Help - Plant problems 11 days in

Hi everyone,

Please see some photos of my 3 dutch passion strawberry cough plants. They have been doing okay but things don’t seam 100% right due to the way the leaves are curling and the paleness of the leaves. Also the growrate doesn’t seam as fast as what it should be, I mean I know they are only 11 days old but something isn’t right and I cannot put my finger on what it is. I thought it was overwatering, but then I thought it wasn’t enough nutrients, then I thought it maybe to much nutrients because I wasn’t sure if the compost I used already had nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in it? I am pritty sure it hasnt. I am trying to keep the temperature up as high as possible but this is in my friends basement so it can get pretty cold down there but generally the temperature is 16-20c. I haven’t fed them anything yet but im wondering if this is what they are after??!

Below are the details of my setup

Lights: Sunmaster 250W Dual Spectrium sodium

Cycle: 24/7
Soil: Levington Multi Purpose Compost
PH: 6.3
Medium: Soil with 700ml pots, 10 drainage holes.
Ferts: None so far
Temp: 16c or 61f
Ventilation: 1 internal fan and 1 external fan with carbon on external
Humidity: 40-50%
Watering: Every 3-4 days
Age: 11 Days since sprouted through soil
Age Since Germ: 16 Days

Any help please…

Oh and some photos…

Looks good to me, looks a bit overwatered. put your finger an inch into the soil when the top is dry, and make sure the soil is truly dry. You can also wait until the soil shrinks away from the pot a bit.

BeefSupreme said:

Looks good to me, looks a bit overwatered. put your finger an inch into the soil when the top is dry, and make sure the soil is truly dry. You can also wait until the soil shrinks away from the pot a bit.

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hi, thanks for the heads up. I think i have foujnd the problem, the soil is full of NPK, it says on the outside i ttoally missed that, what should i do? Start again? Repot in someting else??

you should bring up the temperature a little if at all possible, as well as the humidity. 40-50% is perfect humidity for flowering but when you're vegging you want it to be above 50 up to 70%. not any higher than that though. If you can only change the humidity that may be enough. You should notice an increase in the growth rate with the humidity. Also are these readings averaged or are they just instantaneous reading. cause if your humidity is ever dropping below 30% that can seriously stunt the growth rate too... I'll keep my thinking cap on... good luck
ps
i wouldn't move them to a different pot just yet... to much stress in their current state

Draak said:

you should bring up the temperature a little if at all possible, as well as the humidity. 40-50% is perfect humidity for flowering but when you're vegging you want it to be above 50 up to 70%. not any higher than that though. If you can only change the humidity that may be enough. You should notice an increase in the growth rate with the humidity. Also are these readings averaged or are they just instantaneous reading. cause if your humidity is ever dropping below 30% that can seriously stunt the growth rate too... I'll keep my thinking cap on... good luck
ps
i wouldn't move them to a different pot just yet... to much stress in their current state

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Hi, thanks for the advice, the humidity is 20-30% alot of the time, when i water the plants though it goes up to 40-50% for a day or so and then drops back down. I am thinking maybe my issues have been with the soil, temp, humidity and overwatering maybe?

I am thinking of just starting again and getting the best soil, turning off the fans to ensure that the heat stays 20-25c and also getting a humidifier as it is quite low even now def below 30%. I have tried misting and also adding lots of water in there but it only seams when i water the plants does it actually raise the humidity

Temp is to low 70 to 85f daytime 60 to 70f night time. Humidity 40 to 50%. Yes you should repot if soil is full of nutrients. Those plants are to small for to much fertilizer.

Those plants in my pics are also 11 days old, so yeah, I'd say that they are growing pretty damn slow.LOL My only guess is that the low temp is really hurting them, stunting the growth. Would it be possible for you to run a small electric heater? I bet if you could get the temp up over 72*, that they would be alot happier.

Also, it's possible that the compost is a little too rich for those little guys. Hard to tell. Did you mix the soil by hand? Is it straight compost? I don't see any perlite in it either, so maybe the low temps are keeping the inner soil too soggy, not allowing it to dry out at all. That'll starve them of oxygen. Whatever the problem is, it's most important to get the temp up over 70* or they will continue to grow slowly, even if everything else is ideal.

jawbrodt said:

Those plants in my pics are also 11 days old, so yeah, I'd say that they are growing pretty damn slow.LOL My only guess is that the low temp is really hurting them, stunting the growth. Would it be possible for you to run a small electric heater? I bet if you could get the temp up over 72*, that they would be alot happier.

