Sickly plants

[gigimarga]

Quick question on feeding the plant in soil. Will it need any nutrients while in the Dixie cup at any strength? I plan on using big bloom from fox farms so I keep it organic. The fox farms feeding schedule says to use 6 tsp of big bloom 2 times a week with every other watering during the first week. That seems like nuking the plant but I'm not sure as most of my problems so far seem to have been from too much water.

[pushit]

Quick question on feeding the plant in soil. Will it need any nutrients while in the Dixie cup at any strength? I plan on using big bloom from fox farms so I keep it organic. The fox farms feeding schedule says to use 6 tsp of big bloom 2 times a week with every other watering during the first week. That seems like nuking the plant but I'm not sure as most of my problems so far seem to have been from too much water.

Are you planting back into FFOF. That stuff is pretty hot for seedlings. I personally use FF Light Warrior for the dixie cups then when its time for transplant i go into the ffof. Pretty much any seed starter works good for that stage as far as i know. Using FFOF i pretty much just throw out the FF feeding schedule. I just add 6.5ish phd water til about the 3rd or 4th week of flower. No nutes. As long as youre doing routine transplants you should be good to go. This is pretty much the same thing that Bigsby already said in the second post.

[bigsby]

What pushit said. Most people want to feed their plants because they think it will make them grow bigger and stronger faster. If a little is good then more must be better, right? In reality, less is more especially when you are starting out. Knowing how your particular strain responds is as important as anything else. This is even more true when using FF or some other soil with nutes already added. Look, the company wants you to use their nutes right? The more you use the better it is for their bottom line. I start with 1/8 recommended strength and move my way up to 1/4 watching how the plants respond. Watch for a white tip at the end of the leaf. This tells you that the plant has reached their limit. But again, if you are using FF, up-pot on a schedule every 4 - 6 weeks and nothing until flower.

With the FF the most you will really need is a bit of Phosphorus and Potassium boost in flower, week three / four as pushit noted.There are some caveats like the fact that strains vary in what they like / can stand or that grow style (organic vs. non-organic, dirt vs. hydroponic) does alter some of these variables.

[gigimarga]

I don't really want to make them bigger. I just want to help them not die. The stuff I use now isn't from Fox Farms but it's light. Once I transplant the plant from the dixie cup, I plan to use a mix of this stuff and FFOF. Or should I just use full-out FFOF? BTW, the dixie cup I planted the seed into yesterday, has some holes on the side now and it seems like the soil is being pulled from the sides. Does that mean it has lost too much moisture? Should I spray around the sides?

[pushit]

I don't really want to make them bigger. I just want to help them not die. The stuff I use now isn't from Fox Farms but it's light. Once I transplant the plant from the dixie cup, I plan to use a mix of this stuff and FFOF. Or should I just use full-out FFOF? BTW, the dixie cup I planted the seed into yesterday, has some holes on the side now and it seems like the soil is being pulled from the sides. Does that mean it has lost too much moisture? Should I spray around the sides?

If you are gonna be using FFOF dont add anything. That soil mix is already as close to perfect as you can get in my eyes.

[bigsby]

You are spending too much time wanting to make it perfect. Leave them be. Here is a nice little guide that will provide you with some good background reading to fill your time. It's a nice little primer. Marijuana Cultivation - Wikibooks, open books for an open world

How big are the holes? A little soil loss is fine. The soil immediately around the holes will dry out more quickly. That doesn't mean the whole cup is dry. You can spray the sides if you like but I don't think it's needed. Oh and don't handle the cup as that will agitate the soil and encourage loss for sure. Spray 1x / day to get them rooted (soak the top part of the soil around the seedling with enough water to reach an inch or two into the soil - not much). Once they are up and running set your water schedule to every 3 - 5 days. They will need more water as the get bigger. They will let you know if you aren't giving them enough water (wilting). And as we've both been saying, no added nutes needed. Just up-pot every 3 - 6 weeks depending on the length of your veg cycle.

[gigimarga]

Thanks for all that information. It makes me a lot more confident about this grow.

Another question about the water though, I finally got my TDS tester today because I wanted to makes sure that my water is ok. Turns out the water out of my fosset is around 800 ppmand filtered water I use around 450 ppm. Are those figures really high? Should I switch to RO water with a little added calcium and magnesium?

I know I'm going to stop drinking my filtered water now.

[bigsby]

I meant to add that if you don't have your pH pen yet you risk serious harm so that's good. The vast majority of problems are related to improper pH balance. It is critical. Can't say it enough. I don't think your tap water ppm is going to be an issue. Mine ranges between 650 - 850 depending on the time of year, or so it seems. That said, I don't know tons about it so read up and perhaps post in one of the other forums. I don't think it has caused me any issues if that helps.

A little more 411 on what I do with watering - starting on day 4 or 5 after they pop up I give them 1/2 dixie cup every 4 days. I dispense directly around the seedling until they have 2 or 3 sets of leaves after which I increase water. Small roots so no need to water the whole pot. Plus it is likely still holding water from the flush. Also, It is always a good idea to wet the surface of the soil with your spray before hitting it with the water. This prevents pooling that can result in uneven distribution below the surface. For those that add nutes (not you gigimarga ), it is good practice to give your plants a dose of plain water before watering in the nutes. Wetting the soil first allows more even distribution at the root zone plus you will use less nutes.

[Esteban1]

As Bigsby eloquently explains & you mention as well.... Keep it simple. Imho relax bro cuz it is just that.... a weed. You will figure it out, this is guaranteed! Keep positive & visualize your outcome & it will look something like my 1st grow or better still a frigg'n Da Vinci!!


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[gigimarga]

Esteban, keeping it simple has not worked that well for me. Failed two grows so far because I kept it too simple. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication and without knowledge and experience, it is not easily achieved.

PS Nice harvest. Is that a Sativa? What kind?