I overwatered my plants, now what?

[Billybob NewGrower]

I seemingly overwatered yesterday. I did intentionally give them more water than I had been because the soil was always very dry all the way down each time I watered and I figured they needed to at least still be a little moist at the bottom.

So my question is this. My plants dark cycle just started 32 minutes ago and about 12 of my 15 plants are drooping. Should I skip the dark cycle today and keep the lights on to dry the soil faster? Or continue with my normal 18/6 light cycle? Thanks in advance!
View attachment 1481978

 

[VICTORYGARDENSHYDRO]

air movement and like I said in your other post, drain holes

 

[Billybob NewGrower]

Thanks. Sorry I wasn't getting much response over there at the time so I thought I posted in the wrong place. Should I continue with my dark cycle today?

 

[Gastanker]

Continue with your normal cycle. If you have a fan you can place it in the enclosure to maximize air flow and evaporation.

 

[Billybob NewGrower]

Thanks a lot gastanker. I moved my fan a little closer to the plants. They have 5 more hours and I won't water them again until the soil is completely dry. I'm worred that my plants are a little too short for their age. They are 3" at the tallest (most are shorter). But I bought Lowryder, which is a ruderalis plant and I read would be shorter. The two week mark will be this coming up Friday so today is day 11 from planting in soil.

 

[MsBBB]

So my question is this. My plants dark cycle just started 32 minutes ago and about 12 of my 15 plants are drooping. Should I skip the dark cycle today and keep the lights on to dry the soil faster? Or continue with my normal 18/6 light cycle? Thanks in advance!

If you just watered them and their leaves are drooping, they are overwatered and full. Not necessarily a bad thing. The fan suggestions are good, this is what I do when I occasionally overwater.

 

[Billybob NewGrower]

Thanks MsBBB. Any insight on the height of my plants? Too short? Just right? Am I just panicking because I am learning?

 

[Beansly]

If you want you can lightly squeeze the cups to aerate the soil and fluff it up a little. This will cause it to dry faster too. If your the type of person who likes to water a lot, next time amend your soil with more perlite. As much as you want really. I use 2:1 soil to perlite sometimes. And another good idea is to put that layer of river rocks or lava rocks or even hydroton at the bottom of the grow container. This will help aerate the soil better and also help with drainage. And if you really suck, buy a mosture meter at homedepot, theyre like $25.
lol jk
good luck

 

[MsBBB]

Thanks MsBBB. Any insight on the height of my plants? Too short? Just right? Am I just panicking because I am learning?

You didn't mentioned how old your baby seedlings were. They are seedlings and the one picture looks pretty good IMO. I usually have slower progress with seedlings than other growers, but my plants grow to be healthy looking anyway. Read as much as you can about growing and keep doing it for the experience. Hands on learning is a good teacher. Keep you lights close enough so that they don't stretch too much, but not so close to burn them.

 

[Billybob NewGrower]

OK thanks. I planted them on Feb 25 after germinating the paper towel method for two days. All of the seedlings were about an inch long and all 15 of my seeds have sprouted....But like I said the tallest one is about 3". I have 5 plants of one strain and 10 of another. The 5 are all about 3". The 10 are only about 1 1/2" but are supposed to be a shorter strain.

I wasn't even worried about it until somebody earlier mentioned they may be too short! Thanks again!

 

[MsBBB]

If you want you can lightly squeeze the cups to aerate the soil and fluff it up a little. This will cause it to dry faster too. If your the type of person who likes to water a lot, next time amend your soil with more perlite. As much as you want really. I use 2:1 soil to perlite sometimes. And another good idea is to put that layer of river rocks or lava rocks or even hydroton at the bottom of the grow container. This will help aerate the soil better and also help with drainage. And if you really suck, buy a mosture meter at homedepot, theyre like $25. lol jk good luck

We all have our own techniques and things that work for us. I put a layer of packing styrofoam (shipping peanuts) in the bottom of my containers that I save with packages. I even go so far as to cut them up smaller for seedling containers. Perlite would work just as good or better, but I reserve my perlite for adding to the soil mix (25%), besides the foam is real cheap. Try a watering schedule giving each container/cup a certain amount of water only on certain days, adjusting to plant needs. If the container feel light in weight you will know that it is time to water and pretty close to watering time. The finger test, stick your finger down into the soil to feel for moisture. If it is dry, water.