How am I doing?

[hexter19]

These are my 1st ones. I started the germ. on 4/4 and got 13 out of 18. On 4/6 I started them in Peat pellets and 2 CFL's. On 4/7 they broke soil. and took off, and they were stretching. I added 4 more 42w CFL's and shrouded in mylar and that seemd to help a lot. On 4/12 I transplanted to larger pots with MG Organic. I'm only using distilled water and no nutes.

I noticed that a few seem a bit wilted looking. I was thinking that may have been due to the transplant. I also buried the ones that were stretching a bit deeper. But I think that a couple seemed that way before the transplant, not sure.

They have been getting water once the soil was almost dry to the touch and the pellets felt a bit lighter than when freshly watered. So I'm pretty sure it's not too much/ too little.

I examined the leaves and they dont feel wilted. They almost seem thick and paper-like. They seem to be growing like that. I am keeping the lights within 2 inches of them and they don't seem to be growing up but the leaves are growing...just kinda funny as compared to other pics I've seen.

Any ideas? Should I just leave em alone for the time being?

[SmknVTEC]

They look fine. Wilt is either from over or under watering, which you say it is not, under lit which it seems not to be ,or the MG organic soil. See all MG soils seem to lack good drainage and the organic, the only one I will not yell at you for planting in, needs to be mixed with perlite for more drainage. Speaking of drainage those cups have holes in the bottom yes?

[shortify]

well i just looked on international cannibis forums and seen over watering makes your plants look like they do so maybe your soil is holding the water longer then you think and when you water it builds up ??? making the plant get overwaterd just puttin my two cents in as im still new here is a link to the forum http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=11688 and its about half way down where the over watering section is

[hexter19]

Thanks for the replies SmknVTEC and shortify. To answer your question SmknVTEC, yes I do have 5 1/4 inch drill bit hole in the bottoms of the cups. I read all the threads I could find about soils on the site and the MG Organic was the only one I read about that I was able to locate in stores in my area. I still have at least one more re-potting in the future and I hope to get a better soil.

So tomorrow I will go out and get some perlite to add to the soil in a 70/30% mix. Any suggestions on how I should add perlite to the soil I have in the cups?
And shortify, I checked the link you showed me and I did see a resemblance to my situation. Thanks, that may be the situation, but if it is I would be surprised. I checked the soil. I havent watered them since the transplant on 4/12 and the soil (down into the cup as far as I could push my finger) feels just a tiny bit moist. I was planning on watering them tomorrow but now I'm feeling doubtful in doing so. Lets see what everyone thinks on how to add the perlite. Thanks for the help so far!

[dlipford370]

I bet you could get away with watering them with 4 or 5 days inbetween waterings at that stage of their life. They don't use too much being that tiny.

[hexter19]

Thats exactly how much I have been watering them. They were born on 4/7 and were still a little moist so I didn't water them till around the 9th. They got more water when I transplanted them on the 12th and thats it.

I went out today and picked up some perlite, a temp. / humidity gauge, and a PH tester. The thing is I came back today and they all seem to have really perked up! So I am thinking that they got a little sad when I transplanted them. They are really looking great today and have grown out their leaves a bit.

I still want to add some perlite to the pots they are in any advice on how to do that or should I leave them alone until the next transplant?

[hexter19]

Oh yeah! I forgot to say that I also misted them last night about 30 minutes before they went to bed! Could that have perked them up? I just used distilled water....

[hexter19]

*bump*

[SmknVTEC]

You might be able to add perlite now if you can. I don't like misting unless there is a deficiency or bugs. Otherwise think there are too many potential problems with misting.

[hexter19]

Well, tomorrow will be 14 days since my girls were born. Any suggestions on what I should be doing at this point? Anything that may help them along? Also, I seem to have different plants at different times seem to get sagging leaves. I cant figure it out because its not the same plant and when they do it it only lasts for several hours to a day and it goes back to normal with out me doing anything! I dont get it.

Here's my sitch:

1- I'm watering them only when they get good and dry and the soil is just the tiniest bit moist at 2" below the surface with distilled water. Misting them daily about 90 minutes before lights out with same distilled water.
2- My soil PH is exactly at 7.0 (How do I get it to 6.5?) I'm using MG Organic and added a 25%-30% mix of perlite.
3- No nutes as of yet.
4- Temps are around 80-85 degrees in the day and 70 or so at night.
5- Humidity has been difficult to control and variable from high 30% to low 50%
6- Fanning them off and on at varying times and rotating them around the box.
7- Lights are 18/6 @ 16,200 lumens of CFL daylight in a 2 square foot area and they are kept with-in 3 inches of the plants.
8- Area is wrapped in emergency blankets

[luckyleaf2]

Originally Posted by SmknVTEC

They look fine. Wilt is either from over or under watering, which you say it is not, under lit which it seems not to be ,or the MG organic soil. See all MG soils seem to lack good drainage and the organic, the only one I will not yell at you for planting in, needs to be mixed with perlite for more drainage. Speaking of drainage those cups have holes in the bottom yes?

Good post


But it does look like some moisture stress going on from overwatering.

Seeing some leaf cupping and curl.Go by weight of the container/cup to determine to water or not.

[hexter19]

Thanks for responding luckyleaf2! I didnt really realize it but I actually am going by the weight of the plants as well. As I pick them up to rotate their positions I have noticed the weight of them. After I water them they feel full and weighty. They seem lighter and lighter as time goes by. And when I feel they need water I have noticed that they feel very light, the soil is dry down to about 2" and beneath that its just the slighest bit moist. Today I noticed on several of the cups that the soil had actually began to shrink in the cups and there was about a 16th of an inch space between the soil and the edge of the cup. They are 14 days old tomorrow and I have watered them 3 times now and misting daily. I am almost certain that they are not getting too much water, that is why I am so confused about the leaves cupping and curling.

[luckyleaf2]

Sure looks like moisture stress to me.Fist check the PH.Might be time for a light fert to green things up a little.Try to use a fert that contains some micronutes(Mg,iron,etc).But wait untill the soil is dry.Its good for the plants to have a little dry spell between waterings to use up the oxygen left in the medium.

[hexter19]

Ok luckyleaf2. I will give them less water before I try any fertalizer and see what happens. I could have sworn that the soil was super dry before watering them. Could it be that they were getting enough moisture just from the daily misting?

[hexter19]

Originally Posted by luckyleaf2

Try to use a fert that contains some micronutes(Mg,iron,etc).But wait untill the soil is dry. Its good for the plants to have a little dry spell between waterings to use up the oxygen left in the medium.

What fertalizer is delivered to them dry?