Soilless mix the culprit?

[killerweed420]

The worm castings maybe making it a little nitrogen rich for new starts. I would tone that down on the next batch till they are a good foot or so tall then you can hit them harder.

[atrain15]

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.

Great advice! I didn't even think about that. I spent all this time of devising a method of comparing the different mixtures and forgot to consider the seeds own genetics. Fail. lol

The worm castings maybe making it a little nitrogen rich for new starts. I would tone that down on the next batch till they are a good foot or so tall then you can hit them harder.

I'll tone done the worm castings ratio a bit in the earlier stages. It's odd, but the mixture of 4 parts worm castings is seemingly perfectly healthy with no real signs of stress. It is on the smaller side, although I contribute that to the high density of worm castings making it difficult for the roots to move easily through the medium. What are your thoughts on that?

[killerweed420]

I usually use Sunshine Mix 3 for my clones and that stuff is fairly dense. I rarely loose a clone. Then When I replant to bigger pots I switch to Sunshine Mix 4 and even that is fairly dense. It drains well but it also compacts quite a lot.

[atrain15]

I usually use Sunshine Mix 3 for my clones and that stuff is fairly dense. I rarely loose a clone. Then When I replant to bigger pots I switch to Sunshine Mix 4 and even that is fairly dense. It drains well but it also compacts quite a lot.

This is my first grow and have yet to experiment with any Sunshine Mixes. I take it you think highly of them?

[killerweed420]

Thye're widely used in the cannabis industry. I pay $36 a bale for Sunshine Mix 4 and its enough to grow 15 plants in 3 gallon pots. Have had good luck with it over the last 4 years or so. The Sunshine Mix 3 works very nice for clones. All I add during the clones growing is a little B12 for stress.

[atrain15]

Thye're widely used in the cannabis industry. I pay $36 a bale for Sunshine Mix 4 and its enough to grow 15 plants in 3 gallon pots. Have had good luck with it over the last 4 years or so. The Sunshine Mix 3 works very nice for clones. All I add during the clones growing is a little B12 for stress.

I suppose I'll try this next grow. How long does the mix feed for? Also, do you just transplant once?

[killerweed420]

There is very little nutrients in a soiless mix so you have to add nutes. I keep mine pretty simple. A little b12, a little miracid and a little extra phosphorus. Cloning, i keep them in dixie cups till they are about 10 to 12 inches high and then transplanbt into 3 gallon pots.
A system that works for once person doesn't neccessarily work for another. Different grow conditions, different strains, different nutes, all play a part in what works for the individual grower. Keep it simple to start with and then experiment as you grow more confident.