17 day epic disappointment

shiva

Well-Known Member
What can I say... Stunted growth on my white widow autos. My first time with autos and can't help but thing I've got something drastically wrong.... Check my journal if interested in the history of these plants but tbh, they've just grown so slowly...

image.jpg
 

shiva

Well-Known Member
How much light they getting? How much water?
They were being watered a small amount at a set time every day however i fear that this was too much for them... and they were getting 200W (blue) envirolite + 300W cfl (dual). The 200W worked perfectly for my last standard grow of Shivas... however, my space is slightly larger this time so I added the 300W... for now, I've switched off the 300W as it was getting stiflingly hot in the room 85° - 90° but temps are currently around 75° - all 4 plants are sitting 2-3 inches away form light source which can be done with envirolites as they don't chuck out loads of heat.
 

GrowinWizer10

Active Member
to be honest id say your soil is the problem dence dark thick soil, id go with a big bag of foxfarm light warrior and mix it into a full bag of foxfarm ocean forest and when you place the seed in try and have most of the light warrior where you put your seed 1 inch into the soil i never had a problem yet, do some cfl bulbs or place outside just dont over water and make sure they get a nice breeze on em, they look to deep in a pot put the soils right up to the top and put the plant right in it
 

shiva

Well-Known Member
How do you tell it's bad from the colour? It was a basic potting soil mixed with 25% perlite and the same % of vermiculite... They've had a nice breeze on them from the start.... This is a UK grow... Where do find specialist soils like that? As for overwatering..... Had I not been advised to plant them straight in 3 gal pots at the start I wouldn't have had that problem... Think I just need to ride this one out and start a fresh once these have failed to deliver more than a joints worth.

Thanks for the advice though... Handy for next time.
 

tekdc911

Well-Known Member
How do you tell it's bad from the colour? It was a basic potting soil mixed with 25% perlite and the same % of vermiculite... They've had a nice breeze on them from the start.... This is a UK grow... Where do find specialist soils like that? As for overwatering..... Had I not been advised to plant them straight in 3 gal pots at the start I wouldn't have had that problem... Think I just need to ride this one out and start a fresh once these have failed to deliver more than a joints worth.

Thanks for the advice though... Handy for next time.
just replace the vermiculite with perlite and youre good to grow .... you dont need specialty soil just the right stuff ... stay away from soils with time release nutes it will give you problems when they flip... i use peat / coco / perlite in even portions then add compost to the mix .... but it can be done with bag soil too ive done it many times ..... any seed starter and soil can be mixed ,1/2 and 1/2 with bag soil with some extra perlite and it works fine ...... i just cut out the middle man since starter is mostly coco and peat so i just buy the raw materials to save cash
 
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GrowinWizer10

Active Member
go any kind of grow store, not home depot or lowes or any kind of big business like walmart, something like a mother grow shop, something you can google and call to see if they have any organic soil, any light mixtures.... theres nothing wrong i always go straight into final pot 5gals most of the time through veg and flower, never had a problem yet... think light soil more perlite in the mix will help that but what is your plans, do you plan on using nutes?
 

shiva

Well-Known Member
For
just replace the vermiculite with perlite and youre good to grow .... you dont need specialty soil just the right stuff ... stay away from soils with time release nutes it will give you problems when they flip... i use peat / coco / perlite in even portions then add compost to the mix .... but it can be done with bag soil too ive done it many times ..... any seed starter and soil can be mixed ,1/2 and 1/2 with bag soil with some extra perlite and it works fine ...... i just cut out the middle man since starter is mostly coco and peat so i just buy the raw materials to save cash
next time will only use perlite...thanks for the heads up. Will spend a little more time selecting the right soil.
 

shiva

Well-Known Member
go any kind of grow store, not home depot or lowes or any kind of big business like walmart, something like a mother grow shop, something you can google and call to see if they have any organic soil, any light mixtures.... theres nothing wrong i always go straight into final pot 5gals most of the time through veg and flower, never had a problem yet... think light soil more perlite in the mix will help that but what is your plans, do you plan on using nutes?
Im in uk so have plenty of specialty garden centres for soil... Thought I chose a decent one originally but clearly not... Yeah will switch out the vermiculite and add more perlite... We thinking a kind of 70/30 mix? 30 being perlite??? Hadn't planned on using nutes as my last grows have been without.... But open to suggestions. Tried nutes once but produced chemical burns.
 

shiva

Well-Known Member
Would anyone suggest me changing the soil at this stage? Or will this just damage them more?
 

tekdc911

Well-Known Member
Would anyone suggest me changing the soil at this stage? Or will this just damage them more?
i would just try and get the bottoms of the pots to dry out .... just light shallow waterings to keep the top layer moist but not enough to get to the bottom of the pot if that makes any sense
 

tekdc911

Well-Known Member
usually when you stunt or stall a auto it takes a week or two to recover
if the problem is remedied anyway
 

shiva

Well-Known Member
usually when you stunt or stall a auto it takes a week or two to recover
if the problem is remedied anyway
Makes sense what you said above... Yeah they've not had a drink today and 3 of the 4 have seemed to picked up so will see how they are in the morning. Cheers.
 

GrowinWizer10

Active Member
Do like a 30 40 mix of perlite in that soil or a lot more yo lighten it up but if you get a light starter seed soil you can mix that into a good soil also to make it more airy
 

GrowinWizer10

Active Member
Them autos are prob shot even if the week or two wait, there autos one stunt there's ya veg that's why I do photos but try these lil tips and watch then blossom and have big fan leaves already
 

shiva

Well-Known Member
Them autos are prob shot even if the week or two wait, there autos one stunt there's ya veg that's why I do photos but try these lil tips and watch then blossom and have big fan leaves already
Tbh as I said it's my first time with autos and seems there is a real knack to getting it right... My photos have been fine previously. Now my little babies are showing black marks on the leaves.... Yikes! I think they're beyond help!
 

GrowinWizer10

Active Member
PH, 6.2-6.5 , calmag, good soil no nutes added in mix, extra perlite, light soil, and lightly water and keep wet every other day until they put off bigger leaves and then start letting them dry out before watering and start your schedule
 

NewtoMJ

Well-Known Member
Tip them upside down and check the soil balls. There may be an area in the center that has more moisture than the rest, that is more than likely going to be your perched water table zone. Roots have a hard time growing through it so the area above has the most shoots causing it to be pot-bound. Larger pieces of soil particulate and more perlite to create better drainage helps.
 
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