Soilless mix the culprit?

[atrain15]

For some reason, I wanted my first grow to be a soilless one. After reading for hours and hours, I thought I chose correctly. Now everything seems to be falling apart. From yellowing tips, faint yellowing, dark green color, browning of the edges, warped leaves, upturned leaves. Then again, this is my first grow and I may be completely over analyzing things. (As I do with all things in life) I had purchased four different ingredients for my mixture. Perlite, Vermiculite, Sphagnum Peat Moss, and Worm Castings. With these four ingredients, I made four different mixtures.

Mixture One â?? 1 Part Worm Castings, 1 Part Vermiculite, 1 Part Perlite, 1 Part Sphagnum Peat Moss.
Mixture Two â?? 1 Part Worm Castings, 1 Part Sphagnum Peat Moss, 2 Part Vermiculite, 2 Part Perlite
Mixture three â?? 1 Part Worm Castings, 1 Part Perlite, 2 Part Vermiculite
Mixture Four â?? 4 Part Worm Castings, 1 Part Perlite, 1 Part Vermiculite, 1 Part Sphagnum Peat Moss

I planted 6 germed seeds with an assortment of the four mixtures.

Plant 1 - Mixture 4 [attachment=o285402]
Plant 2 - Mixture 2 [attachment=o285403] Close up [attachment=o285404]
Plant 3 - Mixture 1 [attachment=o285405]
Plant 4 - Mixture 3 [attachment=o285406]

Thoughts and opinions? Advice and all other knowledge that can prove beneficial?

These have been under T5 2' 24W 6400K. The temp has been 73-84F. Usually around 80F. The humidity is always 30-50% Averaging 40%. The pH of the source water is 6.1-6.6. Tap. The age of these plants are 11-14 days.

atrain15 Reviewed by atrain15 on 07-10-2012. Soilless mix the culprit? For some reason, I wanted my first grow to be a soilless one. After reading for hours and hours, I thought I chose correctly. Now everything seems to be falling apart. From yellowing tips, faint yellowing, dark green color, browning of the edges, warped leaves, upturned leaves. Then again, this is my first grow and I may be completely over analyzing things. (As I do with all things in life) I had purchased four different ingredients for my mixture. Perlite, Vermiculite, Sphagnum Peat Moss, and Rating: 5

[atrain15]

Plant 5 - Mixture 2 [attachment=o285407]
Plant 6 - Mixture 2 [attachment=o285408] Close up [attachment=o285409]


Plant 6 was under One 68watt CFL for 18 hours. I switched it back to T5 after I noticed the curling of the leaves.

Overall setup - [attachment=o285410]

[atrain15]

Troubleshooting form.


E-Indor
E-Soilless
E-Different mixtures noted above.
CSL-Miracle Grow,Sta-Green, Garden-Ville
HCL-Soilless
SCL-Nothing added except 50% dose of 7-7-7 to plant
SCLR-Soil or slab runoff pH - Unknown
E-Water source - Tap
E-Source water pH -6.1-6.6
E-Age of plant - Plants 1-4 are 11 Days. Plants 5-6 are 13 days.
E-7-7-7
E-Rate of application - Once for plant 5 and 6 at day 12 at 50% dose.
E-Lighting source and distance from plant - T5 24Watt 3 Inches
E-Air temperature (both day and night if you are running a dark period) - 73-84
E-Air % Relative humidity - 30%-50%
E-Lighting schedule - 24/0
E-Type of ventilation your room has - Constantly open closet door with a fan that goes on an off not directly pointed at plant.

[atrain15]

Nearly 100 views and no post so far? I know someone has to have some form of input. All input is valued!

[Mainely Growing Weed]

I'd say they look fine to me . but I'm on my first indoor grow so what do I know

[PhatJay]

They look O.K. to me as well. The one has a touch of nute burn, the one with the droopy leaves might be a little overwatered and overall the mixtures may be a little too rich for this early stage. But I don't see any major issues that are going to kill your plants imminently. You are suffering from first grow nerves . Relax, you are doing O.K. :thumbsup: Just keep an eye on them, you are using four different mixes, it is bound to complicate things.

I cannot comment on your soil mix compositions because I don't use soil.

edit : the T5 light doesn't need to be so close in the early stages 12 - 18 " is fine.

[azdesertdweller]

well ...whats the problem?...looks like they are doing fine...plants ALL respond differently...ur going to get dying leaves,yellowing,curling(try..B-1 and and a zinc and iron(for yellowing(chlorosis)((NOT SPOTS))...for us indoor growers,these plants are only gonna be around 5-6 months tops,chances are, you're gonna sail right thru these months without problems...HOWEVER...should u get spotted leaves...burned edges...or a sickass plant in general...FLUSH FLUSH FLUSH...and start over with just water(ph'd of course)

[Michael Oliver]

Great post! Thanks for good info! This is also my first Indoor Grow and i choose Dr. Earth Organic, and i use Oneness by Humboldt Nutrients.your work
Have admired your "work" with non-soil factors, however not yet ready for that. After getting my Gal's out of their small containers, the "over-watered" symptom disappeared;
now we are on track for harvest in "about" one month; Hula Buddha and Kona from SOHUM Seeds, am very pleased even if i've lost three; 2 males, one dead.
Am Feeding about three times a day, seems to work; have 400W MH tuned down to 50%, and it is more than enough without burning

[atrain15]

you are using four different mixes, it is bound to complicate things.

I've done this to figure out which mixture produces the best results. I figured I would experiment and find the best method available

the T5 light doesn't need to be so close in the early stages 12 - 18 " is fine.

I moved the lights to 7" away. I have a slight height restriction, I built a shelf just for seedlings and cloning, but only gave it a clearance of around 22" I guess I will have change that in the coming days.

well ...whats the problem?...looks like they are doing fine...plants ALL respond differently...ur going to get dying leaves,yellowing,curling(try..B-1 and and a zinc and iron(for yellowing(chlorosis)((NOT SPOTS))...for us indoor growers,these plants are only gonna be around 5-6 months tops,chances are, you're gonna sail right thru these months without problems...HOWEVER...should u get spotted leaves...burned edges...or a sickass plant in general...FLUSH FLUSH FLUSH...and start over with just water(ph'd of course)

I'm not certain... The one with the leaves dying was the biggest of all of them, up until 3-4 days ago, she was looking like mother material, now she is lagging, turning crisp on the edges and browning. Updated Picture - [attachment=o285418]

Great post! Thanks for good info! This is also my first Indoor Grow and i choose Dr. Earth Organic, and i use Oneness by Humboldt Nutrients.your work
Have admired your "work" with non-soil factors, however not yet ready for that. After getting my Gal's out of their small containers, the "over-watered" symptom disappeared;
now we are on track for harvest in "about" one month; Hula Buddha and Kona from SOHUM Seeds, am very pleased even if i've lost three; 2 males, one dead.
Am Feeding about three times a day, seems to work; have 400W MH tuned down to 50%, and it is more than enough without burning

Just jump right into soilless mixtures. That's what I did...I'm learning a lot quickly. Fast track learning!

[PhatJay]

I've done this to figure out which mixture produces the best results. I figured I would experiment and find the best method available

As mentioned above, all plants react differently, you could have 2 identical clones in identical soil/conditions and one will do better than the other. Seeds are even more varied as every one has different genetics. Working out what did and did not make a differtence in your grow is not as easy as it first appears. One of the best pieces of advice given to me was to keep things simple and only make one change each grow.