What am I doing wrong?

LeastExpectedGrower

LeastExpectedGrower

Well-Known Member
Also, I've come to love the cannabis growers' ability to scrutinize ever slight variant in color, fleck on a leaf, particle in their water etc., along the way. Plant people in general pay close attention to what's going on, but not to the level that cannabis people do. I worked in an ornamental garden for a summer or two when I was just a young 'un and while there was way more diversity and in some cases rarity of plant...no one there was as on top of their plants as people here. ;)
 
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CeeProsper

Member
LeastExpectedGrower said:
Imagine someone changing your diet and environment in different ways a handful of times a day...you'd be disgruntled too.
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That makes a lot of sense. I won't mess with them for a while. Just gonna water and see how they do. But ALSO, I started two GSC autos. I germinated in jiffy pods again and placed the pods directly into 3 gallon fabric pots filled with FFOF. Should I dig them up and use a regular potting soil or maybe a seedling mix?
 
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ComfortCreator

Well-Known Member
All you should focus on is watering
When you say it is still moist when you water...you identified your issue.

The soil is fine, the plant needs a lot of O2 through the roots in veg. There is no way you used up all the nutes with those plants.
 
Kushash

Kushash

Well-Known Member
CeeProsper said:
This is my first grow and I'm trying to learn as much as I can.. Today is day 24 of life for these babies.. and since then, I've had some issues. The two struggling plants are super skunk and the larger one is PK. All grown under the same conditions. I have a Marshydro 27" x 27" set up. 18/6 light cycle. I germinated all three seeds at the same time via paper towel method and then placed the germinated seeds in a jiffy pod. After two days I transferred the pods to 1 gallon containers with foxfarm soil and sprayed with water. No nutrients. Just distilled water. (Initially, there were two PK and two SS but the other PK just stopped growing after it was transfered to the gallon pot and I didn't bother spending energy trying to save it.) At first, when the leaves started growing I noticed they were wilting a bit. On day 12, I noticed the PK starting to outgrow the two SS. Around day 14 I noticed the leaves were going yellow and burnt at the tips. I realized they were light burned because I had my LED lights too close and too bright. They were about 14 inches from the light at 50%. I moved the light up to about 20 inches from canopy and since turned the brightness down to about 40%. I knew they were pretty stressed and most likely why the growth was stunted, but the PK was still growing somewhat normally I think..Then again, this is my first time growing, so not sure what an ideal grow looks like yet. Day 22, both SS are still growing veeeery slooowlyy. I realized the pods were exposed and should've initially been covered with soil, so I added some soil on top in all three containers. On the smaller SS I just clipped the bottom leaves that were severely burnt. & Also today I topped the PK. Idk if I should start giving them nutrients? Should I? Maybe some CalMag would help? I've checked the pH of both the soil and runoff and it is normal. Between 6-7. Why are my SS still so small? What do you think will help???
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What model is the Marshydro?
 
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ComfortCreator

Well-Known Member
CeeProsper said:
You think I am over watering them?
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I think you likely have the very same issue most of us have at first. Exactly how dry can they get? My advice is, whenever it is you plan to water, wait one more day and see how they do. You will be surprised they can go longer than your mind tells you. If it wilts, it is underwatered.

Keep it simple. You have good soil, you got them to germinate, you are doing fine. Learn NOW, to water correctly, and reap the rewards. You can water a little more liberally in flower (not dry out fully) but veg loves wet dry cycling.

95% of problems newbies have is either a poor medium (bad soil) or bad watering practices and they show yellow plants and ask why...they want it to be as simple as adding or subtracting instead of learning that watering is an art/science that requires more study than most newbies realize.

My best advice is learn to become a watering expert.
 
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CeeProsper

Member
ComfortCreator said:
I think you likely have the very same issue most of us have at first. Exactly how dry can they get? My advice is, whenever it is you plan to water, wait one more day and see how they do. You will be surprised they can go longer than your mind tells you. If it wilts, it is underwatered.

Keep it simple. You have good soil, you got them to germinate, you are doing fine. Learn NOW, to water correctly, and reap the rewards. You can water a little more liberally in flower (not dry out fully) but veg loves wet dry cycling.

95% of problems newbies have is either a poor medium (bad soil) or bad watering practices and they show yellow plants and ask why...they want it to be as simple as adding or subtracting instead of learning that watering is an art/science that requires more study than most newbies realize.

My best advice is learn to become a watering expert.
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That's great advice. Thanks so much. All of you. I'm really glad this community exists because I probably would've killed the poor plants otherwise lol. There is most definitely an art to this that I am excited to learn. I know I need to have more patience as well with this. I will keep you all updated on this grow.
 
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ComfortCreator

Well-Known Member
CeeProsper said:
That's great advice. Thanks so much. All of you. I'm really glad this community exists because I probably would've killed the poor plants otherwise lol. There is most definitely an art to this that I am excited to learn. I know I need to have more patience as well with this. I will keep you all updated on this grow.
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100% serious when I say you will feel PROUD when you hold off watering an extra day, and they look better the next day than they ever have.

This forum is great, lots of poking and silly stuff but really a smart group of growers.
 
Nixs

Nixs

Well-Known Member
CeeProsper said:
So what would you suggest if that's the case?
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I just continued watering them, I had them in small pots, I then checked for the roots through the bottom holes and transplanted to a bigger pots, they grew fast afterwards.
 
LeastExpectedGrower

LeastExpectedGrower

Well-Known Member
ComfortCreator said:
I think you likely have the very same issue most of us have at first. Exactly how dry can they get? My advice is, whenever it is you plan to water, wait one more day and see how they do. You will be surprised they can go longer than your mind tells you. If it wilts, it is underwatered.

