Are my girls overwatered?

[LungExpansion]

This is my first grow and I chose to do the living soil route due to less headaches with feeding. My issue is keeping the soil moist but not too wet for the plants. They both have mycelia growing, worms, soil mites, and springtails.

Color wise they look healthy to me but I’m concerned with the droop both of them have. I have the light at the manufacturers recommended 24 inches and do my best keeping temp/humidity where they need to be. I get a high of 80 and a low rh of around 65 with lights on.

 

[driver77]

They look ok for now.
Room temp? Try to keep it in the low 80's
Water around the outside edge of container if medium below is too dry.
If your using that meter to measure soil moisture or ph your wasting your time....they are not accurate. Go by the weight of your container to determine when it's dry.
Water with a spray bottle the first week or 2

 

[driver77]

Keep in mind you have 2 lights in there and they over lap each others coverage.....so your getting more par than just 1 light at 24"
Get a par meter or at the very least a phone app called "photone" to measure your light intensity for dialing in DLI.

 

[tstick]

Plants wiggle as they grow. You just caught it in mid-wiggle!

 

[Bullmark]

Growing a tiny seedling in a huge pot can be challenging early on. It’s tough to get the watering correct and u end up with a large volume of medium that is wet and the root zone hasn’t filled it.
I’d def let it dry out a bit. The plant doesn’t need a lot of water when it’s so small.
im afraid to guess how many gallons that largest pot is…..at least 10? If all of that medium is really moist, I wouldn’t give it any water for at least 4/5 days. If the first couple of inches is drying out, just water a little in a circle a bit wider than your leaf radius.
If they are photoperiod plants, you’ve got plenty of time for this to work itself out. If it’s an auto, you’re up against the clock.
I always start seedling in a solo cup then move to 1gal pots, then onto their final destination…..usually 5 or 7 gal pots.
good luck.

 

[LungExpansion]

Plants wiggle as they grow. You just caught it in mid-wiggle!

lmao well this thing has been stuck in its wiggle for two days

 

[LungExpansion]

Growing a tiny seedling in a huge pot can be challenging early on. It’s tough to get the watering correct and u end up with a large volume of medium that is wet and the root zone hasn’t filled it.
I’d def let it dry out a bit. The plant doesn’t need a lot of water when it’s so small.
im afraid to guess how many gallons that largest pot is…..at least 10? If all of that medium is really moist, I wouldn’t give it any water for at least 4/5 days. If the first couple of inches is drying out, just water a little in a circle a bit wider than your leaf radius.
If they are photoperiod plants, you’ve got plenty of time for this to work itself out. If it’s an auto, you’re up against the clock.
I always start seedling in a solo cup then move to 1gal pots, then onto their final destination…..usually 5 or 7 gal pots.
good luck.

These are autos and I believe the large pot is 20 gallons, the minimum a lot of people recommended for living soil. That was my biggest concern with starting the plant was the watering. I know it’s fairly aerated and I have good airflow but I’m starting to see I need to leave it alone for a couple of days. Next time I water I’ll try to just water around the plant so the roots search more. I probably took on more than I can handle for a first time grower but living soil sounded to be the easiest way to grow.

 

[LungExpansion]

Keep in mind you have 2 lights in there and they over lap each others coverage.....so your getting more par than just 1 light at 24"
Get a par meter or at the very least a phone app called "photone" to measure your light intensity for dialing in DLI.

yeah I keep getting a notification from Photone to get a diffuser because I have an iPhone but when I go to Amazon I’m not seeing anything that looks like what they’re showing me on the app.

 

[driver77]

yeah I keep getting a notification from Photone to get a diffuser because I have an iPhone but when I go to Amazon I’m not seeing anything that looks like what they’re showing me on the app.

I believe a piece of paper works...

 

[LungExpansion]

Oh ok…

 

[Bullmark]

U can sorta calibrate the Photone app to your phone if U know the coverage footprint numbers for your light.
For ex, I have a HLG led and their chart shows that the light gives off 1400ppfd (when cranked to full intensity) in the dead center at a height of 15” above the canopy.
I use the Photone app and a sheet of white paper doubled up and when I measure at 15” it reads around 1200.
So based on that reading I know that the actual ppfd is a bit higher than my measurements.
It’s not exact and could be higher or low depending on how thick the paper/diffuser happens to be.
And there is no one size fits all for plants. I’ve had some that can take all the light I can give and others that are very finicky and will droop under the same amount of light.

 

[LungExpansion]

I’ve had some that can take all the light I can give and others that are very finicky and will droop under the same amount of light.

That’s my concern with growing these autos, I think I’ve already overwatered them so it’s the waiting game for it to dry. They look healthy other than the bend the stem has, I just figured would grow towards the light.

 

[Bullmark]

That’s my concern with growing these autos, I think I’ve already overwatered them so it’s the waiting game for it to dry. They look healthy other than the bend the stem has, I just figured would grow towards the light.

I grew a few autos but found them to be too all or nothing. An auto is going to start flowering after a certain number of days, regardless of size. So if u run into a bump in the road and lose a week or two of veg progress, they’re still gonna start flowering and you’re left with a very small plant……and very little yield.
In that same situation, a photoperiod plant can be vegged until it (and U) are ready to begin the flower phase.
I’ve had plants that, for one reason or another, looked like death at 3-4 weeks old and they got dialed in and healthy, then went on to be great yielders and top shelf quality.
I’d be tempted to take that tiny seedling out of the 20gal pot and put it into a 1gal. The roots can’t possibly stretch more than a few inches around and below the base.
Give yourself plenty of room away from the roots and scoop it right out and into a smaller home.
I know others will disagree but that’s just me…..it’s so much easier to tend to a plant that’s in a pot meant for its size.

 

[LungExpansion]

I know others will disagree but that’s just me…..it’s so much easier to tend to a plant that’s in a pot meant for its size.

If it wasn’t for me being a victim to information on living soil I wouldn’t of went with such an enormous pot lol I do have a 5 gallon to the side to compare how maintenance and growth would be. I know autos roots would fill out a large pot so maybe photo would be best for the root development. But in growing root size can you still control the height?

 

[Bullmark]

I grow most of my plants in 5gal pots. They veg for 6/8 weeks and then onto flower……
I train my plants somewhat aggressively to create an even canopy and a sea of tops. The average plant is maybe 36” tall, from the floor to the top of the canopy. So they’re short and fat.
I’ll get between 15-18oz of dried & tightly trimmed buds, that’s 90% tops…..so minimal loose leafy crap that isn’t worth the time to trim.
The pic is from my last harvested grow…..

 

[Bullmark]

I grow most of my plants in 5gal pots. They veg for 6/8 weeks and then onto flower……
I train my plants somewhat aggressively to create an even canopy and a sea of tops. The average plant is maybe 36” tall, from the floor to the top of the canopy. So they’re short and fat.
I’ll get between 15-18oz of dried & tightly trimmed buds, that’s 90% tops…..so minimal loose leafy crap that isn’t worth the time to trim.
The pic is from my last harvested grow…..View attachment 5412630