Alright this is my second indoor grow. First one went OK, however me getting to the plants to water became an issue and they suffered. I got a decent turnout from 1 plant, a large applesauce jar full, but it was OK bud (super sticky), I want more/better! Here is my setup... 3 8" pots, 5 CFL's (3 daylight 2 regular), MG all-natural soil (seems to be good soil, doesn't burn the plants like regular MG soil does), few fans moving air around. Temps usually stay 80-85* depending on where you are in the area, and humidity is around 55%. So I started another grow, same setup but now I have an auto water system. All it is is these 3 little ceramic cones that you push into the soil and fill with water. They have tops on them, and hoses. You put the hoses in a container of water (water level being lower than the little cones) and as the soil dries, water escapes through the ceramic thus creating a vacuum effect and sucking water out of the container. So far it's been working well, drinking nearly a gallon a week for 3 small plants. Today I went to check on the plants and they look... a bit sad. Like they need water, but they have water. Bottom leaves were dead and the rest of the plant was droopy and a bit dry. I added some vegging fert in a small dose the water before last, and a bit of superthrive last water... I hope I didn't burn them! Since they seemed dry I pulled the cones and washed them out and cleaned out the water and such to ensure there were no blocks. Roots formed a casing around the watering cones, so I moved the cones and covered the old hole back up with water, refilled everything and watered the plants by hand. Pure water was used to fill the water container and to water them by hand, no ferts. I hope I didn't shock the plant or anything by removing those cones from the case of roots that were around them, the cones came straight out not like I broke any roots. Figured it would be better for the plant to move the cone so the roots don't tangle into a ball around the cone? Any tips/suggestions/questions? Trying to get a better grow this time, this is my first bad sign (plants have been going for nearly a month) so I want to ensure I have no more! Thanks.
Bump, anyone? Checked them today... still sad looking even after the hand water and water system flush.
Man I wish i knew for sure what was wrong so i could help you, but i'm gonna take a stab at it and give you my opinion. I'm thinking that maybe the MG soil is burning the plants. you said it's all natural, but there's probably still mad nutrients in it, and if the water is keeping the the soil moist all the time, but never actually flushing it, the plants could be absorbing the nutrients too fast, and on top of that the watering system is still probably over watering them. I don't really know what i would do about that, besides giving the soil a real good flush, so i dunno man. try flushing them and then not watering them for a few days.
Would excessive heat cause this as well? As they climb, it gets harder and harder to keep the area cool. My 80* measure is on the BOTTOM of the floor in there, in the shade really. I put the thermometer on the rim of one of the pots to get a better reading. I have 4 80mm fans spinning full speed all of the time to try to suck hot air out.
Ok guys I need some help here. My plants are not drinking any water! Watering system has stopped flowing...
First of all its too hot. Get a fan on them. Second, change out the soil because its burning the plants and they are about to die. 3rd your third pic looks like your growin in your attic. Also, make sure the water you are watering them with is GOOD water. Go get a bottle of dasani or bottled water and put it in a spray bottle and spray the plants for a while.
I don't see how the soil could be burning them, as I said before it's not typical MG soil and it's worked perfectly fine before. It's not an attic however I have 4 fans sucking air out, the area is typical room temp (70ish) with no lights on. I had a fan on them blowing as well before however it has since died. I am just surprised that these CFL's are giving off so much heat. I used to use all distilled water however then this grow I switched to straight tap water. They have been beautiful till now. Oh and I just measured temp up by the tops of the plants, still right at 80*.