Hello! I recently started my first ever grow! I started with three seedlings and planted it in the "Beginners Organic Soil Mix" from this website. Two of the three plants seem to be flourishing but there's one that is about 2-3x smaller than the other two. It also has a lot of yellow in the leaves but is getting the SAME attention as the other two. Here's a picture of the little guy any insight is much appreciated...
Unless you're dealing with an EXTREMELY stabilized strain, you will get different phenotypes when planting from seed. This would account for your "little guy". Take good care of it. Short pheno's are preferred for indoor grows, for obvious reasons. And on a side note, I would like to mention one thing. New growers are notorious for over watering their plants. Especially when a young (small) plant is transplanted into a bigger pot. You don't want to water the whole pot. Just around the small plant. Small plants do not have a large, well developed root structure. Large pots (with small plants) that are watered fully create an environment around the roots that is low in oxygen. Roots need oxygen. Plants growing in soil with low oxygen levels will exhibit all sorts of nutrient "deficiencies". All they need is more O2. Water less, and more infrequently, until those plants get bigger (all of them!). Your plant will let you know when it really needs water by wilting. Once they're well developed, you can determine when to water by feeling the weight of the pot. Compare the weight of a dry pot to one that's just recently been watered. When it feels light, it's time to water.
I believe I might be over watering... I just took a soil sample from the "little guy" around 3-4 inches deep. Was very hot and moist... Ive been trying to water every 2-3 days but whenever I see the crusty top, I tend to water it the Ph was around 6.8
A crusty top is no indication of the overall moisture content of the soil. Learn to determine when to water by the weight of the pot. It may be dry on top, but there's plenty of moisture left in the pot, especially in the middle, where the plant/plant roots are. It's O.K. to let your plants wilt some, as long as they don't stay that way for extended periods of time. Get the notion out of your head that you need to monitor/correct pH levels in soil. The point I want to make is that trying to monitor and control pH levels in soil will only serve to drive you mad (insane). It fluctuates constantly. Regardless of whether you're using chemical fertilizers or gardening organically, the process of nutrient-ion exchange (or how a plant "feeds") is the same. Plants and microbes utilize hydrogen cations (H+) and hydroxy anions (OH-) to exchange for nutrient cations (ammonium, calcium, potassium, etc...) and nutrient anions (nitrate, chloride, sulfate, and phosphate). These hydrogen and hydroxy ions in solution, and their concentration in relation to each other, are what drive pH. So things like what the plant is "eating" at the time, microbial action, adding fertilizer to the water (force feeding), plain watering, using pH adjusted water, the amount of moisture in the soil, soil temperature, and myriad other things can and do effect what your pH reading will be at any particular time that you take it. Trust your mix. If you've built a properly balanced soil, the Cation Exchange Capacity of the soil will regulate the pH on its own.
Yeah, Im already driving myself crazy monitoring the temperature of the room. Got Fans blowing fresh air in and out. My buddy saw a picture of it and said I might be low on Nitrogen.
I'm sure he did. Very few growers actually consider over watering as the source of the problem. It's always, "you're pH is off", or, "you need more fertilizer". There's no way that a plant that young, growing in a properly hand crafted soil, could be N deficient. Let that soil dry out before you water again. Your roots need air. Water logged soil does not provide this.
I appreciate all of your help... Gonna let that pot get light before I water again, I'll check back in a week or two. Thanks!
Heya Yblaster, Welcome to Grasscity. If you follow Waktoo's lead, you'll be assured of some fine, healthy plants. He's given you some sage advice for sure. Its real easy to be over attentive to your plants when first getting into the game and you're not the first to do it. Let us know how your grow plays out. All the best, Chunk
Waktoo is giving you some sage advice. Im curious about the bold part. How long did you let your soil mix cook before using it?
I vote overwatering as well - at this stage of the game since they're still very small it would be quite easy to add some additional aeration to the soil you'll be transplanting into. Your plants are not lacking nitrogen. J
I just took a look at my plants this morning... haven't watered it since that night I made this thread.... The Little guy has gotten more yellow and my healthy one is beginning to turn yellow too.... WHen I get home I'll take pictures of both
Here are new pics... 2 days later. Little guy-- Still yellow Big/Best/Healthy looking plant I have... starting to get yellow (can see it at the base) This is the second of the three---- not a lot of yellow but it isnt standing straight up... kinda weeping
What can I say other than that you need to let your soil dry out? You have little plants growing in LARGE containers. The root zone needs oxygen. Until you let the soil dry out, excessive moisture in the soil will perpetuate low levels of O2 in the root zone. Affected leaves will not revert back to their "healthy" appearance. You have to pay attention to the look of the new growth. Visual indicators will become "worse" until moisture levels become balanced, based on the size of the current root structure. Roots need oxygen. Saturated soils create an oxygen deficient root environment. Be patient.
Thanks for all your help man, i really appreciate it. I'll keep you updated this weekend... So far this is day 3 w/o water
I don't know if wak said it or not, but lift your pots and feel how wet or dry they are. Dry pots are light.And don't count days for watering. Nature doesn't schedule shit like that. Neither should you.