New Grower Watering amounts

[Surfer Joe]

I've been reading some comments about how much water plants use in hydro growing and was surprised by how much they seem to use.
Some people are saying that they have to replace over a gallon a day to replenish what their plants take up. But in my soil grow, I have never given the plants anywhere near that amount of water per day. If I tried, it would all just drain out the bottom anyway.
So why do plants suck up so much water when grown in a hydro method and a lot less when growing in soil? Should I be watering my plants that much in soil?
Also, I read that the plants benefit from a wet and dry period in soil, but in hydro, they are basically always wet, so I am confused.

 

[JAYAR]

Whats up Joe. Dont mix the two methods together hydro growers have much more control over what their plants are drinking compared to soil growers. Since there are about a dozen different hydro methods people just act according to how their plants are reacting to.

I grow in soil too in large 3 gallon pots and never give them over a gallon of water each. I typically water where the stem is then towards the outer middle soil. When water starts to drain through the bottom I stop and move on to the next one. Then I wait until its dry. Its usually 3 days or so. Hope this helps.

 

[wg]

Jayar is spot on, but my (pretty much restating what he said!)

So why do plants suck up so much water when grown in a hydro method and a lot less when growing in soil?

Depends on the method and environmental conditions. Hydro gives a lot more control over the plant with faster response than a plant in a container with media. A gallon of water a day being replaced would be multiple plants drinking from the same reservoir more than likely. If it was one plant drinking from one reservoir then the container and plant would have to be quite large.

Should I be watering my plants that much in soil?

No, they're two different methods of growing and the rules apply differently. It's like comparing Soccer and American Football.. just because there's a ball doesn't mean you do the same things with it.

Also, I read that the plants benefit from a wet and dry period in soil, but in hydro, they are basically always wet, so I am confused.

The wet and dry period in soil is a mixed review thing. Never let the soil dry out to the point the plant is wilting, but it does improve root growth to let the plant "search" for water. In all of the hydro methods I've experimented in the roots are never fully submerged in water. While they do actively grow into the water, they're not sitting in a pool of water without oxygen, etc flowing. In soil if you suffocate the plants or over saturate the media there's no ways to get additional oxygen to the roots short of letting the pot dry up.

Also what makes you think you need to water differently?

 

[JAYAR]

Never let the soil dry out to the point the plant is wilting, but it does improve root growth to let the plant "search" for water.

Damn on my last grow I let the pots get too dry and my plant wilted I guess from dehydration. Definitely you will need to find the balance between dryness and watering before the plants gets dehydrated. Also some plants drink faster than others so make sure to treat them individually.

 

[Surfer Joe]

Also what makes you think you need to water differently?

Thanks for all the info.
I was just curious because of the disparity between things I'd read.
I have almost finished my first grow and I used soil. I made tons of mistakes but it made me want to try again. Now I want to try a hydro method that uses a large bucket with a mesh pot inside with air pumps aerating the water. That's where I found the comments about how much water was being used.
I do water my plants until it comes out at the bottom and then let them dry out before watering again, but I used very small clay pots (6 inches tall) and the soil is drying out every day.
Once or twice the plant wilted a bit because it had gotten too dry, but as soon as I watered it, it sprang back.
With my hydro grow, I am still considering whether to set up in two separate buckets (12L each) or get a larger plastic tub (about 40L) and put two mesh pots in that. I figure that the larger reservoir will make it easier to deal with, but I'm worried that the communal reservoir could mean that any problem quickly spreads to all of the plants.
If I go the bucket route, I may have enough room to add one soil pot as well to the grow tent and see how the two grows compare.
I got a nice tall pot with about a 2-gallon capacity so the plant should like that more.
I am growing autos in my little clay pots and I have one sativa that is about 15 inches tall and one indica that is about 12 inches tall and a third indica that was in an even smaller pot that is about 5 inches tall.
All are nearing the end of their grow and all have decent buds on them but they are small and have suffered a lot because I made a lot of mistakes.