Over watering or something else?

[roll_one]

My plants were doing good up until now and I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I started them from seed in solo cups and moved them to 5 gal pots after a week and a half. They were doing good up until a couple days ago. I thought that i over watered them but now I'm not so sure if thats the issue.
Soil- Fox Farms Ocean Forest
Temps-73-75 degrees
Lights- 2 600watt Mars Hydro
pots- 5 gal
Strawberry Cough is 23 days old from seed
White Widow is 16 days old from seed
No nutes just tap water, haven't checked the PH
Strawberry Coughs soil is damp just under the soil
White Widow is dry up to the second knuckle but damp finger deep

 

[roll_one]

not sure why the pics did post

 

[lio lacidem]

Dont even need pictures if you think it maybe overwatered then it most likely is. Let it dry out completely (another day or two) lift pot up and take mentsl note of weight. Then water. Now pick up pot again. Dont water again til pot feels like it did dry again.

 

[chemphlegm]

that,^^ and

fox farms always jacks the new poster, sorry this happened to you.
pics wont post till you pay your dues lol

 

[Dr. Who]

not sure why the pics did post

You need to make some more posts and the system will see you not as a BOT and allow uploads to post.
Same for the *like* button to appear. Answer back some posts with your 2 cents or a comment.....It'll get there.

 

[roll_one]

Here's one pic of the strawberry cough. Everything was looking good. I was waiting for the soil to dry up more because I was worried about over watering it. It started to look like this so I wasn't sure if it wanted water so I gave it a little water where the rootball would be
I know this is a noob question and I feel dumb for asking but I guess if I don't ask I won't get better
The pics I've seen of over watered plants look like this but the soil is pretty dry on my white widow

 

[roll_one]

Here's another view of the strawberry cough and two of the white widow

 

[roll_one]

that,^^ and

fox farms always jacks the new poster, sorry this happened to you.
pics wont post till you pay your dues lol

damn, i got this soil because i thought it wasn't going to give me that much problems, oh well i guess this is part of the learning process.
Does this soil have nutes in it that it doesn't like? I saw a bunch of people using this soil so i thought it was good to go.

 

[chemphlegm]

google " fox farms issues, rollitup" for a peek.

dont buy into anything till you read a grow book

ff is stellar. in near every plant issue I read about here FF is in the mix, thats all.

 

[roll_one]

google " fox farms issues, rollitup" for a peek.

dont buy into anything till you read a grow book

ff is stellar. in near every plant issue I read about here FF is in the mix, thats all.[/QUOTE

Do you think this is from the soil or from over watering?
How do you guys determine when to water again? Just feeling down two knuckles deep in the soil?

 

[chemphlegm]

I feel the bucket at transplant, with a plant and dry soil in it. I get to know that weight, habit makes me kick the buckets when I pass with the spigot. I only water when I can feel NO moisture in the soil.

 

[roll_one]

Awesome, thanks for the feedback! Much appreciated!

 

[cannabisweedPotNerd]

In the pics your soil looks really dry how much and often you water or feed with water?

 

[nfhiggs]

moved them to 5 gal pots after a week and a half.

That's the "root" of your problem right there IMHO. From a solo cup, they should go to 1 gallon at the very biggest - then a couple weeks later, into the 5 or 7 gallon final pot. A small plant in a large 5 gallon pot does not get a fast enough wet/dry cycle to really get the roots growing good. Don't do half assed waterings (a little water where the root ball would be) - that will cause problems particularly with an inexperienced grower. You either don't get enough water to the root ball, or you get too much and it doesn't dry enough before you put more in. Water it REALLY good, enough to get some runoff. Then leave it alone - it probably won't need water for at least another 7-10 days.

 

[roll_one]

In the pics your soil looks really dry how much and often you water or feed with water?

I was watering every 2-3 days. The top of the soil is dry on both but as soon as you move a little bit of the soil out of the way on the strawberry cough its moist and with the white widow is still moist about two knuckles deep on your finger

 

[roll_one]

That's the "root" of your problem right there IMHO. From a solo cup, they should go to 1 gallon at the very biggest - then a couple weeks later, into the 5 or 7 gallon final pot. A small plant in a large 5 gallon pot does not get a fast enough wet/dry cycle to really get the roots growing good. Don't do half assed waterings (a little water where the root ball would be) - that will cause problems particularly with an inexperienced grower. You either don't get enough water to the root ball, or you get too much and it doesn't dry enough before you put more in. Water it REALLY good, enough to get some runoff. Then leave it alone - it probably won't need water for at least another 7-10 days.

I was afraid of watering too much at one time, i thought id be "over watering" but it makes sense that its not the water you do in one sitting but its the watering again when the soil isn't completely dry.

 

[nfhiggs]

I was afraid of watering too much at one time, i thought id be "over watering" but it makes sense that its not the water you do in one sitting but its the watering again when the soil isn't completely dry.

Exactly - the roots need oxygen periodically - more often the better. The only way they get it is from the soil draining and drying as they drink. If you keep adding water - even small amounts - before its dried sufficiently, then you're overwatering, no matter the frequency or amount.