Plants dont recover after overwatering and transplanting =/

Not trying to make waves, just saying tho.
Coco is by far the most superior and versatile media I've ever used. I've done it all, every form of cultivation known presently. Hydro, to HPA, LPA to aquaponics, bioponics, hempy, coco dtw & recirculate, RDWC and of course the main one I'm known for....veganic coco dom NO Till.
Peat can still serve a purpose and mearly for it CEC potential, but there's other media that's better with greater stability and an equal if not more efficient CEC. Add those to your coco, now your in business. But as far as hydro is concerned I would 100% agree, coco and mineral salts is superior. Hempy is second best as a DTW

I'm not gonna lie those plants look hungry and nothing else at this point judging by the pic you posted yesterday, red main stem, pale leaves. I'd try them with abit food tbh, nothing crazy, 0.4ec veg nutes, and see if they improve. You've got nothing to loose because if it isn't a fertiliser problem then that ammount of food is neither here nor there and won't damage ur soil

OP, don't get distracted by this coco vs soil talk. Just don't overwater your seedlings, whether that's by watering less or less frequently, or by increasing the aeration in the potting mix, or both.

And don't transplant them when they've only got 4 baby leaves, you're just asking for a long recovery time regardless of how careful you are, possibly longer than if you just let them dry out in their original containers.

And maybe try to increase the humidity if you can, 23% is quite low for plants in any stage of growth.

I think the soil that you recently purchased could be a bad batch. Something to consider. Its possible that it was mixed differently at the processing facility.

In any case, I read all the soil info on the web link you provided. If it truly is soil and compost, then it needs to be used as an amendment. I can guarantee that you will have an incredible crop if you do a 50/50 blend with a pre mixed peat moss potting mix. Mix half of the soil compost that you are using now, with a premixed peat moss potting mix. I would also mix in some worm castings.
1 part (Compo Sana)
1 part ( pro mix or something similar)
25% worm castings.

I would also like to mention that I reuse my soil. I mix it all up in a big tote, and add dry amendments like blood meal, fish bone meal, etc. I dont waste money buying new bags of soil every time I start a new batch of plants.

A very simple way to increase humidity is to put plastic bottle domes over your seedlings, with the cap removed. Rh is too low for seedlings and will stunt growth. (Google pic for reference)

MissinThe90’sStrains said:

TLO uses coco and soil mixed together, for example, and avoids using peat. If you know how to manipulate your medium and understand the strengths/weaknesses of each, you can pull it off - here’s an example of a product for just that (Mother Earth, coco peat blend)

Mother Earth All Purpose Coco Peat 1.5 cu ft Mfr# HGC714889 - Ace Hardware

Mother Earth Coco Peat is a rich blend of ingredients designed to create a desirable plant growth media for those looking for an alternative to traditional bark-based growing media. Comprised of coco fiber, peat moss, perlite, pumice and 15 other ingredients, this blend will allow growers more...

www.acehardware.com

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Solid!! Just replace the peat with natural beneficial conditioners and you've got a mix that will never acidify or alter the pH harmony of the driving mechanisms. CEC and bio diversity is key with any organic approach. Secondary is water availability/ retention and dissolved 02.

GreenGenez421 said:

This is completely false mick

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I stand corrected.
I based my opinion on all the failures with growers using a mix of soil and coco.
Apparently you've got it dialed in.
Well done!

MickFoster said:

I stand corrected.
I based my opinion on all the failures with growers using a mix of soil and coco.
Apparently you've got it dialed in.
Well done!

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Your good buddy, no ill will. Your a fucking legend, and in no way am I trying to discredit you. You've definitely served a justice to our community with all your years or knowledge and advice.

Hey team,

small update:

Ive read through all your comments.
Ive killed all my plants.
I bought a bunch of stuff to improve aeration and humidity:

- 8L Fabric Pots instead of platic pots
- 70L Growmix Soil with peat and perlite (I dont feel good about the peat)
- 100L Perlite 2-6mm
- 70L Jiffi Pro7 Coco, washed and buffered, first time using coco
- Clay granulates for the bottom
- A humidifier
- Irrigation wicks so I can try out
- Small pots 9x9cm




I have 2 new sprouts (Gorilla Glue).


I couldnt get solo cups because plastic cups are banned in EU.

My plan was to put a layer of clay granulates at the bottom
and then mix the soil like this:

- 50% growmix soil
- 20% perlite
- 20% coco
- 10% worm castings

@mikefoster: What do you say about the stuff and my plan?

I still think that the old soil was fine since my 2x DoSiDos are growing just fine in it.
But now it doesnt matter anymore.

Please tell me what to do.

I tried to cut the coco block with a kitchen knife = no chance.
I probably need a saw or something.

Ok im eye-balling it, i mixed it all together and im waiting for the coco to swell up.
Its funny how big it gets .

