therefore watering them at the right time in the right amounts is extremely important. If not watered properly, the plants will die. Therefore take care of the plants and follow the instructions mentioned in this guide.