I am having trouble with drainage and nutrient issues with my four-week-old clones from a reputable cultivator here in Portland. I transplanted them two weeks ago into 5 gallon fabric pots and the leaves of the plants are showing symptoms from the top of plant to the bottom. I am using ocean forest soil and have not added any nutrients yet. I made two mistakes by forgetting to add perlite to the soil at the beginning and forgot to pH test the water for the first two waterings. The water from the tap in Portland usually has a pH of 7.3 to 7.5 and after testing the soil today it still is above 7. Is there way to reduce the PH in the soil and any ideas on how to improve the drainage?
Will you please look at the pics and help me identify the issues?
When the runoff pH isn’t far off from where you want it then watering at the correct pH (or maybe a few points below where you want it) a couple times will correct it. If it were way off you could flush the pH down, but regular watering at proper pH should work for you. If lack of drainage is problematic you could repot them and add perlite. Lack of drainage can lead to a lot of problems during a grow.
Thanks for the help! I thought of repotting them but am scared that I will damage the roots. I might try and flush with 6.0 in hopes that it will balance things out like you said.
Leaf tips and margins will show problems with root problems caused by poor drainage. So far so good, looks like you’re getting away with it and theyre just hungry. I like the worms idea, they do loosen soil and make nice pets
Thanks for the help. I ended up repotting them today and added a bunch of perlite…fingers crossed I didn’t make things worse. I really like the worm idea becasue it makes a lot of sense and has two great benefits. Looked at uncle Jim’s but the smallest amount they sell is 250 worms for $28. I assume people still like worms farms and may see if I can find some at local pet stores around here.
At least five but I dont know the max limit. Also was told they breed in there. @Warkat knows a thing or three about that, if he doesn’t pop up check out his living soil topic
