What did I do wrong with my grow medium?

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MadButcher

Well-Known Member
Chunky Stool said:
Not sure what's going on, but droopy plants are usually a symptom of overwatering and/or too much food.
It's common to see what looks like a magnesium deficiency if you've got root probs from being too wet too long.
A foliar of kelp & humic acid might hit the spot. Floralicious Plus by GH works great as a foliar. It's pricey but super concentrated & lasts a long time.
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I've only fed them twice so far at 1/2 strength. Overwatering might be the issue. I just don't know how to prevent it, looking at how this shit absorbs the water until anything comes out the bottom. I'll show you what i mean when I take pics
 
M

MadButcher

Well-Known Member
So, here are some pics
Notice the Sativa in the back on the right does better than the 3 other indicas.
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I can't take a picture of how the water behaves, sorry. I had hoped to do that

It just doesn't spread. The soil gets wet where I hit it with water and stays wet like that. It's like pissing in the snow. At least that's the closest comparisson I can come up with
 
Bugeye

Bugeye

Well-Known Member
Interesting, you do have an "overwatered" leaf structure but clearly not overwatered. Perlite retains some moisture and provides aeration, great stuff. You have enough perlite that I can't imagine an O2 issue in your root zone. So that would suggest to me a root issue but you said they looked heatlhy...so not sure what to tell you. I don't grow in that medium but I do know that peat moss is known to retain a lot of water but does not wet easily, hence the wetting agent added. I would try bottom watering with balanced low level nutes. The purpling on the stems may show a lock out of potassium so that may be worth looking into, possibly a ph issue with the medium. Double limed to offset the low ph of moss but maybe not where you want it? Whatever the issue, it does not look like a big deal so hopefully a little experimentation and you figure it out. Good luck!
 
M

MadButcher

Well-Known Member
Bugeye said:
Interesting, you do have an "overwatered" leaf structure but clearly not overwatered. Perlite retains some moisture and provides aeration, great stuff. You have enough perlite that I can't imagine an O2 issue in your root zone. So that would suggest to me a root issue but you said they looked heatlhy...so not sure what to tell you. I don't grow in that medium but I do know that peat moss is known to retain a lot of water but does not wet easily, hence the wetting agent added. I would try bottom watering with balanced low level nutes. The purpling on the stems may show a lock out of potassium so that may be worth looking into, possibly a ph issue with the medium. Double limed to offset the low ph of moss but maybe not where you want it? Whatever the issue, it does not look like a big deal so hopefully a little experimentation and you figure it out. Good luck!
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Interesting. Maybe in a few days that's gone then.
 
coreywebster

coreywebster

Well-Known Member
Maybe the peat in the mix has gone hydrophobic, apparently that can happen if its not kept moist. I use coco so not experienced with mixes such as yours but if you google hydrophobic peat it says you can get pockets within the medium that repel the water instead of absorbing and spreading it out. Just a thought. I think wetting agents are used to reverse it.
I have heard of it happening in soils where the soil has dried out completely. Never experienced it first hand though.
Only other thought would be really low RH
 
bignugdoug

bignugdoug

Well-Known Member
Try upping your ph. Im pretty sure 5.8-6.0 is a little low if your growing in soil. I never phed my water when i grew in soil, i checked before hand to make sure it wasnt crazy high.
 
M

MadButcher

Well-Known Member
bignugdoug said:
Try upping your ph. Im pretty sure 5.8-6.0 is a little low if your growing in soil. I never phed my water when i grew in soil, i checked before hand to make sure it wasnt crazy high.
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If I would be growing in soil, you might have a point. It's my understanding the medium I'm using is considered hydroponic when it comes to ph
 
SimonD

SimonD

Well-Known Member
I grow in Pro-Mix. Lacking other input, your plants look overwatered. FWIW, I use 2gal pots which take 1/2 gallon of water each. No more, no less. You can gauge your watering based on that. Good luck.

Simon

Edit: Cited incorrect water volume. Fixed.
 
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M

MadButcher

Well-Known Member
SimonD said:
I grow in Pro-Mix. Lacking other input, your plants look overwatered. FWIW, I use 2gal pots which take a quart of water each. No more, no less. You can gauge your watering based on that. Good luck.

Simon
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I'll give that a try. Thanks! Although I doubt I'll be getting any runoff with that amount, but maybe that's not important.
 
WeedFreak78

WeedFreak78

Well-Known Member
coreywebster said:
Maybe the peat in the mix has gone hydrophobic, apparently that can happen if its not kept moist. I use coco so not experienced with mixes such as yours but if you google hydrophobic peat it says you can get pockets within the medium that repel the water instead of absorbing and spreading it out. Just a thought. I think wetting agents are used to reverse it.
I have heard of it happening in soils where the soil has dried out completely. Never experienced it first hand though.
Only other thought would be really low RH
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I've had pots go dry and had this happen. If I think a pot got too dry, I'll submerge it in a larger container to soak the medium, let it drain, then put it on a saucer with some water so it can wick if there's any dry spots left. Won't need water for a few days after, usually
 
M

MadButcher

Well-Known Member
WeedFreak78 said:
I've had pots go dry and had this happen. If I think a pot got too dry, I'll submerge it in a larger container to soak the medium, let it drain, then put it on a saucer with some water so it can wick if there's any dry spots left. Won't need water for a few days after, usually
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I will give it a watering based on SimonD's numbers and then I'll see what happens. This stuff is definately not hydrophobic. It retains so much water, its unreal.
 
WeedFreak78

WeedFreak78

Well-Known Member
MadButcher said:
I will give it a watering based on SimonD's numbers and then I'll see what happens. This stuff is definately not hydrophobic. It retains so much water, its unreal.
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I water at about a quart in six half gallon pots, so around 5 ounces each, every 2-3 days. I like lots of wet/dry cycles, so if I can, I water less, but more often. My plants are a little smaller than yours. Enviro is Mid 70s, 40% rh.

Simon D's numbers work out to 8 ounces/ half gallon. So between 5-10 ounces/ half gallon seems a good range, maybe? Dependent on environment, plant size, medium, schedule....you know, all the variables.. lol.
 
F

Fevs

Well-Known Member
I've grown under led for years. I think your soil is cold and the roots are too cold. You have purple stems. I'm betting if you up the temps, your problem will be fixed.

Mid 70's, ideal in flowering, so you don't get bud rot, but give them some heat.

I've seen cold led plants like in that photo many times...(:
 
M

MadButcher

Well-Known Member
Fevs said:
I've grown under led for years. I think your soil is cold and the roots are too cold. You have purple stems. I'm betting if you up the temps, your problem will be fixed.

Mid 70's, ideal in flowering, so you don't get bud rot, but give them some heat.

I've seen cold led plants like in that photo many times...(:
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I'll do another temperature check but from what I've seen and have measured, my temps are ok. Never lower than 68 and never above 80.

It's hard to see in the pics but the actual stems aren't purple, only the branches to the fan leafs are.
 
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