Just like all plants, marijuana plant needs water most importantly aside from sunlight, oxygen, and nutrients for it to grow healthily. Even though it is very traditional to use soil as the planting medium, nowadays, there are myriad ways that people use as an alternative, especially when watering weed. However, regardless of the medium, nothing beats proper hydration in the be-all and the end-all for all successful growth of marijuana. 

It is especially the best case knowing that the plant is consists of 80% water. A lot of growers often commit a mistake because of their belief that watering their plants is just a very easy task to make. However, the main reason why their plant is not healthy and often does not thrive is because of overwatering. 

For some reason, a lot of rookie cannabis or marijuana cultivators are very keen on saturating their crops. Adding too much water can run the risk of obstructing the plant’s intake of oxygen. However, if the plant is less watered, it will get thirsty and can slowly kill the plant. 

An overwatered cannabis plant usually has drooping leaves and compared to plants that are wilted. Its leaves are saturated with water that it starts to curl up. Always remember, that your plant uses its root systems to breathe the air, so when you flood it with water, you are just harming your plant of being drowned. 

If you’re confused right now about what are the proper things to do in watering your cannabis plants, then you are in the right place because we will be discussing the proper guide you can follow. This is to make sure that your cannabis plants will thrive. 

Remember These Three Life Cycles of a Cannabis Plant

There are different cycles of growth in a cannabis plant, and each of them needs a unique watering schedule to make sure it grows healthy. There are three growth cycles that a cannabis plant has. These are the seedling stage, the vegetative stage, and the flowering stage. Check the overview below. 

Seedling Stage

This is best to be watered twice a day to start; however, focus on the frequency over the volume of the water to prevent overwatering. 

Vegetative Stage

Watering it daily works best, especially if the plants are installed in smaller pots. If you are using bigger containers, you have to water them every two days. 

Flowering Stage

This is the time that the plants have to be watered every three days. About the pot size, you must choose a container that can hydrate your plants properly. Make sure that the container is not too deep for the water to reach the root system. 

What Should be the Right Water Sources Watering Weed? 

Another key factor that will create a huge difference for your plants is the source of water. Ideally, cultivators use filtered or water that underwent reverse osmosis, however, you may have some trouble looking for an osmosis system since it is rarely available. A lot of cultivators just simply use tap water since it is the one that is widely available. Before you use tap water, though, you have to remember that it is not purified. Thus it contains chlorine most of the time that may affect your plants’ growth and health. 

The Proper Water Scheduling and Timing

The most common question growers always ask is how often you should be watering your cannabis plants. Also, this question comes along with the right watering schedule and timing based on the growing environment. This is because the schedule and the timing that you are choosing heavily relies on the set-up and a set of factors. 

The amount of water that you can feed your plants always depends on its age, its size, its growing medium, and the environmental temperature. If you are planning to water your plants without a proper schedule, you should think twice before doing that. 

This is because overwatering and underwatering your cannabis plants will affect their oxygen intake that will result in a domino effect that will cause a lot of issues and will affect the crop that you are yielding. 

Also, young plants or seedlings have a less complex root system and are smaller in size. They only require less water at this stage. This only needs watering between 2-3 days. 

Another factor that you have to remember is the size and the overall construction of your pot that will affect your watering schedules. Usually, cannabis plants benefit from the light or the airy soils that has proper drainage, so if you are using pots, make sure that there are holes at the bottom where water can be drained. 

In terms of soil, the more solid and the more compact dirt needs less watering compared to the airy versions. There are types of soils that take up to four days to dry out, so you have to adjust your drainage system and. The best way to measure when and how much water to feed your plants with is to lift the pot and feel its overall weight. If it is light, it needs more watering, while if it is heavy, then you already watered it enough. Another method that you can use in watering your plants properly is by sticking your finger slightly into the soil so that you can feel the moisture content of it. 

For the size, you have to make sure that your plant grows with the size of the pot you are using. So, you have to follow the method of up-canning as your plants grow. If you’re going to water more a small plant on a big pot, then it affects the water retention. 

Temperature and age are also big factors that you have to consider. Just like humans, the hotter the environment, the more water you need to consume. Cannabis plants are no different to that. They also need more water if the growing environment’s temperature is high, so make sure to adjust your watering by matching it to the climate of the environment to keep your plants healthy.

The Effects of Overwatering and Underwatering

Just like other plants, you can see if you are watering your plants a lot or too little. To learn more about this, check out a short overview between overwatering and underwatering. 

Overwatering- Too much water has been applied to the plan, which is not a good thing. However, overwatered plants result in dropping leaves that affect growth. The telltale signs are usually the yellowing of the leaves.

Underwatering- If you feed your plants a little amount of water, they will surely show some signs of being unhealthy and weak. This is evident if the leaf color changes or the leaves are turning brittle. Also, the soil becomes drier. 

To prevent overwatering and underwatering, you have to follow some simple rules for the pot that you are using for your cannabis plant. To water fully, you have to use half of the capacity of the pot and measure it in liters. 

The Proper Way to Water Your Cannabis Plants

Aside from scheduling and timing, you should learn the proper process of watering your cannabis plants. 

Some steps are easy to follow to properly water your cannabis plants and always remember that watering is not a race. It takes patience, effort, and tender loving care so that your plants will grow healthy, and your yield is always abundant. 

Regardless if you use a manual or has a dripping system, you have to water your plants slowly. If you pour too much water all at once, this will just drain quicker and do not allow your plant to absorb it. 

You can also try runoff when you water your plants. Every time you water it, you can add slightly more water to runoff from the bottom of your container or your pot. This helps balance the pH level of the soil because it washes out the natural salts that are too stubborn to be removed. 

How to Determine the Right pH Level of the Water? 

The pH level of the water is an important factor as well. The pH level affects the process of nutrients that you feed to your plants through the water. Also, the type of soil affects the pH level of the water you should be using. If you are just using regular soil, the recommended pH level is between 6.3 to 6.8. For coco-based soils and hydroponics style of growing, the perfect pH level is from 5.5 to 6.1. 

Final Thoughts

Watering weed is not a simple task to make. It goes beyond that. There are many important considerations and factors that you have to put in your mind to help your plants gain optimum growth. Since water is the most important nutrient for your plant, you have to make sure that you follow the proper watering process and guide so that your efforts won’t go wasted.