Hoping to get some guidance as this is first attempt at growing and as you can see by the pic it is not going well at all. Apologize in advance if I’m going overkill on the details below!
They all seem to be suffering from the same issue for the most part with the bright green leaves, some drooping worse than others. I have provided 2 feedings of macro nutrients spaced a week apart at about a quarter of recommend strength along with one Cal/Mag feeding to date also at about a quarter recommend strength. Have been watering about 3 days apart making sure soil is still not damp and also lifting pots to gauge weight prior to watering or feeding.
Attempting 6 Hybrid Strains : Acapulco Gold, Ice Cream Cake, Jealousy, Kush Mints, Apple Jax, and Mimosa
Have been planted for about 2 1/2 weeks
Back to the Roots Organic soil (all I had at the time) with low NPK ratio of. 08.-03.-03 which contains Perlite, Coconut Coir, Yucca extract (wondering if the low NPK might be an issue with this soil). We now have Biobizz Light Mix soil which I need to verify NPK ratio but specifically Indicates a medium EC level which is likely better than soil plants are currently in. Was hesitant to transplant them at this early stage so have not attempted.
clay pots with drainage hole, moving to breathable pots soon
Just tested PH of soil yesterday and was showing right at 7 (using distilled water always when watering/feeding)
Unfortunately I did not have an EC meter so don’t yet know that number (has been ordered)
Growing indoors in Vivosun grow tent
LED grow light with spectrum of 660nm,3000K,5000K,760nm IR hung about 20 inches from plants
100 Watt draw
18 x 6 light schedule
Average temp around 78 during day and 75 at night tracking with a Vivosun growhub
Maintaining humidity level between 55-60 at all times with humidifier in grow tent
Exhaust system installed in tent along with circulation fan running at all times
Room has A/C but grow tent located in closet. Room itself is quite large so difficult to keep room very cool let alone the closet
Firstly. Welcome to ILGM!! No problem on the information abundance. I prefer as much as possible.
Now onto the ladies!
They are definitely looking hungry, and slightly over watered. That soil (plus the clay pot) looks to be holding too much moisture. I’d add more perlite to the next mixture. And get those fabric if asap.
Also anytime I see wood chips in soil, I remove it. They aren’t helping at all. I’d get those ladies into that stronger soil and new pots as soon as able. And then water only. But if it’s going to be a week before u can transplant, a light meal won’t hurt.
Agreed on both counts. I thought that they looked starved for sure.
Looks like @PurpNGold74 is weighing as well. @FourTwentyMN , you are in good hands. And, welcome to the community. You will be smoking some dynamite buds before you know it.
The yellowing to me indicates overwatering, they seem a little too young in that soil to be hungry already, unless the soil you’re using is really that deprived of nutes
they absolutely need more light though with the amount they are stretched, what specific LED light are you using?
Yeah, those aint gonna make it if you dont do what these guys recommend. Can you put them outside until you can get more lighting?
The morning sun is good medicine for those plants.
The light is SpiderFarmer SF1000, the draw is 100 watts, but it should be 1K output, right? We have it at 80% strength right now, but even at full-strength, if 200 is the recommendation per plant, we’d still be a bit low. We have a second we can put up to get to 2K. Assuming we’re interpreting the 1K output correctly…
Fabric pots won’t be here until tomorrow, so that’s the tricky thing…feed a little today and then transplant tomorrow with water only, or just leave them another day.
Generally with SF LEDs, each 1000 is for one plant, so SF1000 is good for one plant, SF2000 good for 2 plants, SF4000 for 4 plants
obviously you are growing more than 1 plant, best case for you is to install the other one as well and crank them up all the way, you could also get rid of a few plants
keep in mind most Chinese-made LEDs don’t actually output as much wattage as they say they do so be careful
I’d recommend you let them dry out real good before transplanting, transplant into some nice rich soil, and give them a soak with the increased lighting, just make sure the new pots aren’t too big for them
Truly appreciate all the quick responses and very valuable feedback. Already impressed with this forum on my first day of being a member, fantastic!
I was completely misinterpreting the total output wattage of the lights. I was thinking the SF1000 wattage was 1000 watts so clearly I was way off. Definitely will need to make some lighting adjustments/additions if we are going to attempt to grow all 6, or just reduce the total number of plants we are attempting to grow.
Also was wondering if there is a specific brand of substrate that is generally considered the best or does it just come down to preference?
Just wanted to comment on something I noticed about your system as a whole in regard to the lighting issue I thought I’d mention.
