Drooping leaves ...... hoping for some help pls.

Hi everyone,

This is my 2nd grow and I'm currently having some issues!

Hoping to see if anyone can give me some advice on my Autoflowers.

I have these 2 Autoflowers in 3 gallon fabric pots of coco/perlite.

They are just starting week 4 from seed and I am starting to get some drooping leaves.

I never had these problems with my first grow (it obviously was not perfect it was well a first grow haha, I had problems as expected)
But didn't have drooping leaves or wilting leaves.

I don't know if I have over Watered or underwatered these plants.

I pre buffered my coco with calmag and I have been giving them very small amounts with each watering.
I'm using BioBizz nutrients grow & bloom.

I have been p.h between 5.8 and 6.0 and run off is coming out usually at about 5.9.

My light is SE7000 which i have raised as high as possible just now to see if that was maybe an issue but still plants havent bounced back after a few days.

Leaves seem mainly still green looking but just dont look happy at all.

Cant decide if I should flush them or not or if its too much water already or if not enough water.

Any advice and time anyone has to have a look would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

how often and how much are you watering/feeding them ?

I was watering once a day til run off but then when I stayed to see the drooping I thought it was maybe too much.
But do you think I should probably water more often?
I couldn't decide between too much or not enough and didn't want to water more and cause more issues.
So thought I would ask in here for some advice

Thanks for the reply mate I appreciate the time

i grow in 3 gallon pots and feed 3-5 times a day.
possibly you could get away with twice but imho once a day is insufficient for that size pot in coco.
coco is a hydroponic medium it functions at its best at near full saturation.
the general rule is 5-10% dryback in coco between feedings.
so bare with me im not american we have the metric system so lets call 10% of 3 gallons 1 litre approximately.
therefore if you are feeding more than 1 liter to get run off you need to shorten the time between feedings.
as an example im currently feeding about 800ml 3 times a day.

and of course nutrients every time

I'm from Scotland so I struggle with gallons as well haha I use ml and litres .

Thanks for your advice I'm going to up the watering and hopefully they bounce back to life soon.

Cheers mate

They do appear droopy. Can be caused by many things. Cold roots, over watering, heat. Sounds like your covering the basics. It's been a while since I've grown in coco but I do remember the frequent need to water daily. Backing off the frequency may help. All plants are different and them autos can be picky little bitches. Hopefully they will bounce back for ya. Still a long way to go.

CB1991 said:

My light is SE7000 which i have raised as high as possible just now to see if that was maybe an issue but still plants havent bounced back after a few days

Click to expand...

What size tent is the light in?
How far away is the light from the plants?
Is the light on 100% power or is it dimmed down?
Is the light on for 24 hrs?

On full power at 36" away

That's a powerful amount of light.

Don’t water until the pots are noticeably light. If very light already, give them some until some run thru.

Moflow said:

What size tent is the light in?
How far away is the light from the plants?
Is the light on 100% power or is it dimmed down?
Is the light on for 24 hrs?

On full power at 36" away
View attachment 5350149
That's a powerful amount of light.

Click to expand...

Hi mate,

It's a 5x5 tent and currently the light is at the very top and power about 50-60% .

I did have the light about 65cm but have pulled it right up since the drooping started to see if that was something to do with the problems I'm having.

I have another 4 plants in it at the same stage 2 of them seem absolutely fine.

And the 2 in the pictures are the worst at this point.

Really can't get my head round exactly what the problem is.

Thanks for reply

I have read so many things about over and under watering with people having different opinions that I just can't figure out what's best haha!

My first grow was in 5 gallon pots and never had any drooping issues but had plenty of other issues as it was my first grow.

So thought I would try smaller 3 gallon pots until I learn a bit more in general.

Can't quite tell from the pics; is there anything between the pots and the drip trays? Anything to keep them from sitting directly in the runoff?

Are you emptying the run off from the saucers.......or are you letting them sit in the run off?
Fabric pots should be elevated off the floor.

hillbill said:

Don’t water until the pots are noticeably light. If very light already, give them some until some run thru.

Click to expand...

The OP is growing in coco.

MickFoster said:

Are you emptying the run off from the saucers.......or are you letting them sit in the run off?
Fabric pots should be elevated off the floor.

Click to expand...

I empty them......I actually put a rack on top of the saucer when watering but I only have 1 so do them all individually.

I have some raised drainage things coming tomorrow as I was considering that being a problem also.

Hopefully they will help as well....I'm trying to cover everything possible so hopefully within a few days they start looking better.

Coco can’t really be overwatered
More nitrogen
Closer lights
Should perk them up
You are basically growing hydroponically

panda13 said:

i grow in 3 gallon pots and feed 3-5 times a day.
possibly you could get away with twice but imho once a day is insufficient for that size pot in coco.
coco is a hydroponic medium it functions at its best at near full saturation.
the general rule is 5-10% dryback in coco between feedings.
so bare with me im not american we have the metric system so lets call 10% of 3 gallons 1 litre approximately.
therefore if you are feeding more than 1 liter to get run off you need to shorten the time between feedings.
as an example im currently feeding about 800ml 3 times a day.

Click to expand...

The bigger the pot, the less often you need to water IF one was so inclined to treat coco like soil, which like you, I don't recommend anyone do either.

But easily tiny ass plants like those in 3-gal pots could do ok with once per day fertigating in most environments. I could get away with once per day fetigating in my 3 liter pots with 3 foot plants (though I don't use fabric pots nor do I use perlite anymore) but it would be very suboptimal to do so, which is why I fertigate several times per day.

OP is missing some key info here: what is the temperature and humidity of the canopy? What is the EC that is being fed to the plants? What is the runoff EC of the plants?

@CB1991
hey bro I would recommend you read about growing in coco and understand the relationship between pot sizes, root mass, feed and run off EC and watering frequencies etc. once you get ya head around that you will feel more confident about what your doing. Obviously environment and light settings are very important too but also controlling an optimal root zone environment will deliver you great results.
one of the best resources I can recommend is cocoforcannabis. the entire growing process and reasons for are explained there.