Keep it simple. You have good soil, you got them to germinate, you are doing fine. Learn NOW, to water correctly, and reap the rewards. You can water a little more liberally in flower (not dry out fully) but veg loves wet dry cycling.

95% of problems newbies have is either a poor medium (bad soil) or bad watering practices and they show yellow plants and ask why...they want it to be as simple as adding or subtracting instead of learning that watering is an art/science that requires more study than most newbies realize.

My best advice is learn to become a watering expert.
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Like in baking (another of the many poorlymath (aka halfassed polymath) stuff I do. Time & temperature are ingredients just like water, etc.

Currently in a cycle of watering/feeding every 4 days since my soil is fairly dense. I could probably go to 5 days. I don't do it by time or calendar but digging one of my fingers into the soil and if it's still damp at finger depth (what, 2 or 3 inches?) I wait another day. Don't do it by time but let the medium and the plant tell you when.
 
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ComfortCreator

Well-Known Member
LeastExpectedGrower said:
Like in baking (another of the many poorlymath (aka halfassed polymath) stuff I do. Time & temperature are ingredients just like water, etc.

Currently in a cycle of watering/feeding every 4 days since my soil is fairly dense. I could probably go to 5 days. I don't do it by time or calendar but digging one of my fingers into the soil and if it's still damp at finger depth (what, 2 or 3 inches?) I wait another day. Don't do it by time but let the medium and the plant tell you when.
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...and if you do that, you are a watering pro. That could be the hardest discipline to keep..
water when they need it. Sure, you might check 3 or 4 times but it's every 4 days so you get lazy and just water every 4 days. Its awfully easy to do.

In larger pots like the 10gallon ones I'm using, I find the art to be how to keep them on a wet / damp cycle. You cant go until totally dry because the top and sides need water before that. It is interesting thinking through all the issues.
 
LeastExpectedGrower

LeastExpectedGrower

Well-Known Member
ComfortCreator said:
...and if you do that, you are a watering pro. That could be the hardest discipline to keep..
water when they need it. Sure, you might check 3 or 4 times but it's every 4 days so you get lazy and just water every 4 days. Its awfully easy to do.

In larger pots like the 10gallon ones I'm using, I find the art to be how to keep them on a wet / damp cycle. You cant go until totally dry because the top and sides need water before that. It is interesting thinking through all the issues.
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When the very top of the soil lightens up and is visibly 'not wet' I start checking. Before that, I don't even bother. I fed on Monday, today is the first time some of the soil started to look dry, so I'll check tonight but good bet it will be Saturday before I water. I also water slowly, methodically and thoroughly. That's your best chance to not have dry spots or air pockets along the way.

For me everything comes down to process. On much of this once you get past seedling. Adjust water/feed & test. Water carefully and deliberately, and water to the right amount of runoff. Stay on your feeding schedule adjusting for life cycle, etc. Any time I screwed with those things. (didn't water to runoff, messed with too much/too little nutrients) things got wonky fast.

The other thing is all the advice for soil to water every day or every other day or whatever is really nonsense in the moment. How? Because those directions are more about what soil you use and how you alter it. If you're watering every three or 4 days, next time make the soil lighter and with better drainage. The IDEAL may be every two days or whatever, but once your plant has built its roots, your soil is what it is and you can't do anything looking down from the top when your pot has 5 gallons of roots in it.

...though I will say that every 4ish days has been great for me going away for a long weekend here and there without any worries. ;)
 
Mad878

Mad878

Well-Known Member
CeeProsper said:
This is my first grow and I'm trying to learn as much as I can.. Today is day 24 of life for these babies.. and since then, I've had some issues. The two struggling plants are super skunk and the larger one is PK. All grown under the same conditions. I have a Marshydro 27" x 27" set up. 18/6 light cycle. I germinated all three seeds at the same time via paper towel method and then placed the germinated seeds in a jiffy pod. After two days I transferred the pods to 1 gallon containers with foxfarm soil and sprayed with water. No nutrients. Just distilled water. (Initially, there were two PK and two SS but the other PK just stopped growing after it was transfered to the gallon pot and I didn't bother spending energy trying to save it.) At first, when the leaves started growing I noticed they were wilting a bit. On day 12, I noticed the PK starting to outgrow the two SS. Around day 14 I noticed the leaves were going yellow and burnt at the tips. I realized they were light burned because I had my LED lights too close and too bright. They were about 14 inches from the light at 50%. I moved the light up to about 20 inches from canopy and since turned the brightness down to about 40%. I knew they were pretty stressed and most likely why the growth was stunted, but the PK was still growing somewhat normally I think..Then again, this is my first time growing, so not sure what an ideal grow looks like yet. Day 22, both SS are still growing veeeery slooowlyy. I realized the pods were exposed and should've initially been covered with soil, so I added some soil on top in all three containers. On the smaller SS I just clipped the bottom leaves that were severely burnt. & Also today I topped the PK. Idk if I should start giving them nutrients? Should I? Maybe some CalMag would help? I've checked the pH of both the soil and runoff and it is normal. Between 6-7. Why are my SS still so small? What do you think will help???
Click to expand...
Try some mycorrhizae with a lil bloodmeal and molasses. Should see a difference in about 4 days
 
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CeeProsper

Member
Okay. Please excuse my late response. Did I mention I'm a mom with a newborn and a 4 year old? Lol but anyways, quick update.. there's not much new growth going on but I think part of the problem was definitely over watering as suspected. Here's how the plants are doing as of today. I haven't watered them in a couple of days and I don't plan to water them until the soil is mostly dry.( Thanks for the tip guys) It's still very moist when I stick my finger in there (lol) so yeahh. I think they are looking pretty good for the most part.
 

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