Right now, it sounds like it’s a struggle to keep it below 75 at night, and you have a single 100 watt light running. As far as lighting goes, it’s been covered already. You need a ton more to actually get all 6 plants to harvest. That means a fair amount of additional heat. So just something to keep in mind when it comes to “system balance” and what size steps you might take moving forward. Not saying it will for sure be an issue, just something to monitor.
None of that will fix the nutrient/uptake issues of course, but that’s not me, I’m just a learner too! Welcome aboard!
Thanks @Bubbala, very good point. As a matter of fact, I just ended up hooking up our additional 100W LED light that we were not using (when we were working under the assumption the light amount was adequate with just one light!) and the temp has already increased about a degree and a half just running for less than 15 minutes which is a bummer. Unless we are able to figure out a way to cool our closet down where the grow tent is located, we may need to stick with one light and just select 1 of the 6 plants to grow for now.
Needless to say, this has been quite the learning experience, and am realizing just how much I did not know going into this. Appreciate you taking the time to help, thanks!
Controlling heat is a cuntpuncher. I live in the south. Its an everyday/night battle. I have 1500watts in a 12x8 and to keep it below 85 with lights on is hard…
Yes, I’m learning that temp control is going to be quite challenging. Have you had any issues with the temps around 85 or has it not had too much impact? Just trying to determine how much of an issue it will be if we start averaging a temp around 81-83.
I’ve been trying to jack up the humidity a bit when temps start to increase to keep the VPD number within reason (as it seems that is fairly important also from what I’m reading).
85 won’t kill a grow. 85 with the humidity we’ve had lately will absolute demolish you mid flower.
As far as lights? It’s an ever revolving door. HLG was tried and true (still is imo, but not as solid a decision as it once was. I personally outsourced and built a cheap decent light or 6) but you will want more as u’ve heard a few times.
As far as I’m concerned, the 2 you have will get you through veg just fine. No you won’t have that stellar Moonrock level node spacing, but judging from your posts, it’s still way early in your grow career to be worried about all that. All that said, flowering 6 plants under 200w will leave room to do better, no other way to say it
Now mediums. It’s all preference really. And style. Do you want hands on day to day changes and control but the comfort of potted plants? Coco is the way to go. Faster then soil, but more hands on. Do u want maximum turn around times and full throttle growth at the expense of having to micromanage bubbling rez’s? Hydro is hands down the fastest and strongest plant growing I’ve seen (side note… booooo lol). Do u want to just grow some good ass weed and have leeway to say F it, I’ll deal with those plants tomaro? Soil’s get it done there. I’ve forgetten I was growing weed with 8 plants mid flower and yielded decently. Plus there’s something about getting my hands dirty. Pure therapy.
As a new grower, it’s all about learning. Picking up nuances, learning to read the leaves and how easy this weed grows but how hard it is to grow it greatly, and finally realizing ‘ok I’m over worrying here’ is the trick. You can’t make ‘em grow faster with no amount of love. And above all enjoy it.
Excellent feedback @PurpNGold74. Definitely a rookie with my first grow here but learning daily (hell, hourly with this community!).
Glad to hear that even if temps are averaging 80-85 its not a death sentence. Now my temp is back down to 76 with both 100w lights running at 100% so maybe not as bad as I thought. Just was checking out the HLG light options as well as I was not familiar with that brand.
Yeah, at this point I’d settle to just see some healthy green leaves starting to grow and get back on track with the new grow bags and soil assuming the plants can even recover.
After transplanting from the clay pots to the 1 gallon grow “bags” with the new soil and providing a feeding of both macro and secondary nutrients (went with half strength of recommended amount on each bottle) they appear to be recovering which is encouraging. Some of the bright green leaves are now changing to what I would say is a healthy green. After the transplant and feeding, I was letting the soil almost completely dry out (going on day 5 since their last watering/feeding so planning on feeding them again today) to make sure roots are getting enough oxygen as I think they may have been a bit root bound on the bottom of the previous clay pots Definitely the best they have looked in several days, considering where they were at of course! I included an updated pic. Again, obviously a way to go yet but I didn’t think they were going to make it at all!
One question I was hoping to verify with some of you is micronutrients. I have yet to specifically add any micronutrients. In general, is it good practice to add micronutrients on a regular basis such as once a month, or only if there are signs they may be deficient? I was reading that molasses contains a good balance of micronutrients and was thinking of possibly trying to make a liquid solution to feed them, but was hoping to first verify if this would be a good idea or just stick with the macro and secondary nutrients for the time being.
Yes, I’m learning that temp control is going to be quite challenging. Have you had any issues with the temps around 85 or has it not had too much impact? Just trying to determine how much of an issue it will be if we start averaging a temp around 81-83.
