3 Weeks update "Can use Help"

[thebeat]

imo that looks like some majorly heavy soil, it seems to be a lack of drainage that could be your problem, even if it looks sandy on top it doesn't mean that it is consistent throughout the mix! keep diligent...I have plants at three weeks in ordinary potting soil being grown through a skylight and they are way different! :wtf: keep the faith!
Peas out! :hippy:

[LetsSeeYa]

imo that looks like some majorly heavy soil, it seems to be a lack of drainage that could be your problem, even if it looks sandy on top it doesn't mean that it is consistent throughout the mix! keep diligent...I have plants at three weeks in ordinary potting soil being grown through a skylight and they are way different! :wtf: keep the faith!
Peas out! :hippy:

Beat did ya read the above post at all? This was all discussed bro




:rasta:

[thebeat]

my bad...I breezed through it!

[JungleSuperstar]

The top of the dirt may be dry but underneath will still be wet ,water sparingly its not bad to let them dry out a bit before watering ,twice a week is good unless you get really hot weather.

indeed better to underwater than overwater at least wen they dry out the roots strecth when they get watered too much they just get pissed off:jointsmile:

[CovertCarpenter]

They soil doesnt drain enough, im not sure what ya got in there, but drainage is very important. I might get some perlite if ya have the cash and mix it with your soil. Also, if there is a chance of you putting more holes in the bottom. When ya water, does it go through and out the bottom before your done watering. It should go right through the soil and out the bottom. If ya don't have the cash mix your soil with some small gravel. This will let your roots breath. If not there dead, just a slow death. It happen to me this year. The soil appears dry, but pockets of water and soil mix to become this mucky stuff that will not let your roots get air and the roots will not grow, so the plants stays small till it dies.

Any more question just ask:rasta:

LSY--nailed it. Perlite is cheap, and if your soil has a fair bit, nicely mixed in, it improves drainage no end. I like to put a 1/4" to 1/2" layer of coarse perlite on the bottom of a pot before adding the soil medium, then add my soil mix (which is currently ProMix, but I'm switching to Sunshine at next batch), fairly heavy in perlite itself. At least two to four 1/8" drainage holes, if not more, can help.

Whats the best soil for growing and what all can i add to it such as sponge etc?

Have heard good things about ProMix, which is what I'm currently using, but recently heard a rumour that suggests that the minor/medium bugz problem that I used to have might have come from it, and not 'outside contamination'. Some good friends of mine just recommended Sunshine to me, so I'm going to give it a try. If you're in the united States, many people swear by Fox Farms, tho I don't know if I can get it up here.

I WAS ALSO WONDERING WHEN IS A GOOD TIME TO START CLONING IM THINKING ABOUT GOING TO THE SMOKE SHOP & BUYING ROCK WOOL CUBES IM TRYING TO GET ATLEAST 5 POUNDS

Might wanna turn yer caps lock key off'n there, pardner. Kinda sounds (visually) like you're shouting, but I know that it is just because you and I are discussing this at a noisy club

As to cloning technique, there are some really good tutorials on this site. If you're pulling a buncha clones, you're going to need plants that are a foot or two high to take a bunch from, or you'll have to grab a lesser number of cuttings, on a more regular basis. Try taking lower branches instead of upper, and don't wait until they're in flowering. Take 'em in veg.

I like rockwool 'cuz it's relatively cheap, and gives ya a good 'handle' on a new clonelet. You can get trays with inserts that require you to separate the cubes into individual bits (use scissors!), or you can just get a flat of 'em, and plant a whack o' clones at once. You're gonna be doing 98 clones that day, tho, so make sure you have enough plant mass. Or, build yourself a little bubble cloner that will support five to twenty rockwool cubes or rapid rooters (some excellent DIY stuph on this site--I'm building one mesef tonight for the two clones I'm taking off my newest mum ). Get cloning gel. Seriously.

As to the 'trying to get five pounds' thing... if you had like five plants, and ran 'em outdoors all year, you should wind up with something like that. If you want the 5p faster, you will have to run a sea-of-green off a buncha (BUNCHA) clones you take off those healthy plants, as soon as they're at least nine to ten inches high. If you wait until they've bushed out to a bit over a foot, you should have lots of material to take as clones without hurting 'em.

Lots of people use Fo Farm soil, but if ya cant get that, use something without pre loaded ferts to it, then buy some perlite and mix in at least 25% to your soil or more. It fixed up my seedlings and the perlite is great, i used a bunch. Just dont breath in the dust from it as iv heard its not healthy, but great for your plant.

Id wait a month or so, just to get your plants healthy and all, the perlite will do wonders fr ya man.

Good luck:rasta:

Yes. DON'T breathe the dust off'a perlite. Try to take that outside, and work so the bag (and dust) are literally downwind of ya. Some people like to wet it before working with it, but I find that it makes it hard to sift. No biggie. Just don't breathe that shite.

indeed better to underwater than overwater at least wen they dry out the roots strecth when they get watered too much they just get pissed off:jointsmile:

Yup. Totally, JungleSuperstar... and pissed off little girls are definitely not what you want. They tend to get sick or throw tantrums that take a while to calm 'em down from.

VickReed214, If you're working with 'em in pots, and the pots themselves are not too heavy, here's a nifty test: if you can pick up the pot 'easily', like it's too light or something, it is now ready to water. If the pot still feels 'heavy' (heft it after giving it a 'full soak' watering as recommended by LSY earlier, to figg'r out what it weighs when 'full'), it still has enough to drink. But don't let 'em wait too long when they get light... that means they need water NOW. But nicely.

If you want a way to water the lil' ones that kinda takes the guesswork outta it, try passive hydro. Many variations posted 'round here, including some of mine. Basically, you still use soil as your base (upper bucket), but halfway up the soil inside is a wick that also drops into the bottom bucket / tray / resevoir, and sucks up the water and nutrients from the bottom, as it needs. Then all ya need to do is water the 'bottom' bucket, your resevoir, every time it goes dry. Your plants will never suffer from under/overwatering. Give it a try when you repot 'em (or at least one of 'em)--cotton wicks, string, shoelaces, macramé cord, nylon webbing--all work, just sterilize 'em as best you can before installing into your own buckety experience. I use 1ga ice cream buckets for my mid-size plants, as they stack/nest very nicely.

Question back atcha... do you have a Ph test kit yet? Support yer local hydro supply shop--they're only about ten bux or less, and can also help you make sure that the soil and water Ph they're getting is correct. Fixes many problems.

Hang in there! You're doing fine!