First grow for a newby

[Stufart]

Checked them this mourning and they are doing very well. I was a bit worried after giving them the Cal & Mag but they seem to have sprung to life. I think I will give them straight water for the next couple of drinks anyway.

My compost tea is still bubbling away, I throw in a couple of teaspoons of molasses once a week. It doesn't stink, just funky I guess. I threw a bucket of the stuff on my potatoes last week, holly crap, did they spring to attention, they loved it. I dilute it down when I gave it to my real plants.

 

[the one]

makes me a lil nervous but just be careful... good luck my friend!

 

[Stufart]

Funny, I was just thinking people on here are probably waiting in anticipation when I post that they are all cooked. Im rough kind of guy and maybe my approch to this has been somewhat the same, but to date they are growing. Right or wrong I have been fairly careful to some extent. I haven't been measuring Ph but I will today. As they say, you live and learn.

 

[the one]

i get the live and learn part. find out for yourself BUT I think in life sometimes its better way better to pick up a manual then learning by trial and error.
nute's can be a big problem for newbies im my opinion pick up a bottle of something like general hydroponics flora nova one part for like $20 follow direction and may be go a bit lighter on the strenght. it comes with a full calender to tell you what to do every week. I dont use additional nute cuz my soil is so good I just add water the entire cycle. goog luck buddy think about it.

 

[Stufart]

Thanks mate. I have read plenty on the subject and most has been conflicting. I guess at some point as many have already stated, you just need to find your own way. I appreciate your help by the way, as to everyone.

 

[Stufart]

Im going to have to re pot the blue berry, the plant in the smallest pot plant. I have roots over 8 inches long hanging out the bottom. I guess these means she needs moire real estate.

 

[Stufart]

Ok may need some help here. I had to transplant these girls as the roots where growing out the arse of the pot plant. I used vermiculite in the soil, then put the plant straight in and watered it in. The one that look the best is the blue berry, but the other two, Jack Herer and white widow are looking a bit over done. Im thinking they may have had to much water, I haven't watered these for two days and wont until the top 1 inch or 2 is dry.

The two small plants look a bit crap as well. Any advice will greatly appreciated.

 

[Stufart]

Some more of the little ones.

 

[Stufart]

I have actually pushed some small diameter holes all the way the down the sides of the pots to help get some air in there to help dry it out. I have since taken the coco core from the tops of the pots to help dry things out a bit as well.

The light now sits 18 inches above the tops of the plants at all times. The 5 inch fan is bolted to the end of the light shade and that goes 24/7. Made a big difference in keeping the light cool.
There is also another large fan out of shot that helps keep the plants breathing, plenty of air movement.

 

[Stufart]

After making some full depth holes in the soil and removing the coco core they have perked up a bit.

 

[Orcaman]

Question for you, What are your PH levels in your water, and your medium. Your plants look like they are struggling to feed as if your PH levels are too high. Plus let your soil breathe! Don't cover it.

 

[Stufart]

Im going to measure the Ph today. They are on the mend though.

 

[Stufart]

Ph the soil today, seemed to be around the 8-8.5. So Im going to add sulpher to bring it back down.

 

[AluminumMonster]

I would stay away from the sulphur and get some dolomite lime to get your ph back in the norm.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

How are you checking the pH of your soil? If you are using one of those little probe things you stick in the dirt, they don't work and cannot be trusted. What are you feeding them? I notice that you mention compost tea. Are you growing organic? If so, the pH should take care of itself.

 

[trillions of atoms]

cpl issues here,

the little ones have poor drainage. the bigger ones probibly need more drainage too....

ph way off, overwatered or just waterlogged root zone and the light needs to be pulled back a tad.

get a quality ph meter, get the PH right and replant in a medium with more perlite, worm castings and vermiculite.

GET THE PH IN THE ZONE. < biggest issue other than drainage

 

[Stufart]

As for Ph I have one of those test kit that you mix a liquid then add some white powder then wait 30 seconds. Everything I have is organic, no artificial ferts at all. I must admit that the soil is a bit compact, I didnt add all that much vermiculite so would it be best to re pot with a 3 to 1 mix of my solid and vermiculite? I also bought a bag of per-lite as well. The one that looks ther worst actually had water sitting on top and it wasn't draining down through the soil, I actually just tipped it out from the top. Im taking it this is no where near enough drainage? I was going to re do the soil but thought it was to early after I just re planted them.

 

[trillions of atoms]

yeah.....you need a quality ph meter.....a hanna digital at least.

no liquid test kits, keep that for the spa.


add ALL the vermiculite you have and it prolly aint enough. get some perlite too brother.....the more arreation the better!

 

[Stufart]

I transplanted two so far, the two bad ones. Man it was like cement. The root ball was hard as a rock. So, I added plenty of vermiculite and perlite so the soil feels reel fluffy, sorry dont know the correct term. I knocked most of the hard soil away from the roots being very carful not to brake to many roots off. I dropped it in the new fluffy soil and added some super thrive to the water and soaked them real well.. let it drain for while and stuck them back in under the light. I have one more to do but that one seems to be going pretty well, I will still do it tomorrow though, just to make sure. Im going to buy a good Ph meter, we dont have any in Australia under $250.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Vermiculite loosens the soil, but also helps the soil HOLD water. I think that adding more vermiculite is going to be counterproductive if the soil us not draining. Perlite and vermiculite are not interchangeable and do different things for the soil. While they both loosen the soil, perlite aids in drainage and vermiculite holds water.

Unfortunately, if you started with a bad soil mixture, it is going to haunt you during your entire grow. I think that your plants look really hungry. If you did not prepare some kind of super soil to plant them in, you are going to have to feed them.

If you are running organic and your soil mixture is good, you shouldn't have to pH your water. What exactly is in your soil mixture? Just because substances are organic, doesn't necessarily mean that they are good for your plants. What have you done to supply them with food? organic teas? Organic nutes?