Help! Are these plants too far gone?

I posted a thread here and continue to update but most responses were specific to soil and I am trying DWC. That thread has all of the info for my setup.

This is my very first time growing and I am thinking I should just switch to soil but I don't even know if it is worth it with these plants. They show a tiny bit of leaf growth but the roots (of which there was only one each) have shriveled up to almost nothing and there has been no new root growth in over a week and they never reached the water. I am not sure what I did/am doing wrong, although, there are many possibilities.

Can someone please tell me if these ladies are worth saving and if I should switch them to soil or keep them in the DWC system.

Your help is very much appreciated.

No one has an opinion on how far gone these plants are?

Can someone help a fellow stoner in need?
Since I know nothing about DWC, I can't say...
Maybe not enough DWC experts around ?
Good luck...

ok bro first of all you dont need to do all that hocus pocus with the water just use tap water no need to let it sit. Check all my grows i dont do that crap, there is no need.

Next thing is you need a real meter the drip kits are also garbage, your PH is crazy low i bet right now and your ppm's are also high i bet too.

edit: on a side note hydroton doesnt need to be soaked, its not rockwool it doesnt retain water like you're thinkng

1. Whats your ppms or how much are you feeding per gallon.


PM me if you want to talk on ventrilo or something like that i would love to actually talk to you and tell you some shit

I think this may of have contributed to your issue "flushed other seedlings with 3% H2O2 (didn't have any stronger) -included 1 cup of 3% H2O2 in res when I refilled"

For seedlings that may have been intense.

Also why would you add epsom salts at that age?

ONLY thing that should be in your res is plain phed water. Also check the ppm of your tap-water if it has high sodium content or chloramine (the one that doesn't dissolve) that could be causing your issues as well. It would be advisable to get an analysis of your water. If it is >200 ppm check your water companies website for their report.

I am doing dwc currently and here is my thread. My plants were healthy until recently. I am no expert but have made many dwc mistakes that I hope you don't make.

I would suggest keeping the res filled with distilled or RO water until you measure your tap-water ppm and find out what is in it. Keep the ph at 5.8 and monitor using a ph pen (amazon milwaukee pens). Get a ec/pmm meter to check your water.

As of now you shouldn't add any nutes incase you already burned them. I would wait till the growth recovers and roots start appearing then start with 1/4 dose and gradually build up the ppms as the plant matures

Also your res temps can be a bit lower since the roots should be cooler then your canopy. I would advise using frozen water bottles to help keep it around 68f.

Also idk about your setup but I usually let my pump run 24/7 until the roots touched the water. I am using rockwool also but I had a bottom feed with the submersible pump providing a constant supply to the bottom of the rockwool. That encourage my roots to reach down. Try leaving the drip on 24/7 but make sure the pressure is low. It should be a low steady stream.

If you want to save then put them in dirt or soilless mix. Dwc can be tricky. It can be the easiest or the worst. I grew trees in Dwc last winter and put almost no effort into it. Just kept topping off my res and off they went. I have not been able to duplicate those results since!! I've dealt with root problems constantly! I've used chillers, tea, h202, dm zone, physan 20, and all failed. Go buy a cheap bag of dirt or whatever for you're girls of you really want to save them, then practice Dwc on the side till you get it down. That's my advice..
Good luck

So this is the second thread in a row i have read with budherder telling someone to forget dwc and go to soil. Just stay on the soil threads dude. If no help stop posting the same info everywhere.

I'll give whatever advice I want dude.

And if you'd payed attention I didn't tell anyone to Ditch Dwc. In not going to repeat myself. Learn to read homeboy .

they'll prolly just die faster in soil, the roots are so used to high oxygenated water that the soil will most likely kill them

RL420: Thanks for the reply. Your plants look awesome! I know I am probably over loving my plants. My tap water has 105 ppm and if I filter it 95 ppm (not much of a difference). I am getting better at reading the color pH test solution. I have been able to get it between 5.5 and 6.0 more reliably. I ordered a pH meter and it should be here within a week. Also, what do you mean by the drip irrigation is crap? Mine in particular or all drip irrigation systems?

Learning05: I was paranoid that I had root rot and thought the little ones could take the low percentage of H2O2. I will not do that again. I didn't realize they should have no nutes for two weeks. I added epsom salts because I read somewhere that yellow, up-turned leaves meant Mg deficiency. I was trying anything to stop them from getting worse (totally backfired!) Your plants look great compared to mine! My water is 105 ppm straight out of the tap and 95 ppm if I filter it. I added nutes to a total of 225 ppm (so only 120 ppm worth of nutes). I figured that was low enough to give them some food without burning them. It is about 1/8 of the recommended dose. I was woried about having the water on all the time. I thought the cubes needed to dry out a little to make roots grow? I can certainly keep them on or increase the frequency of on times.