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OMG, i cannot believe that your plants are 11 days?! They look perfect well done for that. I am pleased you showed the photos as i honestly can remember growing before years ago and it not being this slow for me, i thought i had just grown impatient.

Can i ask what your setup is please? I am going to ditch these plants and start again fresh and try and sort all the issues.

The soil i have used is just a standard compost called levington multi purpose, didnt use any perlite and also on the outside of the compost bag it shows added nutrients showing NPK so i guess its just killed and over ferted them and with the temp and humadity and maybe overwatering its all gone tits up.

Your setup would be appreciated so i can mimic and not grow these under acchivers

thank you

Hey man, I'm glad you asked. I've been trying to convince the guys on a budget to go with these T8 lights, because as you can see they work really great, and are impossible to screw up.LOL Check 'em out.... http://cgi.ebay.com/T-BAY-6-LIGHT-T8-FLUORESCENT-FIXTURE_W0QQitemZ300388228440QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item45f0889d58 They come with 5000K bulbs(the suns natural spectrum) and they are working excellent. I have 6500K bulbs on the way, so I expect them to work even better. I'm using Fox Farm Ocean Forest soil, with extra perlite added(not necessary though, because it already has quite a bit in it), and no nutes at all. If you keep that light as close as possible, it will give you the same results that I've had, and you'll be quite happy with the growth. Also, you don't have to worry about burning the plants on the bulbs, if they happen to be touching the bulbs for a few hours(they tend to grow overnight, and are touching the bulbs in the morning, if you aren't there to raise the lights). The T5 lights will burn the crap out of you plants, if they are touching them. At only 200 watts, this T8 light replaces a 400 watt MH, and outperforms it. At 400 watts, two of those light will simply blow away 400 watts of MH, and cover a nice big area.(4' x 3' 1/2')

If you switch to one of those lights, use some decent soil, and get your temps up over 70*, you can expect the same results as I'm having. Best of luck man.

EDIT: One more CRITICAL thing.....make absolutely sure that every bit of water/fert you add to you plants is PH adjusted to between 6.5 and 6.8. Soil PH tends to drop over time, so I prefer to shoot for 6.7 so it keeps the soil PH within an acceptable range throughout the entire grow cycle. Start using a good fert(Fox Farms is excellent. I use Dynagro Grow and Bloom) at around 20 days, at 1/4 strength, then 1/2 strength for 2-3 feedings, then bump it up to full strength and you should be on your way to a nice harvest.

One more thing.....these lights are not intended for vegging huge plants. I switch to bloom after 3-4 weeks, and end up with nice 3' plants. I might even start putting them on 12/12 at two weeks, so they don't end up being so tall. That's you're own preference, so you can decide for your self when you want to put them into bloom.

jawbrodt said:

Hey man, I'm glad you asked. I've been trying to convince the guys on a budget to go with these T8 lights, because as you can see they work really great, and are impossible to screw up.LOL Check 'em out.... http://cgi.ebay.com/T-BAY-6-LIGHT-T8-FLUORESCENT-FIXTURE_W0QQitemZ300388228440QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item45f0889d58 They come with 5000K bulbs(the suns natural spectrum) and they are working excellent. I have 6500K bulbs on the way, so I expect them to work even better. I'm using Fox Farm Ocean Forest soil, with extra perlite added(not necessary though, because it already has quite a bit in it), and no nutes at all. If you keep that light as close as possible, it will give you the same results that I've had, and you'll be quite happy with the growth. Also, you don't have to worry about burning the plants on the bulbs, if they happen to be touching the bulbs for a few hours(they tend to grow overnight, and are touching the bulbs in the morning, if you aren't there to raise the lights). The T5 lights will burn the crap out of you plants, if they are touching them. At only 200 watts, this T8 light replaces a 400 watt MH, and outperforms it. At 400 watts, two of those light will simply blow away 400 watts of MH, and cover a nice big area.(4' x 3' 1/2')

If you switch to one of those lights, use some decent soil, and get your temps up over 70*, you can expect the same results as I'm having. Best of luck man.

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Thanks man, i will let you know the progress in a couple of weeks, thanks for the help