I hope im doing this correctly:

bescheidenheit33 said:

@mikefoster: What do you say about the stuff and my plan?

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I can't really comment.......I've never grown in soil.
Maybe @GreenGenez421 can help you.
Good luck.

MickFoster said:

I can't really comment.......I've never grown in soil.
Maybe @GreenGenez421 can help you.
Good luck.

Click to expand...

Ok but you said the first soil looked bad like mud.
Ive put alot of perlite into the new one, should be good now right?
And I hope I bought the right coco, its swelling up right now.

bescheidenheit33 said:

o i
Ok but you said the first soil looked bad like mud.
Ive put alot of perlite into the new one, should be good now right?
And I hope I bought the right coco, its swelling up right now.

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Just because I've never grown in soil doesn't mean I can't identify soil that doesn't have enough aeration. Additional perlite is always a good thing.......you can't have too much. I'm sure the coco is ok. Check with @GreenGenez421 for the correct mix and feeding........I have no idea.

I'm not a pro by any means, but I do grow in organic soil...

Those 9cm square pots should be good until they get a root system established. I find it easier to water baby plants when they're in small pots anyway.

I'd let the pots get light between waterings, give them a good soak when you do water to prevent the soil getting hydrophobic, and wait to transplant until either you have to water them every day, or the cotyledons start to get just a hint of yellow.

Keeping the soil moist is definitely good in organics, but only once the plants have an established root system.

Go with pee -

*show of hands

My 2 cents....


Whenever I've experienced that kind of yellowing that early on, it's been an issue of pH. I had a batch of soil-less mix that I made up a couple runs ago, and I included some tomato fertilizer in the mix. Unknown to me at the time, that fert had something in it to acidify the mix (for tomatoes). It made my mix very acidic and the seedling reacted by turning yellow almost overnight. Luckily, I did several slurry tests and runoff tests and I caught the issue and corrected it by slightly overcompensating in the other direction by raising the pH of the incoming water to about 8...checking the runoff each watering until it was indicating a pH of ~6.0-6.5. It took several days to achieve the proper pH. When it was in the right range, I then made sure that any incoming water/ferts was pH'd to as near 6.5 as I could get it....always checking the runoff to make sure that what was going in was also coming out the same.

The seedlings ultimately made a full comeback and went on to grow very well.

weedstoner420 said:

I'd let the pots get light between waterings, give them a good soak when you do water to prevent the soil getting hydrophobic

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Well I typically used a scale for exact measuring the water inside the pots.
The pots weighted 175gramms when I filled them up, and then I gave them 100ml, so they are at 275gramms now.
Im going to have to figure out the max weight and then I typically water at 55-60%.

I also bought a bunch of wicks, so I can try out watering them with a wick.

The humidity is slowly climbing up and Ive placed all my plants into boxes etc.

bescheidenheit33 said:

Well I typically used a scale for exact measuring the water inside the pots.
The pots weighted 175gramms when I filled them up, and then I gave them 100ml, so they are at 275gramms now.
Im going to have to figure out the max weight and then I typically water at 55-60%.

I also bought a bunch of wicks, so I can try out watering them with a wick.

The humidity is slowly climbing up and Ive placed all my plants into boxes etc.

Click to expand...

I don't weigh mine with a scale, but it's always surprising how light/dry they can get, and still be totally fine. All the plants in your recent pics should be able to go at least a few days without needing anything at all, the ones on the right in the larger pots maybe up to a week at that size. And it's way easier to correct under-watering than over-watering...

Another thing I was gonna suggest, which it seems like you might already be doing, is bottom-watering small plants - fill the saucers with water and let them soak it up for an hour or two, then toss whatever is left in the saucer.

weedstoner420 said:

I don't weigh mine with a scale, but it's always surprising how light/dry they can get, and still be totally fine. All the plants in your recent pics should be able to go at least a few days without needing anything at all, the ones on the right in the larger pots maybe up to a week at that size. And it's way easier to correct under-watering than over-watering...

Another thing I was gonna suggest, which it seems like you might already be doing, is bottom-watering small plants - fill the saucers with water and let them soak it up for an hour or two, then toss whatever is left in the saucer.

Click to expand...

Bottom watering isn’t something I do but it can be useful. It can also be a good test for how well your medium can wick up moisture. If your soil doesn’t wick well and can’t saturate the container thoroughly that way, it probably needs more aeration.

Alright thank you, I will see what happens in the next few days.
The plants get 28°C and 70% humidity now .

weedstoner420 said:

Another thing I was gonna suggest, which it seems like you might already be doing, is bottom-watering small plants - fill the saucers with water and let them soak it up for an hour or two, then toss whatever is left in the saucer.

Click to expand...

I placed the clay granulates at the bottom so that wont work.
I can poke a wick through however(?).