very confused.

kushiesweet

kushiesweet

Member
ok so after reading up on feedings and looking at charts im confused. i have this bad habit of overwatering/under feeding. i keep reading that you should feed atleast twice a week. it takes a long time for my soil to dry out which is what the plant needs in order to get good xygen. on the charts ive looked at it also says to water with no nutes in between feedings. my soil is barely dry before the next feeding so by watering between this is constantly keeping the soil moist causing my overwatering issue. what should i be doing differently
 
sohighifly

sohighifly

Well-Known Member
In my own garden I only feed nutes once a week and water twice. I agree with the above statements that drainage may be an issue with you, IMO you should water the same schedule wise as you have been, just water and feed smaller amounts.I don't know your pot size or anything, but for example if you usually give a gallon to each plant every other day and they are too moist by next feeding,start off giving a half gallon and adjust according.
 
kushiesweet

kushiesweet

Member
so my soil is 1/3 perlite, 1/3 plain soil, and 1/3 coconut fiber. the airation of the soil is good. i also only make 1 quart of water with 1/2 tsp of nutes as directed on nute container. each plant gets 1/2 quart every 1, 4, 7th day of the week, 1st and 7th with nutes. my containers also have a run off system so any extra liquid will drain. i just dont understand why my soil still stays moist. the top layer dries within a day. lately i have been fluffing soil once a day to also help. my temp is around 80° and humidity at 60%
 
kushiesweet

kushiesweet

Member
sohighifly said:
In my own garden I only feed nutes once a week and water twice. I agree with the above statements that drainage may be an issue with you, IMO you should water the same schedule wise as you have been, just water and feed smaller amounts.I don't know your pot size or anything, but for example if you usually give a gallon to each plant every other day and they are too moist by next feeding,start off giving a half gallon and adjust according.
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i couldnt even imagine using a gallon per plant it would probably flood my grow room. an my container are plenty big for my plants so confused on the whole matter
 
A

althor

Well-Known Member
The holes that come in planters are generally too small for draining properly. I always drill a bunch of holes in the planter myself to ensure I have plenty of drainage. Also be sure that the holes on the bottom of the planter aren't stopping themselves against your overflow container.

Also, there is no such thing as scheduling nutes. That will never work properly. Each strain and each pheno of each strain will have different demands at different times. If you stick to a schedule you will end up overfeeding or underfeeding. Consider each plant an individual and pay attention to each individual to deduct what it requires.
 
Slipon

Slipon

Well-Known Member
if you ask me, you need to take a step back, its weed, not machines, use logic and common sense and learn to read your plant`s instead of charts and daily chores, let em do there thing they know how

if you have a plant that take ages to dry out it might be Bc. you have small seedlings in hugh pot`s ? tho thats just my first guess based on all the info and pictures you provided ;) J/K

if your in 1-1-1 perlite-soil-coco your drain should be very good, that lead me to ask for your pot`s if they got good drain holes in em ? and how your RH is ?

and what kind of light ? do they grow well ? or is they over watered and out of PH ? that can also lead to stalled growth and no water uptake

if you have issues with over watering look in to hydrogen peroxide/H2O2

http://joemacho.hubpages.com/hub/Hydrogen-Peroxide-for-Plants

can be a real lifesaver

also, about pot`s and plant size, I like to do a few repots, hard to over water a seedling in a cup, easy in the final 5 gallon pot if you want to water probably, common sense, a seedlings root net can not use 2 gallon of water in a cobble of days witch is what I like my plants to use to get dry, once they need water more then every second day I repot em, normally I use Cup.s then 1g then 3g and before 12/12 I use either 5 or 7g depending on size (this also let the plant use all the pot as weed do like to spread out its roots to the side and down, by repotting you fill out most of the final pot)
 
kushiesweet

kushiesweet

Member
Slipon said:
if you ask me, you need to take a step back, its weed, not machines, use logic and common sense and learn to read your plant`s instead of charts and daily chores, let em do there thing they know how

if you have a plant that take ages to dry out it might be Bc. you have small seedlings in hugh pot`s ? tho thats just my first guess based on all the info and pictures you provided ;) J/K

if your in 1-1-1 perlite-soil-coco your drain should be very good, that lead me to ask for your pot`s if they got good drain holes in em ? and how your RH is ?

