Hello, I am currently growing Gelato Autoflower and am in week three. I have a 4x4 with an LED light and am using fabric pots. I have been following your book which is great!!! Has answered most of my questions… here are a couple that I have. When I water til the runoff shows, do I leave the runoff water in the saucer and let the plant absorb or remove it? What is the best way to measure the PH and PPM of the soil prior to watering or feeding? Thank you!!
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Hi, here's a link @Mr. Grow It posted in a previous thread on how to do a Slurry Test.
Some will leave the water in there for a short period of time to allow it to wick up; others will immediately remove the water. I use a shop vac to remove the runoff water. If your soil gets so dry that it goes hydrophobic, water will run right through it so it's probably best to water very slowly and let some of the runoff wick up. You can also look into wetting agents such as Yucca to help with hydrophobic soil. If you don't have a soil pH pen to stick into the soil to get a pH measurement, you can either do a runoff test or a slurry test. Keep in mind these will give you a general idea of how much nutrients are in the medium - they will not be exact measurements. I will slowly water until runoff and then get a runoff measurement for pH and PPM. I then log that number and reference it next time I need to water/fed. Hope this helps!
I leave the water in the saucer but if it is still there an hour after, I dump it. The fabric pot can wick from the bottom, the only concern is overwatering or stagnant water.
I dont measure soil much, its easier to rinse the medium. Just PH clean water and run off the excess. This also helps lower the EC of the medium. I personally run a biological once a week to rinse the medium (Tribus/Fulvic/Amino Acid).
Happy Growing!