Hi all: My questions are how well do my plants look? Are they too small? Or the right size for their current stage? What can I do to improve it if need be? It has been about 24 days since planting the germinated seeds into 1 gallon root pots (fabric) with an organic supersoil mix. See attached for my grow set up with the lighting an ventilation shown. Since 3 days ago, I have brought in a humidifier and the RH has been around 50-55%, prior to that it was 20-30%. The temperature has remains around 27 degrees Celsius with lights on and 20 degrees Celsius with lights on. I have 8 x 23 watt CFL's. 6 of them are 6500k, and 2 are 2700k. Please let me know if these plants should be bigger at their current age of 24 days old since planting germinated seed. Thx LST'd
[quote name='"sh1ner"']What is your watering schedule? They look a bit overfed[/quote] I water about every other day. Each one gallon pot gets 200ml of water. Thoughts on that?
I usually water every 2-3 days. I had a similar problem with over watering and now water when the soil is dry
[quote name='"usandthem"']You can never have too much light. How big is your space?[/quote] 1.8x1.8x2.2 feet With the amount of lights I mentioned in my first post. Thoughts?
the light should be plenty for now, I would say let the pots get bone dry and just keep an eye on her, you want those fan leaves pointing upwards reaching for the light, they can get droopy when excess water is in there. But if your leaves feel dry and your soil is really getting a chance to completely dry then I would say its another issue.. what are your temperatures in the cab do you have enough ventilation?
[quote name='"gr33n_chr0n1c"']the light should be plenty for now, I would say let the pots get bone dry and just keep an eye on her, you want those fan leaves pointing upwards reaching for the light, they can get droopy when excess water is in there. But if your leaves feel dry and your soil is really getting a chance to completely dry then I would say its another issue.. what are your temperatures in the cab do you have enough ventilation?[/quote] Hey thanks for your comment. I will wait 3 days in between waterings and see if anything changes. The leaves feel somewhat dry tho, that's the concerning part. Does overwatering as I had result in dry leaves? Temperatures are within 20 - 28 degrees Celsius (lights off - lights on, respectively). The ventilation is as follows (1 passive intake the size of a 4 inch computer fan mid level on the grow box near the grow tips of the plant), 1 active intake computer fan hitting the lights and top of the plants, and 3 exhaust computer fans in the top of the grow box. I believe I have plenty of ventilation but what do you think? I've attached a pic of the grow box showing the vent set up Edit: keep in mind that I have the plants in root pots so water evaporation is higher than plastic containers. This is why I typically end up watering more often since I feel the soil to be dry by sticking my fingers in 2 inches deep
they are small, but there's nothing wrong with your lights. the most common reasons for slow growth are... 1. not allowing the soil to dry out between waterings 2. over fertilised soil 3. slow movement of air around the leaves
[quote name='"GoldGrower"']they are small, but there's nothing wrong with your lights. the most common reasons for slow growth are... 1. not allowing the soil to dry out between waterings 2. over fertilised soil 3. slow movement of air around the leaves[/quote] 1. Ok so I will wait longer to water in between, all along I've been watering every other day. I have root pots so the soil drys out faster than plastic containers. What do you suggest for water scheduling? 2. I have made subcool's super soil organic mix as my medium. From what I have read, if the soil is cooked for long enough, mine being 6 weeks in comparison to the recommended 4 weeks, then you do not need to worry about over-fertilizing since its organic 3. I have a computer fan blowing on top of the leaves of the plants. Is this adequate ?
you can't really have a water schedule due to there being too many variables. just water only when it needs it. feeling the weight of the pot is the best indicator but it takes a some balls to see how far you can push it. it very surprising how dry the soil can be before the plant starts to wilt. a little wilt won't hurt it, that's just showing a lack of water pressure. although it not ideal, it won't kill it. lots of people say if you go organic you can't over fertilise but it's simply wrong. the first signs of nute burn is slow growth, other signs often follow but the first thing you will notice is that it hadn't grown in the last 24 hours.. from what you have said I suspect this is the problem your fan situation sounds spot on
[quote name='"GoldGrower"']you can't really have a water schedule due to there being too many variables. just water only when it needs it. feeling the weight of the pot is the best indicator but it takes a some balls to see how far you can push it. it very surprising how dry the soil can be before the plant starts to wilt. a little wilt won't hurt it, that's just showing a lack of water pressure. although it not ideal, it won't kill it. lots of people say if you go organic you can't over fertilise but it's simply wrong. the first signs of nute burn is slow growth, other signs often follow but the first thing you will notice is that it hadn't grown in the last 24 hours.. from what you have said I suspect this is the problem your fan situation sounds spot on [/quote] If it's due to overpowered organic soil, what can I do on this case? It almost seems like the plants haven't grown for 4-5 days !
With organic soil I've noticed it takes longer for the soil to actually dry out... high quality compost will retain water for a long time, it can even feel dry but still have moisture lol. I would say that your ventilation is good enough, and just maybe get a fan blowing on those girls on the inside (if you dont have one already) also, maybe try this out... once you let that root pot completely dry out (you lift it and it feels like just dry soil is in there) stick it in a large enough container and water through the bottom of your root pot by just pouring water on the outside of it and letting it all soak in through the bottom. I prefer this because it allows the top half of the soil to stay dry and the bottom half explodes with roots
[quote name='"gr33n_chr0n1c"']With organic soil I've noticed it takes longer for the soil to actually dry out... high quality compost will retain water for a long time, it can even feel dry but still have moisture lol. I would say that your ventilation is good enough, and just maybe get a fan blowing on those girls on the inside (if you dont have one already) also, maybe try this out... once you let that root pot completely dry out (you lift it and it feels like just dry soil is in there) stick it in a large enough container and water through the bottom of your root pot by just pouring water on the outside of it and letting it all soak in through the bottom. I prefer this because it allows the top half of the soil to stay dry and the bottom half explodes with roots[/quote] Hey thanks so much for your comment. I greatly appreciate you getting back to my questions. Ok I will try to bottom feed when this completely drys. How much water should i let it sit on given a 1 gallon root pot? What is the best way to tell if it is completely dry without digging a hold in the root pot? I've been all along just poking my finger 2 inches down and it seems dry but from the sounds of organic soil, it is actually still wet at the bottom half.
feeling the weight is definitely the best way. if you have a spare pot fill that with the same soil and let it dry. once it's fully dry you can compare your plants to it. keep in mind your plants weigh something too, but its not a big factor
I am starting to think the same about my plants.. They seem to have stopped growing... Looks lush And green. I think I over watered so I haven't for about 3-4 days and the soil is still moist. It must be like the previous poster said the organics retain moisture or something
It's suck a piss off to have these plants sitting and not growing... Can they rebound back if I don't water them? Should I add more internal circulation to evaporate more of the soil faster?
for a month they should be about a foot tall they look nice and compact which is good but they should be a lot bigger, they dont look over fertilized cuz they would most likely be burnt if they were. that pot is way to small u should transplant. also your roots might not be getting enough air when you transplant add 25 percent pearlite to your soil.
[quote name='"Golden Lungs"']for a month they should be about a foot tall they look nice and compact which is good but they should be a lot bigger, they dont look over fertilized cuz they would most likely be burnt if they were. that pot is way to small u should transplant. also your roots might not be getting enough air when you transplant add 25 percent pearlite to your soil.[/quote] I am using a 1 gallon root pot, is this not enough for a small grow? I have a lot of perlite in here, about 1/3 of the mix is perlite. Could it be the earth worm castings in the mix that is weighing it down ? I'm so frustrated with this, it's my 3rd grow and has failed on me again, all due to soil and watering issues from the sound of it.