Budherder: Thanks for the advice. I have some real seeds I was waiting to germ until I got a little practice with these freebie seeds. Since I have two plants in this DWC, I might take one out and put it in soil and run them side by side. Or I can germ a new seed and put it in soil. It seems like you think these plants still might have a chance and that was my main question.


Thanks for the replies. No one said that these babies are too far gone so I am going to keep loving and caring for them until they grow up big and strong or I suffocate them with my love.

hepzibah said:

RL420: Thanks for the reply. Your plants look awesome! I know I am probably over loving my plants. My tap water has 105 ppm and if I filter it 95 ppm (not much of a difference). I am getting better at reading the color pH test solution. I have been able to get it between 5.5 and 6.0 more reliably. I ordered a pH meter and it should be here within a week. Also, what do you mean by the drip irrigation is crap? Mine in particular or all drip irrigation systems?

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i ment the drip test tube PH testers, im glad you are getting that meter. Dump your res, add reg water, put 5ml of your nute in it and then PH it, she'll bounce back in a few days.

RL420 said:

i ment the drip test tube PH testers, im glad you are getting that meter. Dump your res, add reg water, put 5ml of your nute in it and then PH it, she'll bounce back in a few days.

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Ooooohhh! I see! (ignore the comment in the pm then ) The pH color test is really hard for me to read. I will be so glad when that meter gets here. Thanks again. I will change it out tonight. Sounds like you think they are going to make it-or at least have a chance. I have hope!!

hepzibah said:

Learning05:...My water is 105 ppm straight out of the tap and 95 ppm if I filter it...I was worried about having the water on all the time. I thought the cubes needed to dry out a little to make roots grow? I can certainly keep them on or increase the frequency of on times.

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Thank you. I started out the same as you but you have to remember "less is more." It is easy to get worried/carried away and rush to a diagnosis. DWC is difficult but prevention, planning, and preparation is key. For root-rot your best approach should be prevention. Keep the water oxygenated and the res temps around 68f with a chiller or frozen water bottles. Don't contaminate it and block off all light. You can cover your res with a reflective tape to deflect heat from lights.

Your water should be fine but for the sake of covering your bases you should still try to get a analysis report from your water company- it should be online. Regarding the pump: since your doing a top-feed I can understand why you have it going on and off. I don't think you should run it 24/7 for sure. You have to judge how wet they are after the pump shuts off and how dry they get before it turns on. You want it to be damp but not holding too much water. In my case the bottom feed only wet the lower part of the rockwool while allowing the top to be a slightly drier. Plus my stream was pretty low. This encouraged the roots to reach down towards the water in the res. How long has it been since you put the seedlings in?

You should read through this thread it has a lot more information which can guide you and teach you the basics...good luck!!

learning05 said:

How long has it been since you put the seedlings in?
You should read through this thread it has a lot more information which can guide you and teach you the basics...good luck!!

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Thanks! They were put in the DWC 3 days after sprouting from rockwool and they are a total of 20 days old from sprouting.

That thread has soooo much info! He doesn't seem to mess and fuss over his plants either. I am hoping I can learn to just leave them alone!

By then I was seeing a few roots exit the hydroton. Also how deep is your rockwool into the net pots? It does. It is a long read but many of your common dwc questions are addressed in detail.

learning05 said:

By then I was seeing a few roots exit the hydroton. Also how deep is your rockwool into the net pots? It does. .

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They both had a single root about 1.5 to 2 inches long then they just quit growing and kind of shriveled up. It was bizarre. I can't really think of anything I did to cause it. Obviously I did, though.

My rockwool is pretty close to the bottom. I'd say about a half inch.

If the roots shriveled up then you should let it be in plain water for a few days. I wouldn't add even 1/8 nutes yet because you don't have a root system that is able to uptake it. I suggest leave it plain water that is phed. Keep the res temps down and make sure all other environmental factors are good. If they don't recover in a few days then you may want to germinate other seeds or get a clone.

learning05 said:

If the roots shriveled up then you should let it be in plain water for a few days. I wouldn't add even 1/8 nutes yet because you don't have a root system that is able to uptake it. I suggest leave it plain water that is phed. Keep the res temps down and make sure all other environmental factors are good. If they don't recover in a few days then you may want to germinate other seeds or get a clone.

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Good news! I went on vacation for 4 days and when I came back one of the plants had a nice healthy root down to the water. It had 2 new sets of leaves, too! The other one has new growth but no new root. I am just happy one of them looks like it is going to make it! Hooray!! Thanks for your help!