and what kind of light ? do they grow well ? or is they over watered and out of PH ? that can also lead to stalled growth and no water uptake

if you have issues with over watering look in to hydrogen peroxide/H2O2

http://joemacho.hubpages.com/hub/Hydrogen-Peroxide-for-Plants

can be a real lifesaver

also, about pot`s and plant size, I like to do a few repots, hard to over water a seedling in a cup, easy in the final 5 gallon pot if you want to water probably, common sense, a seedlings root net can not use 2 gallon of water in a cobble of days witch is what I like my plants to use to get dry, once they need water more then every second day I repot em, normally I use Cup.s then 1g then 3g and before 12/12 I use either 5 or 7g depending on size (this also let the plant use all the pot as weed do like to spread out its roots to the side and down, by repotting you fill out most of the final pot)
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You are absolutely right! I do have my plants in about a 3 gallon pot and although they do have a great abundance of roots, they still might not be drinking as much as the pot can hold. Thanks for the info. Here are a few pics of my plants in the pots.

WP_20130717_002.jpgWP_20130718_004.jpgWP_20130718_006.jpg
 
Slipon

Slipon

Well-Known Member
Np. I like to try and use common sense myself to look for the problem and I have been there myself, so don't worry, and yes to me they do look over watered "a bit" but Im sure also healthy enough to turn around and big enough to keep in the Pot`s (tho get Cup`s for next time and let em get some growth on for a few week`s before thinking of big pot`s)

now do they Pot`s have prober drain hole`s in em ? and is they even light proof ? (a dark plastic bag and/or duct tape can easily fix that)

and some H2O2 would also be sumting I would look in to, just the normal 3% from the drug store is fine, a few table spoons per gallon of water and then water till you see run off, over watering is not to much water, its no oxygen for the root`s fresh water (15-20C with 18C to aim for) will provide that, with the H2O2 it will drench out any old/stalled water and both provide oxygen and remove any rot root if any have started ?

Ooh yea and keep them CLFs at 2-4 Inch`s (I like to keep em and 4 and let em grow up to 2" before I move the light/plant`s and some kind of DIY reflextor could also provide you with +30% more light with no more power used

P.S. but nice little set up and I like you got the spectrum and ventilation sorted, your not fare of some good grow conditions, how is your temperatures and humidity ?
 
Slipon

Slipon

Well-Known Member
p.p.s

what kind of nutrients do you use ? when I use liquid I like to only go half strength (at most) and add to most waterings, often the chart is on the high side (specially, and this is the most important, with seedlings and small plant`s, they don't need as much as a big flowering plant (check the charts)

it can be pretty hard to diagnose plants but if I should put it in a few words, then look for light green new growth and leave tip burn`s, thats the two most common signs that you either is providing to little or to much, but as a starting point half strength or 1/4 with small veg plant`s is a good rule of thump
 
kushiesweet

kushiesweet

Member
i wish my plants were bigger, believe it or not these are clones that have been established for a month now. they are also both females, and have tons of preflowers. wish they would grow bigger faster. hopefuoly they will start shooting out new growth here soon
 
kushiesweet

kushiesweet

Member
i do have yellow tips, but i also just got done battling a bad nitrogen deficency. had transplanted my plants and began adding bloodmeal to their soil, and the came right back after 3-4 days
 
kushiesweet

kushiesweet

Member
i know it was just an example lol, wishing i could feed my plants a gallon of water, then that would mean they would be much larger than they are lol
 
Slipon

Slipon

Well-Known Member
be careful with blood meal its pretty strong, I only use it in my soil mix and give it time to "cook" not as top dressing

but plants do look ok, I would just get some good liquid Veg fertilizer and maybe some Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) as weed do love it
 
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